Dispatch #17
Skater squats, eating for eternal life, and do animals have emotions?
I don’t know if it’s official yet, but summer is over in my heart. This morning I could see my breath, had to wear a warm jacket while walking the dogs. That’s fine. Seasons come, seasons go. And while I do appreciate autumn’s charms and the festivities that accompany winter’s bitter chill, with each year my tolerance for cold weather diminishes.
Is this a normal part of aging? Does resilience dwindle with each new grey hair that sprouts from our temples? Or am I just a whiny brat? Only God can say…
The one good thing about summer ending is that my work calendar fills up quickly. People tend to refocus on their fitness goals after Labour Day. We’re only a few weeks into September and already I’m hearing from clients who’ve been MIA for months.
Does this sound like you? Are you feeling a little guilty for overindulging at the cottage all summer long? If so, I can help. I offer a wide range of personal training services, from private in-person sessions to remote training via Google Meet or Zoom.
If you’ve read my work in The Globe & Mail, you know my approach to fitness differs from the typical trainer. My system borrows bits from yoga, martial arts, gymnastics and good ol’ fashioned resistance training, combining them all into one neat little package. You’ll grow stronger. You’ll get more flexible. You’ll be more confident. And dare I say, you’ll even enjoy the process.
Want to learn more? Send me an email (paul@paullandini.com), reply to this newsletter, or comment below.
Brain & Body
I’m a big fan of multi-functional exercises. Why spend time training a single quality when you could be working on two or three all at once? Of course there is a time and a place for isolating body parts and for practicing basic movement patterns, but once you’ve advanced past the beginner stages adding some complexity is the easiest way to up the ante.
Enter the skater squat, one of my favourite single-leg exercises. Much like the deadlift, the skater squat develops both knee-dominant and hip-dominant movement patterns. What I truly love, though, is how the skater squat challenges balance, mobility, and coordination on top of also being a bad-ass display of strength.
When it comes to programming the skater squat, I typically follow one of two paths. If your balance isn’t the best, go with timed sets. This will allow you to focus more intently on staying steady. Set a timer for 30-60 seconds and get to work. If your balance is solid, shoot for anywhere from 8-12 reps. I like to pair the skater squat with high-volume Romanian deadlifts or kettlebell swings for a complete lower body workout.
Most “10 Best” lists are nothing bullshit clickbait. At first I thought this piece could easily be categorized as such (“longevity” is one of the more annoying fitness buzzwords), however upon closer inspection I deemed it appropriate to share.
What’s the one thing common to all these foods? They’re all plant-based! Coincidence? Not a chance, bud. A direct connection between plant-based diets and long lifespans has been well-established for years.
Keep in mind that “plant-based” and “vegan” are two very different approaches. A plant-based diet is one that is, well, mostly plants. There’s room for animal products in a plant-based diet, but they should be used sparingly and treated as condiments or sides rather than main courses.
Busting fitness myths is one of my favourite pastimes. I could (should??) create an entire newsletter focusing on this topic alone. For now, though, I’ll just share this piece and leave it at that.
Pay attention to points #3 (“Exercise needs to be ten minutes or longer, otherwise it’s a waste of time…”) and #6 (“Exercise will make me thin…”), for these are the most common myths I hear on a regular basis.
Heart & Soul
Psyche is quickly becoming one of my favourite websites. They’re masters of pop science, a genre that I absolutely love because it makes me feel smart without asking for too much in return. When’s the last time you picked up a science textbook? Not the most engaging of reads.
On the subject of reading, this piece offers some advice on how to become a more productive consumer of the written word. This is something I’ve struggled with a lot over the last five or so years. Once upon a time I was able to tear through a 300-page book in a weekend. Now it takes me months to match that output.
Or at least it used to. One of the keys to reading well is being honest with yourself. Do you really want to take a crack at Proust or would you rather read a paperback thriller? Over the last four weeks I’ve read two books, both of which are basically athletic gossip sagas. Not exactly the sort of stuff Pulitzers are made of.
The answer to this questions seems obvious to me (“yes, yes they do”), but then again I’ve been known to project my own feelings from time to time. Still, anyone who’s spent time around animals knows that they have very rich internal lives. When my dog Jean-Luc snuggles up beside me, is an expression of emotional longing, or is she just trying to get some food out of me?
I like what the author writes at the end. Rather than applying human-based ideals, let’s learn to respect animals on their own terms:
Perhaps it’s more respectful and scientifically useful to contemplate animals on their own terms. Dogs can smell things we cannot. Birds can see colours we cannot. So maybe they can also feel things we cannot. When one elephant stands by the body of another for days, clearly something is happening, but why must it be a primitive version of human grief? How do we know the elephant isn’t guarding the body from scavengers, gloating over the death of a rival, or experiencing something else that we can’t possibly comprehend? The idea that other animals share our emotions is compelling and intuitive, but the answers we provide may reveal more about us than about them.
Social Spotlight
Like it or not, social media has wormed its way into our world for good. For the most part hate this stuff. Twitter is a toxic hellhole. Facebook is an awful company that’s ruining democracy. TikTok is basically a weapon designed by China to make North Americans even more stupid. And LinkedIn appears to be populated mostly by bots who hope that their pyramid schemes masquerading as messages find us well.
But I digress…
This is a new section in which I draw your attention to social media channels that I find to be useful either because they’re funny or informative. Instagram is the only social site I use so there will be a slight bias towards their service. That said, if you have a favourite social media account that you think others should hear about, send me a message and I’ll consider it for a future spotlight.
If the PhD after his name didn’t give it away, Bill Campbell is smart. Along with being a exercise scientist, he is also really good at Instagram. His page is clean and easy to view. The content he shares is presented in a positive manner. A lot of social media experts appear to exist only to showcase how BRILLIANT they are. Not Bill. He seems to genuinely care about educating folks without gratifying his own ego. And for that, Bill Campbell, PhD, gets my stamp of approval.
That’s all for this week. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed to this newsletter. I love you all! Why not share that love, spread it far and wide, by inviting a friend or family member to join my mailing list?