Book Review - American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China

Lately, due to a hectic work / business schedule, most of my reading has been in the form of audiobooks - but I've had this hardcopy sitting on my shelf for quite some time now, American Shaolin by Matthew Polly.

My good friend Erik sent me this book as a gift a long time ago and I put it on the "I'll get to it one day shelf". That day came recently after joining a Shaolin training school near Duluth, GA - the town I currently call home. After a brief stint with Taiji when I was in college 150 years ago, I decided that I wanted to begin studying the art again as one of my long term goals has been to balance out my love of hoisting barbells and kettlebells overhead with the practice of internal martial arts - particularly Taiji and Qigong. When searching for a place in Atlanta to study Taiji, I actually found a traditional Shaolin school, LIU International Shaolin Institute, that teaches Kung Fu, Sanda and my beloved Taiji.

After a little bit of research I was extremely excited to find that the Shifu (teaching father) of this school was grand master Shi Deru (Shawn Liu) a 31st generation disciple of the Shaolin Temple. After beginning my Taiji practice I became more and more interested in all things Shaolin, so naturally I finally dusted off my copy of American Shaolin, and am sorry I didn't earlier!

American Shaolin is a story of Matthew Polly's journey from a 90 pound weakling studying religion at Princeton to being accepted as a student at, and training side by side the monks of the legendary Shaolin Temple.

I found the book to be an excellent blend of humor and excitement and had a very hard time putting it down. Polly's descriptions of the situations he encountered while living in China will pull you into the book and make you feel like you are right there through every grueling training session, challenge match and Sanda competition.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is how Polly worked the monks he trained with into the story giving the reader a behind the scenes look at the lifestyle of a Shaolin monk-particularly after the commercialization of the temple-as well as what daily life was like for those who lived in Shaolin.

While his journey lasted less than two years there is no doubt that this experience was one in a lifetime for Polly.

Whether you are a practicing martial artist or just a kung fu movie junkie, grab a copy of American Shaolin - NOW - I promise you will be glad you did!

Since reading this book I've learned of Polly's latest literary project detailing his journey into the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) - Tapped Out - a book I can't wait to get my hands on!

For more information check out Polly's website at: http://mattpolly.com/ and for a synopsis of American Shaolin click here: http://mattpolly.com/books/american-shaolin/synopsis/

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott

Durian Custard - my Favorite Raw "Dessert"!

I'm not a recipe guy by any means, but I came across this simple way to make an extremely healthy raw dessert when I read a great e-book by Markus Rothkranz titled "Heal Yourself 101".

Markus is a big fan of durian fruit. Durians are extremely nutritious and often called king of the fruits. They hail from southeast Asia and are readily available in your local Asian markets. I regularly find them at a couple different Asian supermarkets and one farmer's market all very close to where I live.

The durian is a little bigger than a football and has a hard spikey outer shell. It also has a pretty distinct odor which is why it is better to buy the frozen durian, the smell isn't as strong. You'll just need to let it thaw overnight then prepare it the next day.

Durian is a fruit you either like or don't like. Some people say it "tastes like heaven but smells like hell".

The part of the durian you eat is the custard-like pods located inside the pockets of the fruit. There is a fairly large seed inside each custard pod you'll want to remove.

You can eat the durian straight, or blend it with coconut meat and water from a young Thai coconut to boost it's nutritional value and flavor. This is my favorite way to eat it!

Durian Custard

You'll need one durian and two young Thai coconuts and this will make enough for one or two people for a few days.

-cut open each pocket of the durian and extract all of the custard pods

-remove the seeds from each custard pod (there should be one seed per pod)

-extract the water from two young thai coconuts and put into a high power blender (I use a Vitamix)

-next split the cocounts and scrape the meat out of the inside (I like the young Thai coconuts for this, the meat is much easier to extract than the other coconuts)

-next place the coconut meat and durian fruit in the blender with the coconut water and blend on high, in the Vitamix I let it blend for about 30-45 seconds

-you're done! Pour into a storage container and seal to keep in your refrigerator

Total prep time is about 15-20 minutes. This makes for an awesome meal or snack! For a fruit, durians are pretty high in protein and fat and has high amounts of tryptophan as well as potassium and vitamin c.

Some other things I like to do is add a little raw honey and eat this after a workout or sometimes mix in other fruits like blueberries or goji berries.

Hopefully you give it a shot and enjoy the benefits the durian has to offer!

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott

Should Fitness Hurt?

Scott & Dr. Ed Thomas at Scott's gym - one of the most enlightening training sessions I've ever had.

No pain, no gain. Feel the burn. My trainer is evil and tortures me every session. blah blah blah...

I seriously think alot of this is just false bravado that stems from wanting a pat on the back and recognition from others for how hard we "brought it" in the gym today.

Hell, there are some "systems" of exercise that give awards for puking after or during a particularly grueling workout. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to make someone puke during exericse, actually it's quite easy and in my opinion not a desireable training goal.

When did training become more about abuse, and less about becoming, stronger, healthier, and more fit?

