Thank you for reviewing this open message to many, many backers who have voted in this year’s Mr. Health and Fitness competition, and /or have donated to the Mr. Health and Fitness-designated charity.
May I re-share my convictions?
What fuels your passion for health and fitness?
My passion boost is (sadly) the millions of unhealthy Americans who can benefit from a lifeline like mine.
My proven 7s.fit process to thrive and strive is dedicated to them and their journeys..
It is my nature to tackle complex issues, such as healthspan and longevity, to help my clients and followers succeed.
My three specialty books and scores of weblog posts are sweat-based and science-backed to help them and you.
My personal experiences as a Master’s champion underscore my art of the possible with GenX and BOOMER followers. Yes, we can change the trajectory of PREVENTABLE Diseases with motion and clean, lifestyle sustenance!
What’s your favorite way to train or stay fit?
Fifty + years of elite athletics, and lifestyle lessons taught me that a successful Dolce VITA stems from progressive Volume, Intensity, Tempo, & Adaptations.
✓ My favorite sport is rowing. Yet rucking, road bicycling, swimming & good-old functional training with heavy stuff complement my lifelong passion for guiding others.
It is vital to enjoy what I do to improve my “healthitude“.
Only sexercise and Grandpa activities are as fun for me as mentoring others & competitive rowing.
What would you do with $20,000?
I will charitably donate it all to non-profit causes that Mr. Health and Fitness acknowledges.
✓ I never want money to impede the efforts of committed Americans who want to improve their physical bank accounts.
It would be a true honor to contribute that treasure, plus my time and talent as a Master Fitness Trainer, KABOOMER role model, and coach to the emerging Big KAHUNA project. Thank You.
Please Stay Tuned!
As a refresher; I was sought out for the Mr Health and Fitness 2026 Invitational competition in January. About 700 dudes agreed to compete.
Sure it might be nice to get featured in Muscle and Fitness magazine.
And sure, the prospect, however slim, of getting to the Podium as the Lone Survivor in a long competition can be appealing.
Yet, I accepted this competitive offer because my Big KAHUNA movement can always leverage donations, such as these prize monies.
In my third act, I am all about giving back and fortifying this pro bono platform to Keep America’s Healthspan UNAbated. America’s Glothic habits are costly and deadly!
Yup, Gluttony and Sloth, as two original sins are a big part of bulging waistlines, polypharmacy, and of living a bit longer but certainly not better.
Together, we can do much better!
Stay Well Past Forty!
Koach Dave
Ps. (1) The next round of the competition begins on March 9th, 2026.
I will be honored and truly grateful if you cast your Ballot for “Doc” Frost.
This image below looks more familiar to you than it does for us Cali denizens. I hope that warm Epsom soaks are easing your back strain from snow-shoveling! I just heard from a rowing and bike-riding buddy in North Carolina who was monitoring his heart rate while shoveling. Yup, it is very good exercise!
What’s Going On?!
I just read that colorectal cancer is going non-linear for those under age 50 in America. Oy!
According to the Wall Street Journal, Colorectal cancers surpassed breast cancer for American deaths (aged 20-49) in 2023.
It was colorectal cancers in men – not prostate cancer that was a top issue in prior studies.
Now, colorectal cancer is the sad chart-topper for both Mars and Venus 🙁
In conventional thought, cancers were thought to rise with age. A Doctor named Madapa Kundranda in Phoenix advised that this new finding is “absolutely disconcerting.”
We do know that these insidious cancers can progress more rapidly in young people than in folks like me. [I am on a 3-year cycle for screening due to my age, and prior intestinal polyps (thankfully benign ones].
Is it processed foods that are killing our young?
Why did our western medicine system think that 45 years old was a benchmark for starting colorectal cancer screening?
Much remains to be studied and concluded about what is going on with the colorectal death rates, and what is a proper age for screening – in cases of genetic risk, and no risk from heredity.
Yet, clearly HOUSTON – We have a big problem!
Next, another big and truly unhealthy problem is getting just press…
I suppose we can feel a wee bit better as this trend is not for what we used to call “cancer sticks” smoked by Marlboro men and housewives. Rather, these rises are for nicotine pouches and vaping.
Is this a social phenomenon of concern? You bet, Red Ryder.The University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research reported last August (2025) that ““The patterns of substance use are changing over time, with cannabis use, vaping of both nicotine and cannabis, and psychedelic drug use increasing across all age groups.” What is good about that trend , absolutely nada.
4. Good? Grief!
No, I’m not quoting a Peanuts character. I am working my way through the untimely and tragic loss of a fine man of God.
This now-heavenly soul was my Reverend for a fleeting period of time.
A Grief Observed, written by C.S. Lewis is now on my reading list!
Here is my reason why as suggested by another man of the cloth, Iowa’s Evan Welcher …
“Those of us in bereavement must continue to take care of ourselves. We must try to eat right, exercise, keep house, do laundry, and for the sake of our fellow man, shower.
We must continue to stimulate our minds even though it hurts to not be able to share new things with our cherished one. We must endeavor … to work at our vocation and hobbies, because whether we find the joy in it all at the moment: we still live.”
Keep Calm and Carry on?!
5. Akkermansia Municiphila
Does a good gut support glory? I think so! So let’s broach a “gut bomb” that is gaining visibility – the Akkermansia bacteria.
These microbes “break down mucin in the gut, which strengthens the gut lining. This helps prevent toxins and harmful particles from leaking into your body and causing inflammation. Less inflammation means better control of blood sugar and a healthier metabolism. This makes Akkermansia important for managing conditions like obesity, Type II diabetes, and even some heart diseases.”
However, comma… we don’t know what we don’t know about long term effects. We do know that high levels of this bacteria correlate to the incidence of Parkinson’s Disease – yup. And, if it becomes excessive in some folks, leaky guts may result which is the opposite of what is intended for metabolic health,
“monitoring how much Akkermansia is in your gut is essential”,
especially if you have underlying health issues. Talking to a healthcare provider before taking Akkermansia supplements is always good.” Stay tuned as I’ll report back as your lab rat with a sample size of one…
.
6. Sugar Substitutes ?!
A topic that has bothered me for a half-century is America’s growing use of sugar substitutes such as aspartame, acesulfame potassium (ACE-K), and sucralose.
Science Direct offers a “big picture” (below) of what Ace-K can impact – from developing babies in womb, to the gut, endocrine system, and our liver.
Sure, our FDA approved the measured use of ACE-K.
Yet some concerned citizens like me shy away from ACE-K and artificialities as crutches for America’s sweet tooths.
I wager that you aren’t surprised that the American Beverage Association claims artificial sweeteners are safe to ingest.
We know that sugar can be inflammatory and lead to obesity and diabetes. What about artificial sugars? Results are mixed.
The Wall Street Journal just reported that “large scientific studies show a connection between consumption of non-sugar sweeteners and certain health problems and gut dysfunction.”
I ask – Who needs more of those? You may recall that I quote the legendary Jack LaLanne often about processed and unnatural foodstuffs:
“If man made it, don’t eat it.”
Shifting from these public service notifications – – – how is your vitality faring in your winter wonderland?
With these early days of autumn in the northern hemisphere this is a perfect time to chat about The Great Outdoors and our interactions with it.
Store shelves are full of pumpkin and maple treats and some healthy items, However, I caution that we should remember the Immortal words of Jack LaLanne. He advised,
if man made it don’t eat it.
LaLanne foresaw the unhealthiness of processed and ultra-processed foods, and their future prevalence. Sure, American food has become convenient. However when we’re talking about the inflammation and oxidation caused by excess fat, too much salt, and too much hidden sugar – I think it’s appropriate to go au naturel – what do you think?
Back to our 10th calendar month of 2025 with its Harvest or Hunter’s Moon.
Let’s celebrate quiet and rowdy times in our Great Outdoors, including the treasures of our national parks, our local parks, our beaches, mountains, our urban and rural trails.
Before “man” discovered farming to feed the tribe, “he” was on the move as a hunter and gatherer. I appreciate that lifestyle, as heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, and obesity were most likely unheard of.
When in doubt, try to emulate some of our globe’s healthiest populations in Scandinavia and in Blue Zones. Just check how big is the difference between time that Scandinavians spend out of doors compared to us!
And while you’re at it, try to properly pronounce Friluftsliv. This Norse world means open-air living…. Don’t you just love the Scandinavian saying,
“there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes”?
Dressing in layers, as our Moms and Dads used to counsel us, is a great starting point to transcend “bad clothes”.
For me, early October meant donning “right” biking clothes for the hot, humid, and episodically wet Southeastern USA:
Next, I travel to Boston, then to Annapolis, Maryland for rowing and college reunion activities.
This year’s Head of the Charles Regatta is 17-19 October. Most of us know how dicey the autumn New England weather can be – from idyllic Indian Summer conditions to early sleet and snow… We Rowers will be on the water for ~ 90 to 120 minutes. The 3-mile race takes about 15-17 minutes depending on conditions for men’s crews on Saturday, October 18th. So, it is the warm-up and post-race time to get from and back to our boathouse that demands good clothing decisions.
