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HELPFULL TIPS TO GET HEALTHY BY STARTING A REGULAR WORKOUT

June 10, 2015 listerlogic@hotmail.com Leave a comment

When it comes to exercise, your brain will lie to you. “Its too late”, “it’s too cold”, “I’m too tired” are just some of the things our brains will try to convince us of when it comes time to workout, all these excuses should be considered lies unless proven otherwise. “What’s the big deal” your brain will argue “Its only 1 workout”. It may not seem like a big deal to miss 1 workout, but 1 soon turns to 2 and the next thing you know your back to couch potato status with a dusty pair of running shoes in the closet. Ok, maybe if running is your thing and there’s a category 4 hurricane going on out side or it’s your 25th wedding anniversary you can skip the workout that day, otherwise just get at it. You will feel so much better afterwards.

This is one of many things I realized that helped me go from 2 chins to 1 and feel so much better by just doing a one hour workout every second day. Most people give up after a few months of starting a regular exercise routine, myself included but by learning first hand what pitfalls to watch out for and how to get through them, I have been able to stay on a regular routine for the past 10 years and what I’ve learned can help you do the same.

Know what your in for. The first thing you have to ask yourself is are you ready to commit 60 minutes every second day FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE to staying healthy? A popular misconception is you only have to exercise long enough to loose weight then you can stop and go back to what you were doing before, but most people that do this soon put the weight back on and start feeling the same as before. To succeed you have to be mentally prepared to keep it up year after year. This may sound hard but if you can make it through the first year it starts to become a regular part of your life’s busy schedule and requires a lot less motivation to keep up.

What do you have to do? I recommend any cardio workout, that can be anything that gets your heart rate up to a point just before you are not so out of breath you can’t speak and keeps it there for 60 minutes. It’s important to know that if you exert yourself too much you will not be able to maintain it for more than about 5 minutes no matter how tough you are. If your doing it right and exercising at room temperature your t-shirt should be wet from sweat by the end of the 60 minutes. I found that any activity I’ve chosen that does this has resulted in weight loss on all parts of my body, including my chin.

See your Doctor. Ok this is nothing you haven’t heard before but it’s important enough to stress again. Get a complete physical done and if that’s not possible at least see your doctor for a regular visit and let him/her know that you are planning to start working out and follow any advise or warnings you are given.

Starting out When you first start out try a 10 minute workout every second day, then add 5 minutes every 2 weeks until you get to 60 minutes every other day.

Ok, you are now mentally ready and committed to a regular workout and your doctor has given you the all clear. “What do I do and what will it cost?” I recommend you keep it simple and try to exercise from home by jogging, using an elliptical machine, or even an exercise bike with the moving handles. By exercising at home there is no added driving time to cut into your busy schedule. The 60 minute workout will take you 60 minutes and you can do it any time of the day or night. More than a few times over the years I’ve finished my home workout after midnight.

