Fear, Sunlight, and Why We Get Sick
LISS vs. HIIT, importance of sunlight, and exercise benefits for mental health and substance abuse treatment
The Cultured Warrior Newsletter #002
Thoughts to Ponder:
Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.
~Sigmund Freud
Being strong is easy, until it’s not. Being grateful is easy when things are going great. When things suck is really when you need your strength, when you benefit most from gratitude. Weakness is born from insecurity. The more we “lean in” to our fears and expose our own vulnerabilities, ironically, the stronger, more secure, and more confident we become.
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
~ C.S. Lewis
In just about everything in life, the best times to start something are: 10 years ago, yesterday, and today. We are dead, in the sense that we’ve stopped living, the moment we decide we’re too old to change. There will always be problems, barriers, and unfair people / circumstances. Don’t let your own attitude be one of them. If you’re putting limitations on yourself, you’ve set a wonderful precedent for everyone else.
Things I’m Reading:
Why We Get Sick by Ben Bikman
I’m about half way through this one and will probably have to read it again. It’s a pretty quick read, but also dense at some points. I’ve heard Ben on several podcasts, and if you’re not familiar, he’s published quite a bit of material about insulin resistance (pre-diabetes / type 2 diabetes to be less formal) and the myriad of medical issues it underlies. For only about 200 pages or so it’s quite a large bang-for-your-buck.
Effects of 12-week aerobic exercise on cue-induced drug craving…) in Mental Health and Physical Activity
12 weeks of high intensity aerobic activity showed improvements in working memory and cue-induced drug cravings for patients in treatment for methamphetamine use. However, there was no noted difference in “inhibitory control.” Meaning, cues / cravings were less frequent, but physical activity didn’t seem to have an effect on ability to resist the craving(‘s intensity).
A feasibility study of a peer-facilitated physical activity intervention in methadone maintenance in Mental Health and Physical Activity
“There were small-to-moderate effect sizes for increases in (physical activity), positive affect, and benefits of (physical activity), and decreases in illicit opioid use and barriers to (physical activity). No changes in depression, anxiety, and negative affect were observed from baseline to the end of the 12-week intervention.” It should be noted here that the “activity” was a walking group. So, this is still good information letting us know what light activity can serve as a segue to more intense activity which does have an effect on mood.
Resources to Thrive:
Dminder App (Android | Apple):
I haven’t had labs done to test the accuracy of the app with my actual blood levels of Vitamin D, but with autumn closing in on us, it’s a good tool to have to at least give you a “ball park” estimate of how much sunlight and Vitamin D you’re getting
From The Fundamental Health Podcast: How to look better naked by losing fat without counting calories with Sal Di Stefano:
“Sal Di Stefano is a personal trainer and co-founder of Mind Pump Media and co-host of Mind Pump, an online radio show/podcast that is dedicated to providing truthful fitness and health information. He is also the designer of the Muscular Adaptation Programming System (MAPS). Sal is dedicated to prioritizing health over appearance, and he aims to shift the direction of the fitness industry from aesthetic- and insecurity-based to one based in self-love and self-care.”
Trainer’s Corner:
Recently I announced this challenge on Instagram. The rules are simple.
Use any size kettle bell and any number of sets to complete 400 KB swings / day (at the time the challenge was announced that’s bring you to about 10,000 total swings by the due date!)
Get an average of 5,000 IU of Vitamin D from the sun (not including diet and supplements) / day. Use the Dminder app mentioned above!
Sometimes the swings are hard for me to remember to do amid other training, but if I forget I squeeze in some squats every time I go to the bathroom …. seriously! Dminder says I’ve gotten about 60k IU of Vitamin D in the last 7 days. Hell ya!