Aug/090
Another Bike Ride
I hit the C&O canal this morning. Just did a simple "there and back again" ride from home to Harper's Ferry. It's about 18 miles round trip.
The weather was perfect and the trail was in good shape. Lots of people out this morning. It cheers me up to see so many folks out there getting/staying fit.
I need to start pushing out some more distance (and saddle time) to ensure that I am ready for the 184 mile trek up the canal in September.
One final note... I finally rode up (the whole way without stopping) the nasty hill right by my house.
Catch ya on the road!
-Rip
Aug/090
First Blackberry Post
This is a test of my Blackberry posting capabilities. If my calculations are correct, when this sucker hits 88 miles per hour, we're gonna see some serious stuff!
Testing the HTML code now:
italics
bold
Now that I have unleashed the power of my handheld mobile device, I should pop a few more posts up!
(:
Aug/090
Personal Hygiene
The term "hygiene" is derived from Hygeia, the Greek goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation. It does not come from the other Greek word, Hydra, which is a 9-headed serpent whose breath was poisonous!
Personal hygiene is often overlooked as a simple way to stay healthy. When you ask most people to list some easy ways to maintain health, they immediately shoot back with fitness or diet. The funny thing is, that hygiene and simply washing your hands has more than doubled our life expectancy over the last 100 years!
On top of longevity, hygiene has been proven to prevent or control a ton of easily curable conditions, including: dandruff, chronic halitosis (bad breath), ear wax, body odor, perspiration, head lice, urinary infection, pinworms and athlete’s foot to name but a few!
Staying Clean in General
It might not surprise you to know that a daily shower will do wonders for your body odor and even add to your good looks. It’s no secret that good looking people groom more than non-lookers. Does this mean that you will become Brad Pitt by following some simple guidelines of cleanliness… Nay! However, you are almost certain to be more appealing to the opposite sex (or same, if you dig) if you routinely take good care of your hygiene and grooming.
Hands
UNICEF is on a mission to teach the world to wash their hands. Statistics put out by UNICEF show that simply washing your hands at certain times during the day (right before eating and just after using the toilet) can reduce diarrhea rates among children under five years old by almost 50 percent and respiratory infections by 23 percent.
One of my pet peeves is people who use the bathroom and don’t wash afterward. I witness this on a regular basis at the restroom in my office.
Because I work on a computer all day, I feel like my hands are exposed to tons of germs from the keyboard and mouse. This is particularly true when sharing office equipment with co-workers. I think it is a good idea to wash your hands once and a while when using a keyboard. Because I run to the restroom so often, I get in a good dosage of hand-washing throughout the day.
When washing your hands, you should use hot water (as hot as you can safely stand) and make sure to scrub everywhere including your fingernails. Remember to use a paper towel to turn off the water (at work and public places) and to open the bathroom door.
At the very least, make sure that you follow the UNICEF guidelines and wash your hands prior to any meal or snack and after using the bathroom.
Hair
It is said that you should wash your hair with shampoo at least once per week. I personally wash my hair every day. Perhaps I am overdoing it and drying my hair and scalp. I dunno what the proper timing on this is, but obviously when your hair is getting overly oily and obviously dirty, it is time to do some scrubbing!
I have dandruff (perhaps due to the fact that I wash my hair everyday!) and easily control it with specialized shampoo. I like to alternate between a dandruff shampoo (I dig on Selsun Blue) one day and then an ordinary shampoo (American Crew for this head) the next day. I find that damdruff shampoo alone can dry my hair out more than normal… Plus on dandruff duty days, I do not use a conditioner, so the “normal” shampoo day goes a long way to help moisturize my locks.
Skin
Skin was mostly covered with the piece on showers above. I thought it deserved a section of its own however. Once again we are tasked with answering the age old question, how often should I shower? I think that this varies from person to person. Some people who perspire very little and do not build up noxious odors may not need to bathe as often as those of us in the less appealing side of things… However, I think it is common knowledge that you should take a bath or shower after a good solid workout. And, as was mentioned above, at least once per week.
Don’t forget to put on clean clothes (you would be surprised at how many people overlook this rule) after you shower!
Teeth and Gums
Twice a day is generally recognized as the minimum times that you should brush your teeth. First thing in the morning and last thing at night. Many people throw in a brushing after each meal to boot. I have been blessed with a very tough enamel and have no cavities. For this reason, I find that twice a day is perfect for me. Also, I use a battery powered brush (Sonicare) and find it invigorating to say the least! Also, I have found that it does a better job of cleaning my teeth in a shorter period of time.
Flossing is still held with high regard. As far as I know, dentists are still recommending this as a routine activity. I wouldn’t know, because I haven’t been to see a dentists in more than five years. Instead of flossing, I use a water pic device and find that it does a very good job.
I would suggest that you go to a dentist more often than me!
A Clean House
On top of bodily hygiene, your house is a potential haven for all kinds of germs (and worse). You should regularly: vacuum, wash counters, clean sinks and toilets and dust. Along with these cleaning chores, don’t forget to change your bedding sheets and clean or replace your furnace/AC filter(s).
Those Around You
You can pick your friends… And, you become much like the people you are surrounded by… Surround yourself with like-minded folk!
Pets
This subject is way to large for my tiny Blog… Suffice it to say that your pets should be clean too!
Closure
I know that I only touched on a miniscule piece of this huge topic… However, it is clearly (proven by thousands of doctors and scientists) a contributing factor to our health and longevity. I recommend that you evaluate your current hygiene procedures and see if you can’t improve upon some areas!
Cheers,
Rip
May/091
Epic Bicycle Trek
I embellish… It wasn’t an epic in the true sense of the word. But, for Pete and me, yesterday’s ride was a small epic.
We decided to ride the Poolesville, Maryland loop based on a local rider’s information:
http://bikewashington.org/routes/westmc/westmc.htm
The ride is ~24 miles long and it incorporates 15 miles of road (some barely paved) and 9+ miles along the C&O canal. I was excited about this trek, because long trips on the C&O are sort of boring to me.
So, Pete and I met at the Monocacy Aqueduct in Dickerson, MD at approximately 8:08 a.m. We decided to ride the loop backward, so that we would end our ride on the C&O and we’d be going uphill (only about 2% grade albeit) on the canal. It turns out that the grade of the roads is considerably more and it wasn’t really important to worry about canal grade.
The weather was calling for severe thunderstorms and we wanted to beat them. We got underway in 69-degree cloudy weather. It was perfect out! W00t!
The first part of our epic started when Pete announced, “I’ve got my GPS, so I know where I’m going.” He then proceeded to pull ahead of me. Just when he got out of ear shot, I watched him pedal right past our first turn off. Shaking my head, I wondered if he would notice that he’d missed our turn, before he got to Rockville.
When I made the turn, I pulled off and dialed Pete on my mobile phone. He told me that he figured out that he had gone by the turn and was coming back… Thus our epic began.
Pete is in better cardio shape than me and he often pulls away. On one of these occasions, he was pumping by me on a slight uphill. It was apparent that we would need to switch to a lower gear. I followed the rules and eased up on my pedal pressure before downshifting. Pete on the otherhand, was pressing with all of his strength as he downshifted and I heard the loud clanking as his old bike struggled to find a lower gear and keep him moving. I thought to myself, I’ve got to explain to him about not shifting under such duress. Just as I thought that, he down shifted again using this same technique.
CRACK
Pete yelled out, “Uh oh.”
I inquired, “What?”
Guess what…? He had broken his chain.
Pete was getting worked up and cursing his bad luck. I explained that shifting like that is what had done this to him. I also calmed Pete by telling him, “Don’t worry… We have all of the right tools and everything’s cool. We’ll be back on the route in no time.” After calming him, I finished with, “There is only ONE thing that you must not do.” Pete looked at me and I said, “When you are pulling the links apart, do not pop the pin all of the way out.”
Pete held his chin high and announced, “Of course not.”
So, we started to work on removing the broken link and fix his chain. Moments into the repair, I reiterated, “Don’t pop the pin out.”
Pete sighed, huffed and puffed and then waved me off while he continued.
Suddenly, I heard a click and Pete said, “Oops.”
I could have smacked him! As you guessed, Pete popped the pin out of the chain, which turns a simple roadside repair into an hour-long adventure! While we fought to get that chain fixed, several big pickups flew by us at twice the posted speed limit. A couple of them tried to get close and frighten us.
Long story short, we struggled and finally got Pete’s chain back together. We were back underway.
On the road, we rode right past our next turn and kept going for several miles. By the time we realized our mistake, we had were pretty far off course. We backtracked and found a road that would connect us to our planned trail.
The rest of the ride was uneventful, and we only ended-up riding about 5 miles further than planned. We also were about 1 hour behind schedule, due to our roadside repair.
All-in-all, a fantastic day and wonderful ride… Not to mention the fact that we got to share in the fun of a roadside repair! Also, the weather held out for us.
Here is our GPS info from the ride:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/5550311
May/091
My Latest CD4 and HIV-1 RNA levels
I get routinely tested for CD4 and RNA levels. My latest test revealed a CD4 helper level of 614. This is a very high number and puts me in the arena with "normal" healthy adults. In the past, my levels hung between 200 and 300. I've even dipped well beneath 200 back in the old days... I attribute my fantastic results to my healthy living, strict medicine intake and mental attitude. I'm sure that a combination of these things has made me a stronger and healthier person.
Along with my great CD4 level, my HIV-1 RNA level (viral load) remains undetectable and is below 48, which is the cutoff for detectable levels.
W00t!
May/091
Bad Weather Didn’t Hinder
Pete and I rode 40 miles roundtrip today. It was horrendous weather... The rain was coming down pretty hard and the canal towpath was a solid trail of puddles, washouts and mud. 3/4 of the way through my trek and I started getting a chill that burned to the bone. My teeth chattered. What was I thinking??
40 miles was about as tough as I could imagine. Prior to this ride, the longest I'd ever done was 32 miles. My entire body is wrecked and I love it!!!
My wife almost didn't recognize me. I was covered head-to-toe with a layer of mud. I'm glad that we banged this out, but I don't think I will do a muddy rain day again... It's bad enough having my body destroyed, adding the cold and mud to it just made it relentless.
Pete was a trooper and he is in fantastic aerobic shape! I have some work to catch him by the time our real ride rolls around.
To see my GPS tracked ride information check here:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/4580912
May/092
Starting Out and Getting In Shape
We will be riding the C&O Canal from Washington D.C. to Cumberland, MD in the Fall of 2009. We'll be doing this over the course of three days on our bicycles.
I've started my training and I realized that even though I'm in excellent health and fit, I am not in bike shape! My aerobic capacity leave much to be desired, and my butt takes a brutal beating from long rides in the saddle!
I've only been riding for a week. One of those days was on the canal. I see a huge difference now between asphalt and canal towpath gravel and dirt... Ouch!!!
Today is going to be about a 40 mile day for me. And, my plan is to ride two short days (on the street, or on a recumbant bike) per week and one long day (on the canal) on the weekends.
The entire 3-day ride will cover about 160 miles, so we plan to do about 50-55 miles per day with two nights on the trail. Don;t get me wrong, we won;t be roughing it out there in the wilderness... The first night will be at my house, because I live in Brunswick, which is ~mile 57 on the canal. The second night will be in a B&B, motel or hotel.
Why am I doing this?, you ask... I like to have at least one fitness goal per year, that keeps me struggling to keep up throughout the year.
I'll try to keep you posted on my progress.
Wish me luck!
Apr/091
First Journal Entry
Figure that my first Journal entry would be about a funeral... What're you gonna do?
Anyway, I saw my friend Rob for the first time in years last night. It was at the wake for his wife, Debbie. Painful. It was great to see Rob, but the circumstances were less than desirable. Along with Rob, I saw many old faces from the past... Toe, John, Ryan, Francis, Willie, Jeremy to name a few...
Why is it that we rarely see each other these days? And... It always seems to be at a doom-and-gloom event. It is extremely tough to juggle old friendships into these busy days. Even if they are old best friends...
I'm not sure what the solution is, but I know that Rob needs support at this time. Kristine and I plan on giving what we can. Hopefully, I can maintain the relationship beyond simply working through mourning.
In other news... My lower back is still a tad sore from whatever damage I did doing heavy squats and/or deadlifts. I think I've compressed a disc, so I am using inversion boots to hang upside down and hopefully help to remedy this latest issue. I feel a tingling down my right leg and into my foot. I'm thinking that it is sciatica. I'll keep stretching myself upside down and see how that fares... In the meantime, I am taking a week off from my workouts to allow my body to recover some. I've been doing the H.I.T. (high intensity training) for a little over a year now and have made some nice gains in strength, size and muscularity. I am very satisfied thus far.
HIV front... Things are well. I worried that I might be experiencing peripheral neuropathy again, but I think it is the sciatica.
I hope to keep this journal going on a regular basis...
Talk to ya (I know you're out there) soon,
Vaughn
Mar/090
Nutrition
…from soup to nuts…
Let’s talk about food! after I go over the rules of engagement: DISCLAIMER - the ideas presented here are merely guidelines to help you on your path to enlightenment. I strongly urge (and insist) you to seek the help of a professional nutritionalist and doctor before attempting to make changes in your diet. If you follow any of my hair-brained schemes and ideas, you do so at your own risk!
Oxygen
Oxygen is a chemical element. By mass, it is the most plentiful element on earth. It is also the third most abundant chemical element in the universe. Often overlooked by healthy people, Oxygen is the most important thing that our body takes in.
Among other bodily functions that are affected by oxygen, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is one of the biggies. 40% of ATP, or the high energy molecule, is made up of oxygen. Cutting through the obfuscation, ATP is a key part of our metabolism and muscular restoration.
What does all of this mumbo-jumbo mean? You ask. I bring it up, because for the most part we spend our day worrying about how much water we drink and the quality and quantity of food that we eat. But, we often overlook the most important element that our body needs… Oxygen.
Breathing Exercises are a great way to increase oxygen levels in our body. There are manifold ways to increase your oxygen levels two of my favorites are:
I also regularly use a tool, called the PowerLung. It is a very powerful exercise tool that works the lungs like nobody’s business!
Water
There are so many different opinions on how much water that we should ingest on a daily basis, that I don’t even wanna touch that. Let me just tell you that water is a vital component that our bodies need. The human body is made up of approximately 65% water. We need it on a regular basis, or we will dehydrate and eventually die.
I am a firm believer in superhydration. I drink approximately 204 ounces of water each and every day. This may seem a bit excessive to many, but I can tell you that I feel better and stronger when I do. Also, I feel that my metabolism is working more efficiently.
Many people ask me about trips to the men’s room… Well, I think that my bladder adjusted. Shortly after I started drinking this much, I adapted. One thing that I should mention is, I try to limit my water intake after 5 p.m. to avoid nighttime runs to the porcelain convenience.
Food (protein, carbs and fats)
I’m not a big fan of the fad diets. Especially ones like the low carb Dr. Atkins ones. Carbohydrates are an extremely important part of your diet and they provide energy stores. On top of that, many of these diets have proven to mess with your body’s natural acid levels.
I feel that a balanced and healthy diet of 60% carbs, 20% protein and 20% fat is the single best way to go. I also think that it is far better to eat smaller, more frequent and healthy meals. I am a firm believer in 5 to 7 small meals per day. It feels better to keep food coming in every two or three hours, instead of going 6+ hours between meals. I also find that it’s easier to control my intake when I eat throughout the day.
I’m sure you’ve heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day… I’ll take that one step further and (dare I say it), two breakfasts are better than one! I know many folks who only eat lunch and dinner. They complain of low energy levels and usually have excess body fat. Spread your meals out and eat healthier and I guarantee you will find more energy and even start knocking some pounds off!