Everyday a Holiday
With a mind-body alignment to make every day special, we can view holidays as milestones or benchmarks. And remember that living the open-air dream life doesn’t always mean exercise. Check out what Community Care Physicians offer as ten great autumn activities. Yup, raking leaves and rucking around to see fall colors are two of ‘em.
We can also celebrate that American Holiday of Skeletons, Ghosts, Goblins and Associates on October 31st.
At the Savannah/Hilton Head airport, I found my Economy class seatmate on American Airlines:
That passenger has a lean and hungry look – doesn’t it?
While checking on the Celtic origin of Halloween, I learned that the ancient festival of Samhain in Ireland marked the shift from light to dark days, and then from living to the dead. Irish immigrants wore costumes to ward off visiting spirits who crossed into the living world. Turnips were carved with spooky faces to ward off the spirits until pumpkins were substituted.
Then, sometime in the 8th century A.D, A Catholic Pope named Gregory established All Saint’s Day on November 1st. I find it interesting that some cultures honor deceased predecessors in their cultural or religious Days of the Dead. Honoring good folks, and not just miracle-performing Saints in the Catholic faith is a respected tradition.
Shifting from family to sweaty endeavors, you might ask:
Is there a “patron” saint of athletes and rigorous endeavors? – The answer is yes.
And wouldn’t you know that the designated saint was not himself an athlete?
We don’t need to, or don’t want to, be martyrs like that 3rd century Sebastien was. Yet, I see nothing wrong with a remembrance of a patron underdog who didn’t give up.
Mantras from Vince Lombardi, Yoda, Admiral McRaven, Sir Winston Churchill and countless others bolster my thesis for athletic perseverance and resilience.
Sebastien didn’t have the benefits of X Factors and many ergogenic aids that we can tap to be STRONG TO SAVE. Perhaps therein lies a lesson. Digital fitness devices, and synthetic X Factors cannot sweat for us.
I ask you to invest a little of your time for this chat about prudent and safe ergogenic (“work producing”) aids that can help us. You may recall my keen desire to have you pursue your endeavors and goals naturally. Thus, my emphases here will be on natural and legal aids that fall into these five classes:
Nutritional
Physiological
Psychological
Pharmacological, and
5. Mechanical.
You note that exercise pills, anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) are rightfully missing from this classification of work producers.
I am not focused on #5, mechanical aids, such as shark-like body swimsuits that gave Olympians nicknames like “Human Thorpedo”. Luddite that I am – I advocate the same bike, clothing, rowing shell, etc for all competitors. I want to celebrate athletic achievement – not the boosted mechanical performance.
Nutrition? Caffeine drinks are a good example of natural and legal ergogenics that can be dietary or taken as supplements.
Physiological? I don’t like blood doping. Yet I do partake of massages, accupressure, and self-myofascial release (SMR).
Psychological? I advocate mental tips and hacks to get into a state of flow and inner peace to perform at my best. You and I certainly see Olympic gymnasts, and professional athletes wearing fancy headphones to listen to calming and/or motivational sounds before competitions.
Nutritional? I am just fine with 3rd-party approved substances like Acetyl L-Carnitine, and FDA-approved Creatine supplements. I speak from experience that my aging process impacts my metabolism and efforts to change my trajectory of sarcopenia. So, with physician awareness and approval, I do take carnitine to aid in my exercise recovery. Any creatine that I consume is from natural sources. Please know the difference between grass-fed and grass-finished meats. In short – if you don’t want grain-fed / corn-fed meats, invest a little more money to enjoy grass-finished meats.
Organ of the Month?
No – it isn’t the LA Dodgers’ organist that I’m mentioning. This month, it is our multi-talented and multifaceted liver to celebrate.
Thanks to Johns Hopkins for this image of a human liver”:
I ask you to be uber-enthusiastic about liver kindness – as in practical ways to make this invaluable organ healthier.
After all, healthy livers store glycogen to fuel endurance activities, and perform about 499 other important functions. Metabolic health is an overarching reason to treat our livers well!
Weighing in at about 3 pounds for an adult, our livers sit slightly to the right of centerline and just below our diaphragms.
Yes – these 5 guidelines for healthy livers sound simple. So – follow SIMPLE SELLS habits for Liver Health!
Moderate alcohol consumption
Exercise and be true to anti-inflammatory lifestyle diets
That’s a WRAP for the month of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Next month, I’ll delve into men’s health and tell you why I support the MOVEMBER Movement.
All Treats, not tricks in a spirit of Staying Well Past Forty,
Dave Frost
Ps. BOLO – Be on the lookout for Well Past Forty online training packages that are being produced.
Opting in to a monthly “Wire” from Well Past Forty LLC and me is your act of trust. For that trust, I am grateful. These Wires are not marketing or sales-oriented. I’m not sellin’ nuttin’ – to coin a phrase.
I am sharing vetted information and knowledge to help you gain and sustain your healthitude. Think sweat-based and science-backed!
Peptides?!
If you are like me, you have recently seen and heard much ado about “ buzzy” Peptides as ergogenic nutrients for muscle gain, weight loss, skin support, and more.
Let’s start bottom-up with four organic elements, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Recall that ~90 percent of our healthy bodies constituted these four elements.
With the right chemical bonds, these elements can form vital biochemical building blocks for us that are called amino acids. What is an amine, and what is an acid?
Well, an amine is a molecule that has nitrogen (N), that is it.
An acid is a molecule that can accept electrons and form “covalent” chemical bonds. An acid does not always contain Hydrogen. An acid turns blue litmus paper red, and has a pH of 7 or less. The lower the pH, te “more acidic” is the substance. An acid often can taste sour – like citric acid. Yet don’t be cavalier in tasting possible acids – trust me.
These four [C,H,O, and N] elements can form nine (9) essential and eleven 11 non-essential amino acids that scientists know of. All can be found in macronutrients, or the 11 non-essential amino acids are fabricated in our quite amazing bodies.
The essential amino acids – nine of ‘em – cannot be made in our GI system, so we need to consume complete essential amino acids from individual food items or from groups of macronutrients. Yes, it is possible for vegans to consume adequate amino acids…
The mnemonic PVT TIM HILL helps folks remember most or all of our nine essential AAs –
P – Phenylalanine
V – Valine
T – Threonine
T – Tryptophan
I – Isoleucine
M – Methionine
H – Histidine
I – LeucIne (note that this second ‘I’ in the mnemonic is stylized to make the PVT TIM HILL acronym work)
L – Lysine (We skip the last “L” in HILL 🙂)
Brick Building
From little building blocks to impressive 3-D structures, here is a physical metaphor for how amino acids, peptides, and proteins are constructed::
Amino Acids are Individual bricks: Imagine them as the individual, unique bricks you have in your bin. Each brick has a slightly different shape or “color” appendage that gives it unique properties. Let’s take Leucine as an example, with essential AA food sources like these to promote muscle synthesis and growth:
Sarcopenia is the result of insufficient muscle synthesis from aging, underuse, or glandular dysfunctions. Most adult Americans, particularly baby boomer women are protein (and leucine deficient).
Next, Peptides are short “2 dimensional” brick-to-brick constructs of amino acids: Peptides can be from 2 to around 50 amino acids in length. Peptides are your simpler creations. If you were using a certain Danish version of plastic bricks, you could make a railroad, or a planar surface. Peptides have specific jobs in the body, like as hormones or signaling molecules.
An artificial sweetener – aspartame – is a dipeptide of 2 amino acids.
Long polypeptides – or those peptide chains of up to ~ 50 amino acids then become classified as proteins. Some proteins in our bodies can be formed from thousands of peptides. Now, that is POLY! These “polygons” have folded, three-dimensional shapes instead of linear chains.
Proteins (Long, Complex LEGO Structures): Proteins are much larger and more complex structures made by linking together a lot of amino acids (usually 50 or more, sometimes hundreds or even thousands!). Crucially, these long chains then fold up into very specific and often intricate three-dimensional shapes. This folding is essential for them to do their job. Think of a protein as a highly detailed, functional LEGO castle or spaceship. These complex structures allow proteins to perform a huge variety of functions in your body, from building tissues (like collagen) to carrying oxygen (like hemoglobin) to speeding up chemical reactions (like enzymes).
In a healthy walnut shell:
Amino acids: The individual building blocks.
Peptides: Short chains of amino acids.
Proteins: “Long and folded “3D” structures of 50 or more amino acids.
Danger Zone !
Prolonged use of what seems to be goodness may very well have its dark and dangerous side. Trust me.
Quoting Hone Health, “Long-term effects of many peptides remain poorly understood. Although some studies have demonstrated benefits such as increased lean body mass and improved body composition (in populations with clinical need for the drugs), these gains have not consistently translated to enhanced muscle strength, physical performance, or overall quality of life.
“Data on the safety and efficacy of such therapies over decades are lacking, creating uncertainty about their role in chronic use,” Roberts says. “while short-term outcomes appear favorable, the cumulative risks associated with prolonged GH manipulation remain a significant concern.”
Remember that I ask each committed Strong to Save person to be a true student or your endeavor, and to only take risks for which you are accountable. Period.
X Factors
As your experiential coach and operating system tester, I am inevitably on the lookout for X-Factors that I use to enhance my healthitude and to help me down-age. I do not suggest your investment in an X Factor item unless I have tried it and experienced a favorable outcome. For this month’s WIRE, I offer my feedback to you about my positive experiences with:
Heat, Vibration, and Red Light Therapy Device or “Sleeve”
TENS electrical stimulation unit and
Vibration Stands
Mindful of costs, I let you as an informed follower to do your own market survey for “best value” items. It is little surprise that a majority of X-Factor items are built offshore, many in a certain Asian country nicknamed “The Middle Kingdom.” Caveat Emptor.
=> A Heat, Vibration, and Red Light therapy “sleeve” or device may look like this model:
This device is great for my elbows, shoulders and ankles too. USB-rechargeable. The varied light wavelengths have different healing properties. Go ahead and make waves!
=> Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) Unit
These reasonably priced units are USB-chargeable. I have had great success in use of a TENS unit for stimulation and healing.
My acupuncturist used a TENS with her acupuncture needles to promote healing of my Medial Cartilage tear:
I use a Vibration Plate for my personal training with a gent who has a spastic paraplegia. I also use the plate for me 🙂 This link provides some Vibration plate models with different features and functions. I spent about $85 for the plate that I’ve very happy with.
Benefits of Vibration may include:
balance, gait, posture, and motor coordination. Muscle strength and mass may also increase. Some reports suggest that a Plate can mollify fibromyalgia.
Safety first, and don’t invest more money than you afford for perceived benefits of X Factor.
August Haiku
Dog Days of Summer
Sirius crossing our Sky
Autumn draws closer.
Benefits of Exercise
As John Wayne’s character once shared on screen, “Life is tough enough without being stupid.”
And, as I believe, our Universe doesn’t exist to do me any favors.
So, what’s a KABOOMER or GenX to do?
Facing Cancer – Exercise.
Facing ASCVD – Exercise.
Staving off Dementia Related Diseases – Exercise.
Improve Night Life – Sexercise.
Carve out 7-12 extra healthy years – Exercise.
What’s not to Love?
It is my goal to help you learn to immerse and enjoy your “Motion as Lotion.”
Please contact me to build your habitual success to thrive and strive longer than your peers.
First, I offer Ingest More Red – Later Dead as a call to action for anti-inflammatory sustenance.
Now – that color Red explicitly excludes Red Dye #40. I see no reason to add Red dye #40 to Doritos TM – do you? In fact, I see nil reasons to munch on DoritosTM at all/ as I’m more than sorta adverse to ultra-processed foods that inflame us and shorten too many lives.
Red in these clean, anti-inflammatory fruits and vegetables is all-natural!
International Yoga Day 2025
Note the red mufti for these happy folks 🙂
Clicck on over to this September 2024 Healthline Article that offers, “84% of American adults feel the impact of prolonged stress.” You can also get a dozen reminders of why?! Yoga routines are so good for you and me – like stress management. So, enjoy a Cobra pose (this yogi is more advanced than am I!)
or a gentle and soothing Upward Dog asana like this lady:
While we do, reflect on what others have known for centuries –
Tap the warmth and healing of sunlight (yet watch those harmful UV times!)
My sainted Mum advised that early and later-in-day sunlight and Vermont honey were therapies to use and remember!
Healing colors in our natural and man-made environments – look right and feel right with red hues aand tones.
As my healthitude journey progresses, my internal sense and response system is more attuned to colors of nature. our birds and bees, flowers and trees in our season of change. For my mates and acquaintances in our Southern hemisphere, all these thoughts for six more months :-).
Can we combine seasonal change in color to rainbows as healthitude themes? Let’s find out.
If you you haven’t sensed my written and spoken emphases on Vitamin P for plants and ROYGIBV rainbow nutrients – that is my bad. I’m hoping to get the good word to your inbox and attention.
Aha
My savvy acupressurist, a boomer gent like myself, has attuned me to Natural practices used for centuries. Practices that can aid the flow of my Qi (chee) or vital force, and work on my yang /ying balance for harmony and homeostasis. What is a fave color for him? Yup – Red.
Would you hazard to guess which hue is in traditional Chinese medicines heart-healthy? Hit your Jeopardy game buzzer first with your question: “What is red?” You may win a healthy prize to be named later.
Now, red-hued nutrients are only part of my natural Vitamin P and rainbow arguments to feed your head and bodily systems. Yet Red is the first color in our rainbow mnemonic ROYGIBV so let’s start with the letter capital R.
Any chance that you want better blood circulation, boosted energy levels, or intend to address conditions related to your ticker? I am a renewed component of both Seeing Red and Ingesting non-dyed Red nutrients like these.