Choosing your exercise

Jogging- Jogging from your house is probably the cheapest and easiest thing to do but can be hard to get started (see “mentally surviving the workout “below). The cost of a pair of running shoes is all that’s involved and there is the mental stimulus of changing scenery. Jogging at night I find to be very peaceful and if there’s a coffee shop mid run stop and take a break. The negative things about running are the incredible pounding your joints take, so if you are starting off on the heavy side, have foot, knee or ankle problems jogging may not be right for you. Also on the downside you have weather, traffic, and sometimes unsafe neighborhoods. I have ran in all types of weather, and it is possible. In winter always wear a hat and gloves as these 2 extremities always seem to get cold. Wear something reflective and when crossing the road always check for traffic especially if your wearing earphones. I used to jog in a rough neighborhood with the belief that most gang members are lousy shots and few are willing to chase someone running. If you decide to run in a bad area or at night never stop to engage in a conversation with anyone, if someone talks to you just smile and keep going, carry one piece of ID, enough money for a coffee, your keys, and maybe a cell phone.
Elliptical machine or exercise bike -After an ankle injury a few years ago I can no longer take the pounding from jogging so the elliptical is what I use to work out now and I highly recommend it. Look for a machine that has smooth even tension. You can pay up into the thousands for an elliptical machine or exercise bike but if your under 200 pounds, I recommend spending no more than $200.00 for either at a reputable department store. If you find it’s not right for you most stores will allow you to return it. (The elliptical I use in the photo above cost $169.00). If your confident buying used there are deals to be had for as little as $40.00 or less at garage sales. Avoid buying used in the month of January when everyone is buying up exercise equipment for their New Years resolution (if you have used exercise equipment to sell January will get you the biggest buck).
Treadmill – I’m not a big fan of the treadmill but they do work. You will find that you have to run on the treadmill to get your heart rate up enough so you will need to spend a lot of money for one that will take the pounding.
Weights– Weights won’t get your heart rate up and are used more to build up muscle. I would wait until you’ve got through doing one year of cardio. If after a year you feel you could devote more time to working out and want to advance, weights are a great idea.
Joining a club -Having the use of some of the better exercise equipment and more variety, access to a personal trainer, and a variety of fitness classes make joining a club quite appealing. There is also the social aspect where you can meet and make friends. On the downside clubs can be expensive, if your busy, the time needed to travel to and from the club can turn a quick 60 minute workout into most of your evening. Even the variety of exercise equipment will become boring after a while and if it’s busy you may have to wait for a particular piece of equipment to become available.
That new revolutionary “Seen on TV” exercise machine – We have all seen the commercials for the machine that exercises every muscle in your body in half the time. Don’t waste your money, most are just gimmicks and although they will get your heart rate up, the novelty well wear off quickly and they will become just as boring as any other exercise method. There are no short cuts, you have to put in the time.
Sports, exercise classes, and other physical activity Great!! This is the best way. When ever possible substitute your workout for anything that is fun, gets your heart up and keeps your mind busy. Most of these rarely happen every 2nd day so you still need something as a backup.

Mentally surviving the workout

Its time for your workout and you are just too tired. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to just get started when you feel like this. Even if you start your workout at a snails pace, in most cases after 5 or 10 minutes your body will begin to wake up and before you know it your energy will return. Not only that but at the end of the workout you will usually feel like you have more energy then before you started. It doesn’t seem to matter how many years you have been exercising or what shape your in, there is always going to be times when you feel too tired to start.

Give your body time to adjust to a repetitive exercise. When doing any repetitive exercise like the elliptical or especially something hard to start like jogging, start out as slow as possible to keep your heart rate down to a sustainable level until your body adjusts. You should not be breathing so hard you can’t talk. If you can do this for 10 to 15 minutes something amazing happens. Its as if your body increases blood flow to the muscles being used and restricts blood flow to the ones that aren’t and the exercise becomes easier. So don’t give up too soon thinking you can’t do it. Also because of this be careful after stopping a repetitive exercise, some of muscles used for walking may not work right for a minute or two.

Surviving the boredom- Once your body gets over the initial strain of starting a repetitive exercise (about 10 minutes) it becomes easier with just a constant moderate discomfort from the physical exertion. At this point the brain numbing boredom soon begins. Your brain needs something to distract it from the exercise and get it to stop thinking about time. I have seen some people read or watch TV but I find listening to music is the best way to both take your mind off the exercise and give you motivation.

Music – Music is the best way to overcome the boredom of the workout, classical won’t cut it here, the fastest motivational music you are into at the highest safe volume the better. I prefer an MP3 player to the radio because you can have all music. It’s hard to get motivated by news and commercials which is all the radio seems to play when it comes time for your workout. Work on getting a large quantity of songs to avoid getting sick of the same ones over and over.

Once you have been exercising for more than 10 minutes and one of your favorite songs comes on, this is the time to push yourself to the limit. Forget everything I said before about not exerting yourself too much. Use the motivation from the music and go as fast as you can. You should be breathing so fast it’s hard to talk. Try to keep it up until the end of the song then slow back down to the speed you were doing before, don’t stop. Everyone’s exercising heart rate is different and you will soon start learning your own personal limits based on how fast your breathing is.

Benefits of Working out

It won’t be long before you start loosing weight and feeling better with more energy and more confidence in yourself. This healthy feeling from exercise becomes contagious. I have found since I started working out I’m not as hungry and feel full without eating as much. When I do eat I tend to make healthier decisions because I want to, not because I should.

If you can get through the first year, Congratulations! You have made it past the hardest part and will find it so much easier to keep going, so don’t stop. Not only that, if you’ve ever dreamed of completing a triathlon or climbing a mountain, you are now closer than you think. With determination, a longer workout and proper training I have no doubt you can accomplish amazing things.

I know…….I’ve done it.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com

5- SCIENCE THEORIES

DOES SOME TIME FLY? CONCEPTS OF TIME / BIOLOGICAL TIME DILATION

May 12, 2015 listerlogic@hotmail.com Leave a comment

TIME To a fly, a fly swatter is the size of tennis court and to avoid getting killed it must react, and fly 6 to 10 times it’s body length all in a fraction of a second. Yet a fly’s brain is smaller then the head of a pin and even with our superior brain, strength, size, and armed with a fly swatter we sometimes miss. How is this possible?

Could time pass at different speeds for different animals?

What if 1 second of our time passed like a minute for a fly? If so, the fly would see us as moving in very slow motion and could easily get out of the way of the fly swatter in time. The fly’s seeming short life span of 5 weeks for us, could seem like many years to a fly.

Most of us have herd the term “Dog Years”, meaning that dogs compared to us seem to age 7 years for every 1 of ours, or 7 times faster then us. What if time for dogs passes 7 times faster then us? Although not nearly as slowly, dogs, like flies would see us moving in slow motion. Dogs may also feel as though they lived as long as us. It could also explain how fast and quick dogs can be compared to us. It’s always amazed me how with a dog by your side, you can throw a frisbee and in the 4 seconds it takes to travel 50 meters, the dog can run that distance and catch it before it hits the ground. If time for the dog is 7 times faster then us and was adjusted to our time, it would be the same for us to run 50 meters in 28 seconds (7 x 4=28), that’s easy to do for most people.

On the other hand most animals that are larger then us, like elephants, seem to move slowly compared to us. In the wild elephants can live up to 70 of our years. Could time for elephants pass slightly slower then it does for us? Does time pass faster the smaller the animal is and slower the larger it is.

Does the size or mass of an animal effect how fast time passes?

The idea of time passing at different rates is not new. In the 1800’s, Albert Einstein came up with the ”The Special Theory of Relativity” meaning the faster you travel the more time slows down. His scale being the speed of light that travels at 186,000 miles per second made it difficult to test back in his day. If you could travel at the speed of light you would be able to circle the Earth 7 times in one second. Now with rockets that reach speeds that barely register on this scale there is strong evidence he was right. Time sensitive satellites in Earth orbit must continuously have their clocks adjusted. Even though the adjustment is small, so is the velocity of the satellite compared to the speed of light. If this theory holds true on a larger scale and if a person on earth could observe someone by video, in a rocket traveling close to the speed of light, they would seem to move in slow motion and have a much longer life span. The opposite would be true if the person in the rocket could observe someone on earth by video, they would be moving very fast and age quicker.

Obviously different animals on Earth are not flying around at the speed of light but what about their brains? Like light, the electromagnetic wave from electricity also travels at 186,000 miles per second. Our brains are electrical and work by transmission of small electrochemical transmissions between neurons. Smaller animals generally have smaller brains so the electrical transmissions would not take as long to get from one side of the brain to the other or from one part of their body to the other. The human brain being thousands of times larger than a fly’s would take thousands of times longer for a signal to get from one side to the other. Could this cause us to think slower, react slower, move slower. Could this have a time altering effect?

Einstein did not stop with ” The Special Theory of Relativity” as being the only thing that effects how fast time exists, he also came up with the theory of “Gravitational Time Dilation”. With this theory the closer someone is to a large mass the more time would slow down for them. His scale for this is also big as he compared a large mass to be that of a black hole. A black hole is formed from a massive star in space that has run out of fuel and collapsed to a small point, imagine a million of our suns crushed down so small they would fit in a small house. The gravity from a black hole is almost unimaginable. On earth we weigh more then we would on the moon because gravity becomes stronger the bigger the mass. On a black hole the gravity is so strong that it can bend even light towards it. This theory of Einstein’s was also difficult to prove years ago but through experiments now using the Earth’s mass and extremely accurate clocks on spacecraft, they do in fact start to run faster the further they get away from the mass of the Earth. If this theory holds true on a larger scale and a person on Earth could view someone by video near a black hole, they would move in slow motion and live much longer then the person on Earth. The opposite is true for the person by the black hole watching a person back on earth by video, they would be moving very fast and age much quicker.