Trans and saturated fats
Over the last couple of years we have heard more and more about TRANS FATS. They are horrible!! Remember that foods only have to list them if there is more than .5 grams in there… Instead of reading the label for TRANS FAT percentages, try looking at the ingredient list and seek out things like POLY UNSATURATED YADA (minus the yada).
Here is a neat site that lists many fast food restaurants who server the TRANS FATS.
TRANS FATS are not the only bad fat out there. They have an ugly step-sister called SATURATED FATS as well. After TRANS FATS, SATURATED FATS are the next worst thingy. Avoid them wherever possible.
Remember that a certain level of fat intake is vital to your wellbeing. However, you can pick and choose which fats to ingest and which ones to skip right over. And, for goodness sakes, skip that crazy diet that says eliminate most of your carbs and replace them with fat. That is malarkey (IMHO)!
Diets
I already stabbed the Atkins diet in the back… Need I say more? I am against diets (per se). When I hear “diet,” I hear, “DIE… et.” This just doesn’t ring true to my uber-sensitive ears. Instead of a diet (which comes and goes like the wind), why not create a nutritional plan that you can live the rest of your life with?
Vitamins
Do you need them? How much is too much? When should you take them? Is Santa Claus real? I can answer some of these questions…
Vitamins are an obvious necessity in your life. However, there is a craze and hype out there stating that you must take loads of them. Most people eat a nutritious enough diet to receive most of the daily vitamin needs that their body craves.
I take a multi-vitamin (half of the bottle’s recommended dosage) each night. I determined (by the deep yellow urine I was excreting) that I only needed half of the manufacturer’s recommended dosage.
Supplements
I really dig some of the benefits of Creatine. I usually take Creatine Monohydrate (5 grams per day). I haven’t found any other supplements that do anything for me. I should mention that since starting the H.I.T. style of working out, Creatine does less for me than before.
I will drink a weight gain shake and things along those lines, but I stay away from the majority of supplements that are available. There is a HUGE market out there. And, people spend gazillions on supplements that don't really do anything for you. The best advice I can give you is to baseline yourself before and after taking anything and see if/where it gave you improvements.
Alcohol, Caffeine and Nicotine
This is a tough subject for me. I indulge in all of these. However, I should mention that moderation has been my key to success. I may smoke one or two cigarettes per year (at least one on Thanksgiving after turkey and stuffing), several cigars throughout the year and an occasional pipe (tobacco only, folks). I also have been known to dabble in a little drinking from time-to-time. Probably my biggest crutch is the caffeine... I go through stages of not drinking any to five cups of coffee per day.
"Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess!"
-Oscar Wilde
While this quote stirs feelings and sounds really COo.oOL, I must admit that I am a fan of moderation. This is true of more than alcohol and nicotine... I find that it works for everything in life. Try it on for size and let me know what you think.
Until next time, gambatte kudasai!
Mar/092
Fitness
There is a fad that is sweeping across America (and the world for that matter). It is categorized as healthier living. With more than 30% of Americans being classified as obese, it is time for this fad to kick into action!
Gratuitous Disclaimer: I’m afraid that before I talk about this fantastic subject, I must first warn you of the inherent danger associated with it… Working out and exercise can be dangerous. You can be seriously injured, crippled or killed. The opinions, stories and ideas presented here are my own and do not constitute a recommendation of or endorsement for any particular or general use. You should seek a professional medical evaluation before starting an exercise program. If you choose to workout, you do so at your own risk.
With that painful dissertation out of the way...
Exercise is an essential part of life. Without it, our immune system falters, our muscles atrophy and fat reigns in our bodies. On top of all that hype, I am in really good shape. As I type this Blog entry, my weight is 191 pounds and I have ~10% body fat. I am stronger than I’ve ever been in my life and I am 42 years old. Don’t let my young age scare you away… There are people in their 70’s who are still weight lifting and having excellent results and gains! Join the mayhem!