Red Yeast Rice(can you guess what an ingredient in synthetic statins is?)
Red Tomatoes (gents – the wonderful anti-oxidant lycopene in a tomato is uber-good for one’s prostate gland health). Caught me. A Tomato is classified as a fruit, and other colored tomato colors have plenty of anti-oxidants too!
Beets & Beetroot (Check out my other writings about Doctor Nitric Oxide or Dr. NO)
Whether we chat about infrared saunas, or therapeutic joint wraps with heat vibration, and light features, the waves of red light and near-redlight are well documented for healthy recovery therapies. Another big word to dazzle your healthy friends – – – Photobiomodulation. Let’s give a big shout for Endre Mester, who impacted our world in different ways that his Hungarian countrymates – Harry Houdini and Erno Rubik. As an editorial note, some folks think that Nikola Tesla was a Hungarian. I believe he came to the USA from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, yet he was Serbian by birth. Enough of the history of notables.
Yet, in closing – please think about historical perspectives of “good” Reds for health and “Eat the Rainbow” colors at least 6 times daily.
Stay well past forty,
DF
Postscript: Can I hear an Amen? Let’s celebrate America’s cessation of using artificial red dye 40 in our processed and ultra-processed foods. Why do we feel we need to artificially dye our sustenance? Oh that is America’s deadly way.. Okay that is my intended overstatement. Whether we process and consume less artificiality is an issue I will love to pursue with you
The linkage of Red dye 40 to allergies and migraine headaches is pretty solid. And I certainly wouldn’t discount artificial ingredients’ propensity for gut dysfunction. Shucks, Adam ate an apple, not a Cheetoh TM!
Consuming DoritosTM and TwizzlersTMisn’t a healthy practice to begin with. Adding consensual dysfunction of more artificial stuff to our microbiome isn’t a brainy practice. America – the consensual or Darwinian Inflammation Nation! Oh my!
Well, May Gray days have passed for those of us in Southern California. And, with our May flowers brought to bloom, some of those allergenic (achoo) histamines that hit folks like me are lessening.
You won’t get complaints from me for that seasonal advancement, nor for the added “eco” presence of bees and monarch butterflies…
June Gloom in my San Diego region is upon us.
When we wake up to dog day summer mornings in July and August we can reflect that cool and gray days of May and June were appreciated.
About the only downside at our home is lesser power generation and energy storage in our solar panel roof system.
Odds Are
Our newsgram addresses what I call our 1-3-5-7 Summer Span Ex. And yes, I hope that we committed folks will make the most of our longer days in the northern hemisphere to thrive and strive a little bit extra. Even for vacation or staycation time… We have more daylight hours to take charge and move out after a rise and shine and of course making our bed. Do contact me if you want more rationale or context for these Odd number Challenges for June.
1 – Move 15% more each day to get ready for the pool or beach.
3 – Make it a 3-D day!
Move in all three of our body planes daily –
a. Front to back (sagittal movements)
b. Side to side (frontal plane movements) and
c. Twisting / Corkscrew (transverse plane efforts.)
5 – Move your body isotonically with 5 types of resisted movements
Lift things
Push Things
Pull Things
Twist while holding things and
Carry things.
7 – No, I don’t ask you to pursue extra METAs on all seven days of the week, or on the Beatles’ 8 days a week 🙂
I do suggest that you and I take a META holiday one day each week. (I use the term META to mean Metabolic Equivalent of Tasks and Activity.) I made a separate post that details this caloric accounting system for our physical banking.
Again, I don’t mean total skipping of motion on your “off day.”
I do mean a taper day with some stretching, plus balancing acts, so to speak, for spatial awareness/fall prevention, and perhaps a little bodyweight work in your activity of daily life (ADL).
When you resume your HEALTHITUDE movements on the following day, you will be revitalized.
Rest and Restoration are important at any any, yet more so when those calendar years creep up on us. Trust me…
Span Ex
7. And, the last entry in our 1-3-5-7 Rubric is a combination of Upgrade and X-Factors in my new book, Burden? Or Banish!
Are you ready, Healthituders?
Mentalspan (yup – Mind-Body Alignment or MBA reminder to treat your hippocampi well.)
Socialspan (No man or woman is an island – right? The social aspect of pickleball is nearly as important as the physical activity.)
Strongspan (Commit to 2 or 3 dedicated sessions of moving stuff or isometric muscle contractions every week. I do 2X/week, at my calendar age of 72. Gen X or younger may do nicely with 3 resistance workouts weekly.)
