2012 Year in Book Review

Friday, December 28, 2012

Mobility:

500 meter Row, build up intensity
10 Leg Swings
Posterior Chain Flossing with Band
Groiners
Overhead Band Distraction
T-spine Smash

Classic Programming:

Strength:

Every 40 seconds for 6 minutes (20 total reps):
2 Deadlifts

Notes: The weight on the bar should be challenging for 2 touch and go, technically sound deadlifts.  If you struggle to get into or maintain a good setup try elevating the bar to maintain good lumbar position.

Conditioning:

For time:
15 Strict Pull-ups
7 Push Press (155/105), no racks
12 Strict Pull-ups
7 Push Press
9 Strict Pull-ups
7 Push Press

-Then-

Row 100 Calories for time.

Advanced Programming:

Strength:

Every 40 seconds for 6 minutes (20 total reps):
2 Banded Deadlifts @ 60% bar weight

Notes: Does not have to be touch and go.  Focus on speed off the floor and adjust band size if needed.  You should feel added tension, but not to the point where it slows the lift down.

Conditioning:

For time:
7 Rope Climbs
7 Push Press (185/120), no racks
5 Rope Climbs
7 Push Press
3 Rope Climbs
7 Push Press

-Then-

Row 100 Calories for time.

Cool Down:

German Stretch
Straddle, 2 min
Pigeon, 1 min

Eshaan demos the German Stretch

“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” — Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

“The only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little farther down our particular path than we have yet got ourselves.” — E.M. Forster

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.” — Dr. Seuss, “I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!”

At the beginning of 2012 I set a goal to read two books a month, aiming for one fiction and one nonfiction.  I fell a little short at seventeen books, but I’m stoked about my progress.  This might be the most books I’ve read for pleasure, and not for a grade, in a single year in my entire life.  Next year I should shoot for thirty six books and I’ll probably read even more.  Here is my 2012 Year in Book Review in no particular order:

The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton
This book gets a little quacky at the end, but the beginning will stick with me for a long time.  He deconstructs the human body on a biological level and explains how the whole body is built on the foundation of individual cells.  This book has given me a greater understanding of the human body more than any other piece of literature. 

The Hunger Games / Catching Fire / Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
I resisted this series until the movie came out and everyone was going crazy.  I tend to read books that are adapted into movies because I like seeing the movie after to compare.  Still haven’t seen the first movie yet but the books were great.  I couldn’t put them down I was completely hooked. 

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This is the most amazing book, ever.  Every single sentence is a life lesson and an amazing quote.  I think the power of this book emanates from the simplicity of the language and of the message.  One of the easiest reads as well, you can finish this book in a day or two.  I’m thinking of making this a mandatory once a year read.

Natural Running by Danny Abshire
I picked up this book to learn a different perspective on barefoot running technique and see how it compared to Pose running.  A very detailed book that provides a powerful argument for forefoot running in opposition to the heel strike and the injuries associated with it.  It is very similar to Pose running using some of the same cues and drills, with a few minor differences.  This book has helped my coaching a lot. 

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
The review on the cover of this book is from Graham’s greatest student, Warren Buffet, “By far the best book on investing ever written.”  I wholeheartedly agree.  I picked up this book to study Buffets strategy in the stock market and understand value investing.  This book is very thick, 578 pages, and very dense, but the instructions for investing in the stock market are extremely simple and straightforward.  I am currently testing his theory out and will let you know in twenty years if it works. 

Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko
A recommendation from Samurai Zeb.  Marcinko is the founder of Seal Team Six, and he provides great detail about the personalities and training protocols of this elite unit. The book reflects the author and his extreme contrast to the clean cut Navy: foul mouthed, stubborn, quick to draw blows, cold blooded, and unapologetic.  I would not want to be his friend, but he is obsessed with counter terrorism and was damn good at his job.  I laughed out loud a bunch of times and had a fun adrenaline rush while reading this book.  Doom on you, Charlie.

Economía 3D by Martín Lousteau
Sadly this is the only Spanish language book I read this year, which as a Spanish major in college is unacceptable.  This freakonomics style book is written by one of the leading economist from Argentina, where I studied abroad for one year.  I was super excited to get a South American perspective on a range of different economic issues like happiness, sex, inequality, finances, investing, development, and economic crisis (which the Argentines are unfortunately too familiarly with).  This book makes a boring subject fun and accessible to the average person. 

Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss
If you don’t believe in reincarnation, or will at least allow your mind to entertain the idea, then you will hate this book.  If you have an open mind this book can be very stimulating about the meaning of life.

Angels Flight by Michael Connelly
I was reading this book on my lunch break from jury duty in Downtown LA, and I looked up and realized I was across the street from the actual Angels Flight railway cars.  All the scenes take place in actual locations in Los Angeles and my lunch breaks turned into scavenger hunts of locations and events in the book.  I explored and reconnected to the heart of my city like a traveler in a foreign land, and I am grateful for that coincidence.  

Barefoot Running by Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton
The most in depth book on barefoot running that I know of.  If you want to know the order in which your toes should hit the ground when running completely barefoot, no vibrams, then read this book.  The author also details the differences between his style and Pose running which was super convenient for me.  This book has also helped my coaching immensely. 

Earthing by Clint Ober
Earthing is touching the earth with your bare skin.  This book tells you all the benefits and physiological processes that occur when you do (spoiler:  it reduces inflammation in the body).  Next time pay attention to how your body feels after a walk on the beach.  Better?  Maybe it’s the electrons from the earth…

The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond 
We humans are the third chimpanzee.  This book takes an evolutionary perspective to review where we’ve come from, where we are now, and where we’re going in the future.  This book is awesome because it treats us like just another species on the planet and compares our past and present behavior to all other animals.  The in depth look at paleolithic man was also very cool.    

Rum Diary by Hunter Thompson
Admittedly I only read this book because of the recent movie adaptation.  I felt like I was transported back in time to the Wild Wild West era of Puerto Rico.  I was both happy and sad I wasn’t there to experience it in real life.  It was a super quick and easy read, but it kind of weirded me out.  The writing itself was great.  I still haven’t seen the movie though.

Neanderthin by Ray Audette
This is the book that got me to do the one week all pemmican diet.  This dude is hardcore and strict paleo and I loved his book.  His argument for and description of what is paleo is super succinct, less than a hundred pages, and makes total sense to me (spoiler: obesity is really an autoimmune disease).  He is not a nutritionist and takes on an evolutionary point of view to analyze health and fitness.  All the anthropological observations in this book are discussed in much greater detail in the Third Chimpanzee.

Dark Side of Fat Loss by Sean Croxton
This is an ebook by the host of the underground wellness podcast that I follow.  He plugs his book every show and I finally purchased it to see his work even though I’ve listened to the show for a year and already knew his stance on health and fitness.  The real reason for my purchase is that this is the book that I hope to write someday; a simple guide to living a healthy lifestyle.  Eat whole foods, don’t eat sugar, drink water and green tea, do high intensity exercise a few times a week, go hiking, get 8+ hours of sleep every night, make babies, be social and positive, stop stressing out and relax.