Book Review: The first twenty minutes

Review of "The first 20 Minutes" a book by Gretchen Reynolds

"The first 20 minutes" was another grab at Easons for the buy One get one half price promotion. Easons's marketing definitely works on me... As i am currently preparing for a marathon i thought it might come in handy to read a book which claims to tell you how to excercise better, train smarter and livelonger.

Gretchen Reynolds is a writer for the New York times column Phys Ed. As a mother, pet owner and fulltime worker she understands the challenges the average Joe faces when it comes to excercising. 

The book mainly describes an accumulation on experiments which have been done on mice, rats, humans, apes and other specimen to see how exercise influences their capabilities regarding movement and intelligence. At the end of each chapter there are tips on how to stretch, improve your balance or keeping a better diet to support your sport efforts.

The book is rather short and fast to read through. The language is easy and straight forward. The balance between description of experiments and the author's own experience is balanced and helps to make the content more accessible. 

I was surprised that low fat chocolate milk could such a good isotonic drink. There was no hesitation to add this to my diet plan to be drunken after my runs and workouts. The insights about stretching came as a surprise to me. Still I would have liked to know how stretching after excercise is evaluated by the experts. In total I took away from this book that science seems to agree to disagree about the major questions of excercising and is following a path of listening to your own body whilst challenging oneself. If you need someone to show you why you should get yourself up and running this book is ideal as the insight on the aging process with and without exercise is compelling. For sport pros this isn't that right choice except you want to take away just one or two new ideas,as there are no detailed training and nutrition plans in this book. Entertaining read for beginners and the generally interested.

Book review: Empire of the summer moon

Colts, Cowboys & Quannah Parker: The last chief of the Comanches

If you like Texas, colts, cowboys, politics, American history and stories about undermined minorities or just one of the mentioned this book will be a delight for you. If you do not like war stories, blood and gore, stories about rape, death and Indians do not waste your time on this formidable book and opt for fantasy.

Book Review: Michael Collins Biography by Timothy Patrick Coogan

National hero and brave soldier or traitor and criminal serial killer?

Depending which party you are a member of or vote for in Ireland you might have a very different opinion about this very question. Timothy Patrick Coogan is a well regarded editor and author of books about the IRA, Eamon De Valera and obviously Michael Collins. The scandal in 2012 in which the United States Embassy in Dublin denied Timothy Patrick Coogan twice to enter the country renews the interest in his work.

Can marathoners be good crossfitters ?

Smart crossfit

Once you have your goals defined the next step is to get a plan in place. Once the plan is in place you need to track your progress. My plan is to be able to do a muscle up and hand stand push up by the end of the year, because they are major components in many of the hero workouts from Crossfit. This leads inevitably into how to track your progress towards that goal, because otherwise you won´t know how to adjust. Competition is also a nice component to help you excel. Here is where apps can come in handy.

Currently I use the following apps to keep track of my progress:

1. Nike + Run App
2. Beyond the whiteboard
3. 30 day ab challenge
4. 30 day push up challenge
5. Stronglifts 5x5 App

Can marathoners be good crossfitters ? First progress

After the cat rescue at the weekend and improving my personal record for 5 mile to 32:52 i entered a membership in my local gym. Currently I do not own a power rack and this is why I decided to sign up, as I want to test the Stronglifts 5x5 program. I also added kettlebell swings to my training routine with first results.

Book review: Malcom X, A life of reinvention

Is Malcolm X a hate preacher or a martyr? Review of “Malcom X:

 A Life of reinvention” by Manning Marable

Do you know Malcolm X from posters and t shirts of rappers as a sign of rebellion, with him referring to whites as “White Devils” and being the example of one the most extreme figures of the civil rights movement in the sixties. Is this really all to this historic figure?

How to rescue a cat and improve your run time on 5 miles

 No, i didn´t get chased by a dog holding a cat to improve my 5 mile run time. Even though this might be a good idea to run faster, especially if the dog is big enough. The weekend of the 28.06.2014 has been pretty eventful for me as I rescued a cat from drowning in the liffey and ran a 5 mile personal best. And it seems it is still not over, as I am going fishing tomorrow.

On the question of intelligence

What is it about our society that we seem to strive for ever more knowledge? Apparently it is best to be the most knowledgeable person who can constantly outsmart your peers at work or give advice to the ones you love. How does that lead to a more satisfied live? How does this lead to more success? This article expresses my current thoughts on being more intelligent or having more knowledge, which in my opinion are not one and the same thing. The following doesn't claim to be scientifically correct, as I would spent my entire life to produce the evidence. I shall call it common sense or logic, even though Spok might disagree. Let´s think deeper.

What will weight lifting look like in a 100 years?

Let´s mix some sciene fiction with something that most commonly is perceived as a dull sport for the not so smart if we believe movie prejudices. Arnold Schwarzenegger definetly did not help by picking a robot and a sword swinging barbarian as his first movie apperances to counteract this prejudice. You might reconsider when you listen to him reflect on how to become successful.

How to solve the biggest problems with running

What we know we should do...

How often did you think about losing weight ? What would you do if you could just get fit ? How great would it be to run 5k, 10k, a half marathon or even run a marathon ? How jealous would the neighbours and old school friends be if you came back to your form from ten years ago ? All these things are running through many heads when stepping on a scale, the doctor says you should excercise more or the favourite trousers just won´t fit anymore. But there are obstacles which we put in our own way to stop us from running or getting healthier.