Fitness Through the Ages I: 'Dem Caveman Gains

With the first part in this 'Fitness Through the Ages' series, it would be obvious that we begin from the beginning of human kind. Good ol' Caveman, with his primitive means of obtaining food, required indomitable levels of fitness.  To get food, to gain sustenance, to provide for his family and community, Caveman would go hunt for days.  His survival depended on it.  How fit you were, determined how well you could obtain food to live another day.  Caveman gains,in essence.   

Life was far from sedentary

To stalk, to track, and then to have the stamina to kill, required a practiced level of accuracy, endurance, speed, and control in a state of fatigue. It was not just for the obtaining of food that early man needed to be fit.  Caveman was largely nomadic, moving where food was plentiful.  High endurance would have been essential to pick up and relocate, however far it was needed, to gain access to plentiful sources of fruits, vegetables, and wild game.  

When being FAT was considered being FIT

Its from this high need for energy to go look for food that having a fat storing capability was developed.  When food was hard to find, you could still get energy from fat that would be carried with you.  It'd keep you warm in the winter when food would be harder to find, allowing you to be 'fit', to survive in the conditions you were exposed to.  

Stalingrad the Movie: A Review

Explosions, fire, airplanes on fire with explosions, World War II army uniforms, and a calm, collective pianist.  Its like a Call of Duty commercial.  IN 3D!

Just like the first post on this blog was on Stalingrad, so to is its first movie review.  Stalingrad (2013) is a Russian production that just oozes with over-the-top action with a great story, and the nostalgia of Russian history.  A fictional tale of the battle of Stalingrad (hint: check back on the first post, )  this movie loosely bases itself on the story of Pavlov's House.  

A small group of Russian defenders are ordered to hold off a lone city apartment building to make way for the successful Russian retaliation against the Nazi-German army who has managed to engulf the city with heavy air-support and vicious tank armour.  This is the backdrop for a, you guessed it, all-demographic-encompassing, love story.  War, love, its like peanut butter and jelly folks!  

Still shooting while on fire:  The Phoenix Force is strong in this one

The over-dramatic action scenes play a huge role in the epic-ness of this movie but this reviewer is not complaining.  The Battle of Stalingrad, was...well, a battle.  A very insanely bloody one at that, with almost 2 million people killed and an entire city turned into a smoldering, demolition site.  However this battle would also spark a turn for the better for Russia, snow-balling into the eventual march of the Red Army into Hitler's HQ, Berlin.  

It is definitely worth seeing.  Sit back and enjoy!

Build Huge Guns, Fight Cancer

"Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it" - Plato (427-347 BC)

We all know that eating right and exercising are very important parts of life.  So important, that we should never stop doing them.  Your health can become at risk because of it.  But, it’s still hard to come across the idea that exercise can be and in fact is medicine in itself, especially against deadly illnesses like cancer.

Yes, cancer.

Exercise plays a crucial role in combating cancer. 

You’re probably thinking, “That’s really far-fetched.”  How can exercise compare to frightening radiation and chemotherapy? 

Actually not just exercise but specifically strength raining plays a huge role in fighting cancer. 

Helps in recovery from medical cancer treatments

Strength training can preserve the structural integrity of the body, leading to a better quality of life during heavy treatment.  A 2013 study by Hanson, Sheaff, Sood, Ma, Francis, Goldberg, and Hurley exemplifies this point.  A group of prostate cancer patients went through a very hard form of therapy called androgen deprivation (ADT).  Basically this therapy killed off all of their testosterone producing receptors to try and prevent the further growth of the cancer.  Usually this treatment leaves people feeling completely exhausted and depleted.  At the same time they went through a rigorous strength trianing program for twelve weeks. 

What were the findings?

Astoundingly, even with the almost-complete absence of testosterone, patients were still able to gain:

•           a 38% decrease in fatigue perception,
•           110% increase in muscular endurance, and a
•           20% increase in functional performance at the end of the study period with strength training. 

Yup, you read that right.  

Even without most of their testosterone, these men were able to see increases in performance and fatigue management, with the use of regular strength training. 

Think about this study the next time you shame a gym meat-head.  Shame on you!

Can reduce your chances of seeing cancer grow into something dangerous

A key benefit with strength is how well it can stimulate our immune system, along with improving lean body mass (the kind without fat). 

Why are these things important to fighting cancer? 

Well, we know that a better immune system will obviously mean a better means of fighting things such as free radicals and many foreign substances that can negatively alter cell replication, leading to the onset of cancer. 

But how is lean body mass important? 

It’s a cancer predictor.

A 2009 Swedish study on muscular strength and fat tissue was done in order to find if these factors were predictors of adulthood cancer mortality in men.  It was found that, ‘Higher levels of muscular strength are associated with lower cancer mortality risk in men....’ Through this ability to enable the body to better combat cancerous cells, strength training aids the body in the fight against this deadly disease.