Does your workout lead to progress or physical damage? Which is better? If you experience an injury it may sideline your training. Last time I checked, not training was a bad way to progress and get better.

I, along with three friends, had the very good fortune of learning from Dr. Ed Thomas in my gym for an afternoon a while back. If you don't know who he is you should fix that. Dr. Thomas has forgetten more about training and physical culture than most of us will ever learn.

One of the most simplistically brilliant things I've ever heard was when, after discussing the current state of the fitness industry, he told me, "Fitness shouldn't hurt."

Nuff' said...

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott

Gurus...

Wow. There are many bright minds in the strength & conditioning and health & fitness industry. Many people contribute many great things to help people. One thing I've learned is many of the concepts used today have been around for a very long time-that's the reason they last, they work! It's great that there are so many people learning and sharing info - one of the greatest things is when people learn they turn around and teach.

I have learned and continue to learn from great people, some of the brightest minds I've ever come across-one thing I've noticed about the "gurus" I tend to follow-they are all incredibly humble and have remained students themselves all the while teaching and inspiring people.

However, when you're "guru" starts referring to themselves as a guru, I'd suggest finding a new "guru"!

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott

A Sad Run...

So yesterday after my bench press and kettlebell training session I decided to go for a run since I missed it on Tuesday and I still had a good half hour before my next group was showing up at the gym to train. I decided to do a 20:00 interval run.

I usually head off the main road and run through the back streets of the neighborhoods behind my gym. I put the iPod on cranked "The Pledge" by Michael Masterson - the business audiobook I am currently listening to -- I know, I know.. My running jams rock! It is a great book so far though...

On this run I saw something I never see, mainly due to typically doing my runs on Tuesday, Thursday and/or Sunday, the recycling bins. In my town trash and recycling is picked up every Wednesday morning.

As I'm running I'm kind of peeping everyone's bins out of the corner of my eye, then it hits me.

This is why we are a fat, lazy and out of shape country. This is why overweight and obesity rates are climbing, even though more people are focused on exercise now more than ever. This is why cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are becoming the norm.

In everyone's bins, well at least the 10 or 11 houses in a row I paid attention to, were empty boxes of cereal, empty bags of Chips Ahoy cookies, Oreo boxes, empty soda bottles, and more shit than you could imagine. Not just a recycle bin here and there, every one.

This is how people eat every day, not just as an occasional treat or weekly cheat, this is every day.

I'm not going to be a hypocrite and say I never eat cookies, or cheesecake or some chocolate every now and then-definitely it's sometimes more now!-but this shit is seriously out of hand.

We're a bunch of sugar addicted, trans-fat consuming, lazy fat asses.

C'mon people, eat more good clean food-we all know what we're supposed to eat-just do it now and stop making excuses about it's too hard, it costs too much, it's not convenient. I'm just as busy as the next person and I can do it, so save the excuses. Keep the focus on fresh, raw and whole. Drink water, not soda. Exercise daily. Enjoy a cheat or a snack occasionally. This shit isn't rocket science-it's common f*&$ing sense. Let's get our heads out of our asses and get healthy.

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott

Training-what it's all about...

Man with all the food talk lately I felt like it was time to get back to what's important-training!

Last year my training was kind of up and down with the shift to running my gym full-time, plus all the other business deals, projects and products we had rolling this past year training took a bit of a backseat as did competing.

I managed to keep a fairly regular training schedule, but bounced around too much programming-wise which led me to do a lot of reflecting on the important qualities of training at this point in my life.

Right now my training business and the other ventures I have going on are the most important things, if I am focused on this I can't focus on training for competition - so a strict kettlebell sport or strict powerlifting program is out.

Since cleaning up my nutrition my weight is down tremendously - 35 lbs - and I began studying Qigong and Taiji, so I wanted to improve my flexibility and mobility as well as make sure I am practicing Qigong / Taiji and meditating daily.

Now for the weights. I gotta' say, I miss powerlifting competition-the intensity, training and focus plus there is NOTHING like a powerlifting meet! It's awesome. However I'm not into being fat, bloated and out of shape just to lift heavy weights anymore. On the flipside, I don't thing I need to pack up my barbells just yet. I have to keep the squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press, chins and rows-the basic lifts-in my training but balance it out with some non-linear forms of strength and conditioning - my favorites? Kettlebells and Indian clubs. I'm pretty convinced that the clubs and kettlebells are my favorite forms of training and sometime down the road I can see me doing my daily sessions with these two exclusively - my body feels like a million bucks after them; healthy and full of energy, not run into the ground. It's great for restoration too.

What's left? Conditioning. No treadmills. No ellipticals. Running, pushing the prowler and dragging the sled is where it's at-and will probably throw in some heavy bag and jump rope work in there too.

At the end of 2011 this is where I was at with my decision - no competitions, just a well rounded balance of strength, conditioning and energy work - bringing balance back to over all physical development-not just developing the body-but developing the body AND mind and spirit.