Still there are no black holes on earth that could explain how time seems to pass at different speeds for animals of different masses but what if you imagine a person having the mass of a black hole and a fly having a mass of the Earth. If this was possible and Einstein’s theory is right then the person and the fly would experience time at different rates like the example above. Would the same time difference continue to hold true as the scale was reduced to our current sizes? If not at what point would it stop?

For years scientists have been baffled to explain exactly how birds are able to flap their wings fast enough to fly but what if birds also experience time faster then us but the laws of physics remain constant. If a bird has to flap his wings 8 times in a second our time to fly but experiences time 16 times faster then us, it would only have to flap its wings once every 2 seconds of its time to fly.

Einstein discovered 2 things that can alter time: mass, and speed. Could one of these things explain why different animals seem to live at different speeds? Could there be other unknown influences, maybe a “Biological Time Dilation” with yet to be discovered parameters? The next time you observe a small animal imagine them in a time altered state? Would they appear to move and react more like us if you could slow down there movements?

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com

6- INVENTIONS

SAVING ENERGY WITH SMART BLINDS & RADIANT HEAT / INVENTION IDEA

April 16, 2015 listerlogic@hotmail.com Leave a comment

If you have a large window in your house that gets a lot of sun, whether the blinds are open or closed through out the day could make a significant difference in your heating and cooling energy costs.

The photo below shows the difference in temperature inside and outside a parked car in the winter. The temperature inside the car is about 20 degrees Celsius warmer then outside.

What if your blinds worked automatically to take advantage of this heat energy. In the winter time when the sun was shinning through the window the blinds would open to use the radiant heat from the sun to help heat the house and at night or when it was cloudy the blinds would close to help insulate from the outside cold.

We all know how much heat can build up in a car in the summer and the same goes for your house if the sun is shining in. In the summer time the blinds would do the opposite. When the sun was shining through the window the blinds would close keeping the house cooler and saving on air conditioning costs.

PROTOTYPE PLANS

Only when direct sunlight comes in contact with the solar cell would the circuit board activate the motor. When the 3 way switch was set to winter the blinds would open but when there is no direct sunlight making contact with the solar cell the blinds would close. When the switch is in the manual position the power is disconnected to the motor and the blinds remain in what ever position they are set. When set for summer the blinds would close whenever direct sunlight comes in contact with the solar cell. The solar cell would also keep the 2 x “AA” rechargeable batteries charged.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com

Note: This is an original idea by me but there may be similar products or patents already. I am not an expert, if you attempt to build always consult with an expert and check with all local code and laws. Build at own risk.

3- SOLVING WORLD PROBLEMS

ARE WE FALLING BEHIND IN EVOLUTION?

March 31, 2015 listerlogic@hotmail.com Leave a comment

From the beginning of life on Earth all species have evolved through the process of natural selection. With natural selection only the strongest of each species survived to reproduce and pass on their unique genetics to there young. If the gene combination between the male and female was not favorable the offspring would not survive, but if it was good, a healthy, strong, disease resistant offspring would survive to reproduce again. Over time the species would gradually evolve. For hundreds of thousands of years humans have been no exception, until now.

How will the rapid and continuing advances in Medical Science over the last 100 years effect the genetics of our future generations?

Is medical science making us sicker?

Out of all the people close to you, take a moment to think about how many would not still be alive if not for recent advances in medical science such as asthma treatments, cancer treatments, antibiotics, surgeries etc.? The fact is medical science has saved a dramatic amount of lives but of all the people saved it has not done anything to change the genetics that caused the problems in the first place. Are weak and disease prone genes being passed on to our children causing them to be sicker and develop even more medical problems? Are we slowly becoming weaker as a population? Elementary schools have already shown a dramatic increase in the average number of students off sick on any given day as compared to 25 years ago. Is this just the beginning of what will be an ever increasing trend in the future?

Some might argue that there is no problem, people are living well into their 80’s now, but when you think about it people in their 80’s now were born back in the 1930’s. Their parents would have been born in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s back when Medical science was not nearly as advanced as it is now and didn’t have such a profound effect on natural selection. Being born with good healthy genes and having the benefits of modern medicine at a later age, these people could be on average one of the healthiest and longest living generations ever. Will we soon start seeing a decline in the average life expectancy of future generations?

Is Medical Science keeping up? We now have antibiotic resistant bacteria, superbugs, SARS, and most recently Ebola that has left scientists scrambling to find a cure. As bacteria and viruses continue to evolve and we become weaker what’s next? Will medical Science be able to keep up with our ever increasing genetic shortfalls? At what costs?

In some third world countries where modern medicine is not widely available the process of natural selection still continues. Are these people slowly becoming genetically stronger then the people in developed countries? If there was a new major global disease outbreak that science could not find a cure for quick enough are they more likely to survive?

Research into genetics and DNA is making dramatic differences in our lives today. We now have drought resistant crops, disease resistant livestock even apples that don’t go brown but when it comes to humans there is currently a moral barrier. Some people believe experimenting and altering genes and DNA in humans is crossing the line and too much like playing god. Have we already crossed the line? Does this line even exist or is it just our way of dealing with the current way we think? Aside from going back to natural selection is gene and DNA altering the only way for us to continue to survive and evolve?

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com

3- SOLVING WORLD PROBLEMS

DOES EARTH HAVE CANCER? / SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT

March 18, 2015 listerlogic@hotmail.com Leave a comment

Cancer can not survive without a host. In small numbers it goes basically undetected but as its numbers increase the effects begin to break down various systems of the host. Eventually the cancer becomes so large in numbers the host can no longer survive and dies, and with it so does the cancer.

Are we the cancer of the Earth?

In the last 50 years the world population has more then doubled from 3.3 billion to 7.3 billion people. At our current population the environment is already noticeably stressed. Estimates show that the world population could reach 9 billion by 2050. Even with breakthroughs in science how many people can the earth support? 10 billion? 15 billion? 500 billion? At what point will we realize we cannot go on the way we are and how badly damaged will the environment be by then? Will it be too late?

Cancer Cells have no idea that there ever increasing numbers will eventually kill there host, along with them.

Are we smarter then a cancer cell?

Evidence of how fast the population is growing is not hard to find. In Toronto Canada there are so many new condos going up it’s not uncommon to find 3 construction cranes close together.

The city of Bradford 65km to the north of Toronto has seen hundreds of acres of new housing built over the last 10 years, the edge of which can be seen in the distance of this photo. In the next 2 years housing will cover all of the empty field shown.

Tapping the brakes on world population

Raising a child is one of the greatest and most fulfilling basic things in life and no one should be denied the experience, however our current mind set that large families our enviable has to change and changing our mind set and values takes time. If the average family had only 1 or 2 children the world population would begin to decline. Even if the average amount of children per family were 2, the population would no longer increase. No one should be told how many children they are allowed to have but through education and government incentives on a national and global level people need to be encouraged to have smaller families. Our increasing population is by far the single greatest threat to ourselves and the environment, it is also the easiest thing to fix.

Currently in Canada the government is still encouraging large families and offers thousands of dollars in tax savings for every child you have, in effect paying Canadians to have more children. What would happen if the government announced over the next ten years these tax savings would not change for the first child, be reduced by one half for the second child and nothing for any additional children? Would Canadians reconsider how many children they are going to have? If not, what if the money the government saved from this was given as a form of tax credit to the families that just had one child or no children? It’s hard to say right now what and how much it would take in government incentives to get the average family size down to a sustainable level and no doubt incentives would vary between countries. Could there be other benefits to this kind of government policy? Would financial incentives to have less children also possible reduce the number of unwanted or abused children? Would having less children result in better care for the ones we have? The sooner we start, the more time we have to learn and adjust and the easier the transition will be.

Governments also need to do more when it comes to contraception. Young people need to be educated before the age they become sexually active. Affordable methods of contraception need to be made available to everyone and more research into new reliable methods needs to be done. The number of unplanned or unwanted pregnancies needs to be reduced as close to 0 as possible.

Not only do we need time to adjust to the idea of smaller families, what about the economy? How would a slowing population growth effect the economy? Doe’s our current economy rely on the pyramid system requiring more and more people every year to keep going? By a slow and gradual reduction in population growth we can hopefully avoid any major economic disasters.

We can no longer think that we can sit back and as long as we recycle, conserve energy, use green products and green companies that everything will be fine. The fact is unless we can start to control our population now all other efforts are for nothing. In the 5 minutes it took you to read this article there are over 700 more people on earth. By this time tomorrow there will be another 200,000.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com

(photo of Earth courtesy of NASA)

Lister Logic

All posts by listerlogic@hotmail.com