Psychological benefits

You mental strength takes a huge toll when you face huge adversity.

They say that the body can only go as far as the mind wills it.  Even if your body can push further, if your mind quits, than so too will your body. 

It’s the same thing with fighting a hard-hitting disease like cancer. 

That’s why the way that strength training can improve the outlook of cancer patients is crucial to understand.  

In a study by Ohira, Schmitz, Ahmed, and Yee the effects of weight training on quality of life in recent breast cancer survivors showed that over a period of six months twice-a-week, regular, and vigorous, resistance training, the 86 cancer survivors in the study experienced an increased quality of life through improvements in body composition and strength.  Patients felt that the resistance training improved their self-confidence strength, speed, endurance, body-aches, appearance, and sleep quality.  Comments on progress from some patients included:

“I can open jars by myself now,”

“I feel confident to move heavier things around the house,”

“I have more energy than I have ever had,”

“I am trying new activities.”

They felt emancipated from their illness. 

These cancer survivors felt mentally empowered because they had become physically more powerful.  Their improvement in quality of life was as a result of progress made in strength training. 

So next time you think about skipping out on your strength training, realize that it plays a greater role in your overall health than you thought.  It’s not just about building ‘huge guns’ and an awesome physique (insert ‘suns out, guns out’ quote).  Rather its benefits play a more holistic role in improved physical performance and combating major illnesses.   

___________________________

Resources:

Hanson, E. D., A. K. Sheaff, S. Sood, L. Ma, J. D. Francis, A. P. Goldberg, and B. F. Hurley. "Strength Training Induces Muscle Hypertrophy and Functional Gains in Black Prostate Cancer Patients Despite Androgen Deprivation Therapy." The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 68.4 (2013): 490-98. Web.

Ohira, T,, K. H. Schmitz, R. L. Ahmed, and D. Yee. "Effects of Weight Training on Quality of Life in Recent Breast Cancer Survivors: The Weight Training for Breast Cancer Survivors (WTBS) Study." Cancer 9th ser. 1013.106 (2006): 2076-083. PubMed. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. 

Ruiz, J. R., X. Sui, F. Lobelo, D.-C. Lee, J. R. Morrow, A. W. Jackson, J. R. Hebert, C. E. Matthews, M. Sjostrom, and S. N. Blair. "Muscular Strength and Adiposity as Predictors of Adulthood Cancer Mortality in Men." Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention 18.5 (2009): 1468-476. Web. 

Genghis Khan Misunderstood Part III

The face of women's suffrage 

In Parts I and II we talked about Genghis Khan's appreciation for education and his tolerable side to religion.  Now, in the third segment of the Genghis Khan series we will look at the oft quoted trait of conquerors:

Their maltreatment of women.  

After all, when we think of conquering, we hear the phrase 'raping and pillaging' quite often.  It has been often associated with the violent disruption of peace in towns and cities when rule changes occur, especially during sieges, where the very city is at battle with the invader.  

Genghis Khan and his Mongols were no different in this matter.  It would be too far-fetched of a statement to say that his conquests did not involve rape.  It was prominent to say the least. However it might come at a surprise that this defiler of women was also a prominent figure in improving women's rights amongst his own expanding nation. 

Intentional?  

Unintentional?  

That's debatable.  

In large part, many of his reforms led to greater overall unity in the empire and, it is safe to say, that that was his overall goal in the raising of women's rights.  But it does not deter from the fact that his reign did indeed bring on an elevation in the right's of women from a much depreciable position.  

Ended Women-Stealing


He instituted an end to the capturing of women between tribes as was the case before Genghis bound them together in one nation.  Such conflicts had led to major tribal warfare that kept the Mongol tribes in strife amongst one another.  Moreover he made it unlawful to force a woman into marriage.  These policies although made to quell calamity and maintain order in his empire, also led the Mongol woman to ascend in status.  

No more fear of getting kidnapped

Gave Women Active Roles in Mongol Society

Many Mongol women were entrusted with administrating conquered territories and even fighting alongside men.  Ultimately it was the ability of khatuns, or Queens, to take roles of leadership as the head of the Mongols during a time of great instability in the Mongol empire that was a true measure of the reforms Genghis Khan made.  Many of Genghis' daughter-in-laws and granddaughter-in-laws took the place of head of the empire after Ogedai Khan (Genghis Khan's successor) had died with no fit male heir ready to take his place, however for a short time.  

One of the few queens of the Mongols

In a time where the empire was ready to break apart and civil war struck in its place, these Mongol women played a role in stabilizing the growing empire when its head had been cut off. These events may very well have not transpired had Genghis Khan not made the reforms he had done.  In fact, it might be said that the empire would not have even formed, as one of the key blueprints of the empirical status of the Mongol's was through Genghis Khan's ending of treating women as commodities.    

For Further Reading:

Weatherford, J. McIver.  The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire.  New York: Crown, 2010. Print.