So end of December I tested my maxes on my main lifts to set my training %'s, set my training goals and got rolling! As of this week the first 4 week cycle is in the bag and I'm starting the 2nd - so far so good!

Here's the outline of the plan:

Every morning - Qigong, Taiji and meditation (works out to be 3-5 days a week)

Taiji class at the Shaolin school I belong to (Shi Deru Shaolin Institute): M & W nights and Sa mornings

Daily - LOTS of stretching and mobility work -- I have already seen HUGE improvements in my flexibility (but being down 35 lbs helps considerably too!)

Tu/Th/Su - running and / or other conditioning, about 20:00 - 45:00 total.

M/W/F - strength training; indian club swinging, primary barbell lift(s), accessory work, kettlebell conditioning and more club swinging. Monday is squat and accessory work, Wednesday is bench and accessory work, and Friday is deadlift + overhead press and accessory work. Starts out with 5:00 or so of club swinging; barbell work is Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program; kettlebell work is lighter weights-higher reps and generally not setting the bell down (usually 5:00-15:00 of work) and finish with another 5:00 or so of club swinging -- total training time is about 45:00.

That's it - simple, sweet and well-balanced; nothing extreme just some type of daily work, just as real physical culture should be.

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott

How my daily nutrition has changed in a year!

I was just reflecting back on how my nutrition has changed over the past year in an email to one of my good friends who was light-years ahead of my on this aspect of physical development.

In the past year I've gone from junk-food carnivore, to no meat-only fish and eggs + vegetarian fare, to predominantly raw vegan foods (60-80%) and the rest cooked vegetarian plus a little fish, yogurt and eggs - consequently my body fat has dropped tremendously, my energy has increased and I feel about 1000% better. I typically don't keep a nutrition log-just a training log-but it was interesting to see a comparison between my normal daily nutrition today vs. one year ago!

Here's the copy and paste of the email I sent my friend:

Ok, one year ago this time:

-coffee w/ cream, almond milk & raw sugar
-blender drink: raw oats, whey protein, regular cows milk or almond milk, honey

mid morning
-protein bar or greek yogurt and fruit

lunch
-deli sammich (like jersey mikes) either turkey w/ veggies or meatball- and sometimes YUK 1/4 w/ cheese at MCD's w/ fries and diet soda

mid afternoon
-coffee at SBUX w/ cream and raw sugar and whatever chocolate treat appealed - usually dark chocolate grahams

dinner
-pizza,or MCD's, or if Lisa cooked usually a healthy'ish pizza made with veggies, org cheese, pepperoni from whole foods, or sometimes we'd go out and have sushi, or steak, and usually a beer or two to drink or diet soda

post training
-32oz of organic chocolate milk

late-night
-usually cereal and milk or almond milk

total h2o intake probably 1/2 - 3/4 gallon

BW fluctating between 210-225 lbs

TODAY

1st thing after waking:
-32oz of clean water with a whole juiced lime and raw apple cider vinegar, 2g blue green algae
-shot of wheat grass juice I juiced
-fresh organic carrot apple juice I juiced
-32oz of clean water

breakfast (pre-workout)
-3 figs
-1 apple
-1 orange
-goji berries
-puh ehr tea

(post training)
-blended drink of: almond milk, honey, mixed berries, banana, rice protein powder

noon-time
-walnuts and coconut water (straight from a young thai coconut I extracted myself)
-32oz glass of clean water

late afternoon ("dinner")
-blended drink: kale, rainbow chard, collard greens, dandelion greens, parsley, bok choy, 1-scoop of vitamineral green superfood powder, 2 apples, 1 carrot
-homemade vegetarian chilli: tomatos, 3 colors of peppers, 3 types of org beans (black, pinto, kidney), seitan (in place of ground beef), tomato paste, garlic cloves, chilli powder, sea salt
-sprinkled a bit of shredded organic cheese and had two small slices of sprouted grain bread

pre-taiji class
-icelandic skyr yogurt, walnuts, puh ehr tea

post-taiji class and a bit of a cheat
-1/2 an apple lisa didn't finish, a few chunks of homemade raw chocolate, and a small serving of whole foods brand frosted mini wheats I still had in the pantry with almond milk

total fresh water: 3x 32oz. mugs + about 3-4 16oz bottles from gym

other supps: 2g vitamin C, 2 caps of D3, digestive enzymes, magnesium, bee pollen / propolis, fish oil caps, probiotics

BW - fluctuates 180-185 lbs

Dude about 20 servings of fresh / raw fruits and veges and NO meat?!?! Who the hell have I become?!?!?!

That's it-what a change over the past year. I can honestly say I've never felt better. I still have some cheat meals here and there-a little too much chocolate, coffee, beer, lobster mac n' cheese (when at the House of Blues in Vegas), etc. but that stuff is a lot less than in the past and as time goes by I can see shifting closer to a 100% raw vegan nutrition plan, in the meantime I'm quite happy with dropping 30-35 lbs, having a ton more energy and just feeling better overall.

Now-let the onslaught of hate mail from my carnivorous friends begin!

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott