October Surfing sessions

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2013/oct/27/surfers-haunted-heats-halloween-video

It's been an interesting month for me. Besides the above, Haunted Heats Surf Competition, I've been surfing regularly- going to Malibu, County Line, and Venice mostly. The surf has been smaller and smaller- but supposedly it gets bigger in the winter. I've also been traveling a lot which presents challenges to anyone looking to stay in shape. The traveling was predominantly wedding related too- and there's been a week-long celebration of Halloween in LA. All of this adds up to major derailing from any conditioning program.

About a month ago, I set out to shed weight and tone up with Rachel Cosgrove's Spartacus circuit. That is a great program for boosting your metabolism. It consists of three circuits of ten exercises done in 1min intervals. There's two minutes rest between circuits. Very difficult. I watched 300 once while doing it- which I'm pretty sure fueled my Poseidon character for the Haunted Heats competition. But I digress....The Spartacus workout or any Fat-Loss circuit done without rest is tough, but tougher without a partner or a coach, or an external motivating source, like a role to get in shape for. The actors from the Starz series did the workout together three days a week. So- definitely very different from doing it solo in the cardio room at 24 Hr Fitness. I probably completed it 5-6 times, and also Spartacus 2 which is a circuit of 9 exercises broken up into supersets of two. It's also very difficult- and reminds me of the workouts I've read Statham does- timed and circuit based. Occasionally, I interspersed these with A Men's Health poster workout with 4 exercises- more standard, though still focused on leg work to strengthen core. When I couldn't get to the beach, I swam at 24 Hr Fitness Altadena and used the jacuzzi, steam room, sauna as a circuit to loosen muscles. I started making a Laird Hamilton inspired shake using Catie's Greens in the morning with fish oil, Muscle Milk, and egg. It's actually good.



Also- read Shaun Tomson's Surfer's Code yesterday...Very cool book by a South African legend. The book itself (at lest the 2006 version) is not super-preachy but a very authentic voice talking about his experience in and out of the water. I'm so new to surfing I'd never even heard of him. But the book was cool for me as he describes very vividly places like Pipeline, Waimea Bay, and Sunset Beach in Hawaii. I also found his experience interesting as he's a Jewish dude from South Africa.



He details his 12 point code as:

I will never turn my back on the ocean: Passion
I will paddle around the impact zone: No short cuts
I will take the drop with commitment: Courage, focus and determination
I will never fight a rip tide: The danger of pride and egotism
I will always paddle back out: Perseverance in the face of challenges
I will watch out for other surfers after a big set: Responsibility
I will know that there will always be another wave: Optimism
I will ride and not paddle into shore: Self-esteem
I will pass on my stoke to a non-surfer: Sharing knowledge and giving back
I will catch a wave every day, even in my mind: Imagination
I will realize that all surfers are joined by one ocean: Empathy
I will honor the sport of kings: Honor and integrity

Surfing continues to expand my horizons, both athletically and in offering life lessons. I really dig it and am stoked that it can be a lifelong pursuit.

"The natural world establishes a physical bond between all surfers through the bands of energy we ride. I try to strengthen this bond by focusing on common experiences and the things all surfers share." - Shaun Thomson
http://shauntomson.com

Art De Vany's "Evolutionary Fitness" paper

On a plane from Boston to LA, I recently re-read DeVany's "Evolutionary Fitness". A precursor to his book, the New Evolution Diet, it's essentially a shorter, more concise version of the same thoughts on human health and nutrition. The fundamental point is that our bodies and minds are healthiest when we eat and exercise as humans did 40,000 years ago. We weren't meant to be sedentary or (notably) to work out regularly in a gym. We weren't even meant to eat three square meals a day, let alone rice and wheat. Our bodies were meant to adapt to scarcity and to be exposed to high intensity and short workouts. It really is a different way of viewing our place in the world, so it's understandable why so many people are reluctant to look at things this way.