Windspan (strive for at least 15% more aerobic motion above our Government’s guidelines). And I quote, “Adults who sit less and perform any amount of moderate to vigorous activity achieve some health benefits.”
PNSspan (enhance parasympathetic feed and restore efforts including restorative sleep, as opposed to chronic fight or flight stressors)
Safespan (Remember that your living to 100 calculator highlights proper use of seat belts, dental floss, and sunscreen. Limit your exposure to forever chemicals, plastics, blue wavelength light, and beware of electronic radiation (5G EMF).
Here’s to your and my daily progress for HEALTHITUDE.
As a refresher, I use eleven (11) HEALTHITUDE letters to encapsulate enablers to Keep America’s Healthspan UNAbated – yup – the big KAHUNA:
Heart
Endocrines (Hormones)
Adaptation
Lungs (Cardiovascular Health and mindful breaths) and Liver function
Transcend for that “lil bit extra” –
Hormesis and Homeostasis
Investment in our physical portfolios
Training
Upbeat Attitude
Desire to move past glothic ways (of sinful gluttony and sloth)
Exercise efficiently and effectively
Stay well past forty,
Dave
Postscript. Here is my “gloomy” humor of this June day to help with our weather-guessing:
“I’m pretty sure the fog is just jealous of how beautiful and sunny our neighborhood is supposed to be.”
META: Did you know that our valuable term, Metabolism, comes from a Grecian word metabole that means “to change” ?
Well before a Harvard dropout named Zuckerberg changed the name of the social network corporation he leads to Meta, this multi-purpose word had philosophical and self-reflective meaning.
Then along came a Monarch butterfly
Metamorphosis – such as the life cycle from a caterpillar to its chrysalis to a butterfly is a dramatic change of shape. Well, we certainly don’t change our shapes as radically as a butterfly, yet we can transform our body composition and shape to healthier profiles – can’t we?
Be or transform to a healthier pear-shaped profile rather than a relatively unhealthy Apple profile, please!
Just One
In a science quiz, one MET is measured as 3.5 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute. Whew, that is a breathful.
For a 70 kilogram person, one MET equates to a total of 1/4 liter of O2 per minute (70 times 0.0035 liters/kg/minute) .
METs quantify the energy expenditure of an activity relative to resting metabolism, with one MET equal to the energy cost and oxygen demands of sitting quietly. The higher the MET value of an activity or exercise, the higher the demand placed on one’s metabolism. And, we’ll delve into the key VO2 Max measure too, so stay tuned!
Incidentally, scientists do adjust the MET standard for age with a breakpoint at age 65. With lower heart rates, a bit of sarcopenia and slightly smaller lung capacity associated with aging, one MET older is about 20 % lower than the METyounger standard for a younger individual. For your quiz, that is 2.7 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute.
3 Key Components of a MET Table:
You may see a matrix or table that lists 3 components:
Activity: ranging from light to vigorous.
MET Value: The numerical value representing the energy expenditure of the activity, relative to resting metabolism.
Intensity Level: Categorized by their intensity level (e.g., light, moderate, vigorous) based on their MET value.
Three Levels of METAs with example activities are:
Vigorous Intensity: Singles tennis, shoveling, competitive soccer, running, rowing, and rucking in hilly terrain.
I want us to understand the intensity of different activities so that we can tailor our workouts at this stage of our periodization, and in line with our performance goals.
Example:
Weightlifting effort “generally” is in a moderate intensity range, with MET values between 3.0 and 5.9. A MET value of 6 or greater is considered “vigorous” or high intensity.
Moderate weightlifting for maintenance and tone, or nominally >12 repetitions exercises in a set with light resistance, is around 3.5 METs. Heavier weight or resistance training with 8-12 repetitions can reach 5 METs. Vigorous weight lifting, such as circuit training with minimal rest, or power lifting (3-6 repetitions with heavy weights) can reach 8 METs.
This Figure illustrates a Met and Time process calculation:
Using this illustrated walk example, a reasonable Daily META for us is based on our government’s recommendation of 90 Met minutes or 1.5 MET Hours daily – 5 times each week.
This totals 7.5 Met Hours per week to meet our Government standard – which is actually fairly low.
Remember that this ½ hour walking activity is in addition to the basic metabolic rates that are equated to sitting quietly or sleeping. Those sedentary or still “low level” MET hours far exceed the activity or exercise MET hours we just considered.
Next, let’s relate MET minutes / hours to the second half of our Government’s activity recommendation per week.
Seventy-five (75) minutes of MET level 6 – per week – are our Government’s suggestion for more intensive activity. These higher intensity efforts require more oxygen, and higher lub dub beats of our working hearts. See my blog article for more details of interval or higher intensity training.
Note that this alternate channel for activity also tallies 7.5 MET Hours per week, just as the lower intensity option did.
This too is a fairly low bar. Yet too many Americans do not get enough META, as the obesity and sickness of our unfit society shows in mortality statistics.
Those of us who strive to be better than decent may double, triple or triple- double the META recommendation (MET Hours).
For example, in this phase of my fitness periodization, I log 6-8 hours of low intensity exercise, and 1 to 1.5 hours of higher intensity and interval sessions each week. For this case, my low intensity is 7 hours x MET Level 3, or 21 MET Hours.
And, my higher intensity work per week (which I limit to about 20 percent of my total training time) results in level 7 x 1.5 hours for another ~10.5 MET Hours.
The Goverment suggests 7.5 MET Hours per week, and my investment average of 31.5 MET Hours is 4 times our Government’s minimum. Parenthetically, my weekly workload is about average for competitive rowers of my age.
Do I suggest that more folks raise their MET Hour bars? You betcha.
That is, of course, with medical approval, plus sense and respond awareness of exercise-induced stress and recovery needs.
I do acknowledge, and will delve into the uniqueness of exercise Dose-Response for “proper” metabolic effort. Too much of a very good thing, like exercise, is not wonderful when it is toxic or harmful.
This graphic shows a “safe range” between no-good risky, and good healthy exercise doses for an individual:
As we wind up this META overview, I virtually shout out to our down under Health professionals who kindly document how much exercise Medicare-aged folks (in any country) should pursue.
A ‘lil bit extra ?!
Just a slight increase in activity each day can improve our health and well being. Our revved-up metabolism at work and at rest can help:
I just learned that the title of a 1962 travel movie by two Italians, “Mondo Cane”, means “a dog’s world” in the King’s English. I have a tad of difficulty linking man’s best friend with globetrotting.
So it goes.
My newfound awareness stemmed from a Doctor Google search about “MORE.” Why was I looking for more? Well, most of us do.
Yet my trigger for that little bit extra was a local priest’s homily about “MORE” as a Easter transformation. I am not going all the way with transformation in a Christian sense, I promise. Yet, transforming is a fine verb for the lesser yet vital goal of self care and improvement. So, I’m not penning a metamorphosis from chrysalis to butterfly. Rather, I am musing about the maturation of that butterfly. So, now you have the start of a page 2 story for my little journey from a ’62 flick to church and now to us on April 29th, 2025. More from page 2: Sir Thomas More, that great thinker and author of Utopia [published in 1516 A.D.] sets my stage with his thought for individuals and their society:
“Nobody owns anything but everyone is rich.”
Sounds like Sir Thomas read and followed the rational thoughts and deeds of stoics. You see, stoics indifferently viewed ownership and wealth as means, not ends. “Stoics believed that true wealth resided within, in qualities like virtue, self-mastery, and contentment. They foresaw wealth’s potential to distract from the pursuit of inner well-being.
Everyone is Rich
Hmmm. This purported richness from antiquity beckons a 20th century metaphor of Earl Nightingale that we are in the midst of “acres of diamonds” – IF we look carefully. Inner wealth and soft skills of virtue, mastery, contentment and purpose sound valuable – don’t they?
Question: Do we need lots and lots of things to work on our self improvement and self care? The one-word answer is “no.”
Got a towel, a PBA-free water bottle, and a good mental outlook?
Then, my friend, you are good to go and to look carefully.
Surely… fitness appliances, workout accessories and products that are likely made in China :), and of course supplements or ergogenic things may selectively help you. Yet, those items are beyond “self” – right?
What time and effort are needed to find a wall, a small floor space, or free-standing space to move your joints for isotonic deeds? Just a little!
What more do you need to contract your muscles in isometric ways? Not much!
It is springtime in our hemisphere, so mindfully breathe in the renewed sensory wealth around us. Then, make the time to sweat a little in the spirit of Healthitude.
Remember that acronym of mine – Healthitude – and its components?
Here is a strong to save refresher:
H Hearty
E Endocrines
A Attitude (remember your Mind and Body are aligned)
L Lungs (Oxygen is life and breath)
T Transform
H Healthspan
I Invest
T Train
U Upbeat / Utopian riches
D Desire
E EXERCISE
I look forward to a chat with you about this combo approach for healthspan and attitude. Look around you, as there often is MORE – – – even in a competitive “dog’s world.”
This device is great for my elbows, shoulders and ankles too. USB-rechargeable. The varied light wavelengths have different healing properties. Go ahead and make waves!
Safespan (Remember that your 
, this multi-purpose word had 