There are literally hundreds of reasons to exercise... My top picks are these:
Those are just some of my reasons for staying in shape, but you get the point… Now, I want to address some of the more popular ways to achieve this so called strength and physical fitness level.
Anaerobic
In it’s simplest description, anaerobic training is bursts of high activity that trigger anaerobic metabolism and result in lactic acid creation. One of the most famous forms of anaerobic exercise is weight lifting. Athletes and fitness buffs use anaerobic exercise to strengthen and/or increase muscle. Basically, you work yourself until ample lactic acid builds up in your targeted muscle group and they fail.
For strength training, most people will try to do between four and eight repetitions of exercise in each set. By doing eight or fewer repetitions, you are primarily targeting the fast twitch (power) muscles. It is essential that you bring the muscle group to complete failure (sometime beyond failure with advanced techniques like negatives, stripping, etc.)
For mass training (think bodybuilding), most weight lifters will shoot for muscular failure between eight and twelve reps. This allows the fast and slow twitch muscles to be a part of the exercise and gives the most overall growth potential.
Endurance training (and/or trimming) usually entails doing more than 12 repetitions, as this will primarily use slow twitch (or endurance) muscles. And, fat is burned as you keep your heart rate high for an extended period of time.
Aerobic
The jury is still out on what type of aerobic activity is better than another. I use aerobic exercise like running to burn fat. I shoot for three days per week (with rest days between each session). During each daily activity, I try to workout for 45 minutes and get my heart rate into a target area of 75-90% of my maximum predicted heart rate (MPHR = 220-your age). I should mention that I do not believe in this formula, because I am 42 years old and have had my heart rate up to 192! Your true MHR can be determined by a physician using a standard Stress Test.
Walking
Except to get from point A to point B, I don’t walk much. I find it boring and it takes forever to get what I want from it. Instead, I will run or use the elliptical. I should mention that I do walk before and after my runs as a warm-up and cool down.
I know that many people swear by walking, so I didn’t want to leave it out… However, it ain’t my cup of tea. To reiterate, I do walk a good distance each day, but not for exercise, I use it to get from point A to point B.
Swimming
I swim a couple of times per year. If I had a heated pool (or indoor) I’m sure I would do this on a regular basis. I think that swimming may be the best way to get a serious aerobic workout. If you do this, good on you!
Stretching
Stretching is great to help relieve muscle aches after workouts and runs. It’s also keeps you flexible, renews energy and helps to avoid injuries. For this reason, I believe that stretching should be a part of everyone’s workout plan. I stretch on my aerobic days. I stretch large muscle groups by slowly (never go fast, bounce or jerk) moving into the stretch and holding it for 22 seconds. Near the end of my 22 seconds, I strive to stretch just a little bit deeper. Also, I only stretch after my workouts, as I have found that cold muscles do not stretch nearly as well and you might even invite injury or pain while stretching cold.
HIT and HIV!
Have you heard of HIT (high intensity training)? It is incredible! Essentially, it consists of lifting weights two (or fewer) days per week. Each workout is a full body workout and it only takes 27 minutes to complete.
I know what you’re thinking, How can you get a full body workout in fewer than 60 minutes per week? I’m here to tell you that it works. I have been doing HIT for more than a year now and I have made steady strength and mass gains since starting. For the first time in my life, I am relatively injury and pain free. If you wanna give HIT a try, start by checking out Dr. Ellington Darden’s HIT forum:
http://www.drdarden.com
Also, I would suggest picking up his book: The New High Intensity Training.
That’s it for exercise… If you would like to learn more, simply drop by my forum and checkout the Fitness board here:
http://www.vaughnripley.com/forum/index.php?board=14.0
Cheers,
Rip
WARNING (in case you missed the first one): Working out and exercise can be dangerous. You can be seriously injured, crippled or killed. The opinions, stories and ideas presented here are my own and do not constitute a recommendation of or endorsement for any particular or general use. You should seek a professional medical evaluation before starting an exercise program. If you choose to workout, you do so at your own risk.