Some quotes that struck me:

"The real point is to embrace randomness and variety within the context of structured repetitiveness. Good intuitive models of power law variation are the movements of the wild lion or the music of Bach or Mozart"

"Males among hunter-gatherers do not carry the large game our ancestors did, so they are not a good model of power walking for males. Consider this instead as a model. A historical source reports that 5 Indian braves drove 5 bison into a pit. After they killed these 2000-pound bison, they pulled them out of a pit more than 10 feet deep, lined them up and skinned and butchered them. Then, they carried as much as they could back to camp to get others to return for the rest. What a wonderful model of fitness, combining speed, power, strength, and stamina. You can be sure this successful hunt was followed by plenty of rest and play and feasting. This model is always on my mind when I think of what fitness means."

"The fact that you are alive is a remarkable thing. The odds against it are great. The genes you carry contain information from a continuous strand of surviving organisms that extends 2 billion years back in time. You are an improbable event and your existence is testimony to the toughness and adaptiveness of the ancestral line from which you come. You are a survivor, well equipped to live and be successful in the world for which your body and mind are adapted. Recognize, however, that the world for which your genes encode a successful design is not today's world; it is the world of some 10,000 to 40,000 years ago."

"By keeping your work outs brief and exhilarating you won't get bored. By adding lots of outdoors activity and play, you will enjoy the power and fitness you are achieving. If you start a new sport, or pick up one long neglected as you begin evolutionary training you will see how the power you gain improves your play. The feedback between the training and your new power in the sport will be habit forming. I fail to see how anyone can train 5 or 6 days a week in the gym and for hours at a time. That is factory or agricultural work, not anything human beings were evolved to do. And the paradox is that you will gain less strength and fitness if you over train. And you will join the thousands who quit out of sheer boredom."

"Aging is a slow form of lean body mass loss. What we call aging is sedentary aging and carbohydrate abuse. The accumulation of damage from hypoexertion and hyperinsulemia over a longer time scale is what aging is in Western countries. Adults lose about 5 per cent of their lean body mass per decade after they enter their thirties. Most of the muscle they lose is FT fiber, for they cease by some age to live in the FT region. They settle into the ST region and, consequently, as they age their muscle fibers atrophy. The 40 per cent rule may hold here too. Progressive aging and deterioration resulting in a 40 per cent loss of lean body mass may be a precursor or mediator of the dying process. The aging just die over a longer time scale than do acutely ill individuals. The aged lose lean mass and most of it is FT fiber. Because they do not and cannot stress their skeletons, they lose bone density. Their skeletons are vulnerable to falls and their muscles are not strong or quick enough to keep them from falling because their FT fibers atrophy. Keeping your FT fibers is the best way to stay young."

For more on DeVany and Evolutionary Fitness-
http://www.artdevanyonline.com/1/category/evolutionary%20fitness/1.html

Episode 21- Fit Fax 3

Gabe and Joe discuss their 90 day body comp analysis results; followed by Gabe's upcoming Fitness guide, and endurance training.



For more on Fit-Fax:
www.fitfax.com

Episode 20: Podcast Review

Gabe and Joe examine their podcast, what's working, what's not and make a plan for the future...including a catchy new theme song. Also, discussion of Joe's workout gains, Gabe's surfing competition, and Laird Hamilton's book- Force Of Nature...It's all happening on GFWGAJ!

SUP in NY

SUP is stand-up paddleboarding.... Like Hades, you stand on a skiff with a single oar...either sailing towards the horizon or using the paddle to get into the waves. Seeing as the summer of surf is drawing to a close, I took the opportunity to visit NY's surf community in Far Rockaway. I had rented a van, so it was an easy drive out through Queens- but you can take the A train. Boarders is a cool surf shop right there- with a unique East meets West vibe. The guys behind the counter were playing hip-hop like Guru's Jazzamatazz while checking out the surf conditions. Unfortunately the conditions were pretty lame (0-1', 2' tops)...but the enthusiasm on the beach was contagious.

There were surf camps and rentals on the beach, people trying out longboards and shortboards...just a good vibe. And very friendly. So I rented a stand-up paddleboard. It was cool for the most part- like a giant surfboard but you stand with your legs parallel, facing forward- which is awkward. Even the two feet waves were knocking me over. I even lost my new $5 sunglasses, but it ended up being very cool. I met two German women who said they were inspired to try it because I made it look easy (which was funny, since I still have bruises from taking falls on the board). There was also a kiteboarder, probably a 50 year old Russian dude who looked like a KGB agent. He was killing it, sailing along through the choppy waters, carving patterns. I talked to a guy my age from Greenpoint, the only other guy in the water with some experience. He said it had been small all summer. So I traded in the paddleboard for a 7'10 board and it was cool- totally caught some great little rides and grabbed the rail to turn into it.

Surfing's been a great summer sport, and very cool to be using the strength and endurance I've been building in the gym. Just got a book with a 10 week fitness plan for surfers- including a lot of plyometrics work (jumping), burpees, push-ups, and some difficult balance work. So gonna start in on that tomorrow. Episode 20 of the podcast, coming soon.

Summer of Surf Rides to a Close

Laird Hamilton has been someone I've become aware of through surfing and a few big wave surf documentaries. He also writes a Mind and Body column for Men's Journal. He's not exactly Paleo, but follows a nutrient-dense diet.

Some topics he addresses are:
-Benefits of waking up early
-Stretching
-Drinking hot water with lemon as a cleanse every morning
-Protein shakes
-Not eating flour, sugar, salt, or starches
-Exercising in unique and intense ways
-Living naturally
-Risk-taking
-Training for life

Force of Nature is sort of an expanded version of his columns, and consists of four sections: Mind, Body, Soul, and Surfing. From just perusing it and doing one of the workouts, it seems like an outstanding book- and an opportunity to hear what's worked for an amazing athlete. The guy is nearing 50 and still going strong.The book begins with a quote:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

Along those lines, I feel like I've tried to explore, dream, and discover the past three months. It's been a good summer. I surfed twice a week since April or May- going out to County Line, Staircase, Point Dume, San Francisco's Ocean Beach, Seaside, OR, and even La Fonda, Mexico. I went yesterday to El Porto, south of LAX and just north of Manhattan Beach. El Porto is a little industrial with a processing plant down the beach, but that adds to its outsider charm. There were more teenagers and it seemed like the guys from Dogtown and Z Boys would've hung out here after school. The waves weren't big but it was a decent spill, turning over gently so that a beginner could catch it. I had one notable moment. I used a visualization technique to imagine riding the wave before I caught it. As the wave swept me forward, at the moment of popping up, I closed my eyes, and caught it, jumping upright. When I opened them I was turning and surfing, which was cool and felt effortless.

I went out last weekend too. I surfed Staircase and met some nice folks from Sierra Madre, and a local dude named Philip. The waves were small but I had brought my longboard, so I could actually get up. Philip was cool. I was sort of stand-offish, letting him be where the break was, and he invited me over. There were only four of us in the water. This was probably 9am. That was probably my best surf day of the summer. I could see the waves, identify their direction, anticipate their speed and their break, and the board was steady enough to hold me when I popped up. I didn't realize that the pop-up has to be one smooth motion, a movement without thinking- just bang, pop up. I had been trying to do a push up...So even though the summer is ending, I'm still discovering new things about surfing.

I'd recommend Laird's book. I did his Anywhere Workout last night (p70-75). It consists of a bunch of bodyweight exercises done in a circuit:
1-Walking Forward With High High Step (recommends 1 min intervals)
2-Walking Lateral Lunge (recommends 1 min intervals)
3-Hindu Squat (40x-slow)
4-Decline Pushup (30x)
5-Core Series- (9 movements)
6-Handstand (30-60 seconds- I did it against a wall)
7-Dips (30x)
8- The Steeps (stairwalking in lunges of 4 steps. I did this 5 times)

Great workout and can be done at home in front of a dvd... maybe Riding Giants. Have a great Labor Day weekend, folks!

Episode 19- Laird Hamilton and the Search for Surf

Gabe and Joe return to discuss Gabe's Mexico surf adventure, Joe's Multi-year app, and Laird Hamilton's recommendations for keeping your workouts fresh.

Here's the link:
http://www.mensjournal.com/expert-advice/how-to-blow-up-your-workout-20121212