This was the name of an inspiring book by Sue Reynolds. In additional to being uplifting, there are some very interesting aspects to her story. Short version: she went from sedentary and morbidly obese at sixty years of age, to a world-class triathlete in her age group a few years later. The first interesting aspect … Continue reading The Athlete Inside →

This is the title of an enjoyable new book by authors Matt Frazier (who also wrote The No-Meat Athlete) and Robert Cheeke (who also wrote Shred It! about burning fat and losing muscle on a plant-based diet). It dispels myths about needing to eat meat to be strong or athletic, similar to the movie The … Continue reading The Plant-Based Athlete →

I had a followup with my cardiologist, who was pleased to report I had passed all his tests. First, I got the best bloodwork results ever, triglycerides good, total cholesterol under 150, ldl low. My hdl had also dropped below normal, but he's not worried about that if ldl is low. I remember Dr. Dean … Continue reading Passed All My Cardiology Tests →

I periodically receive emails about health-related products because I write a blog. To stay impartial I won't accept any compensation, and I only write reviews if I like the product. I recently got informed in this way about a smartphone app called "Dr. Muscle" to help guide you through strength training. It automatically sets up … Continue reading Interesting App For Training: Dr. Muscle →

Our neighboring town to the south, Gilroy, is growing quite a bit. But in addition to the new residential developments, they've been setting aside some open space, and there is a new bike trail through it that starts on Hecker Pass highway. Planned for the future is extending the trail all the way to the … Continue reading Nice New Bike Trail in Gilroy →

“If you want to fly, you have to give up the shit that weighs you down.”-Toni Morrison Christine Van Loo, Aerialist, Speaker, and Coach (http://www.christinevanloo.com/about.html) Christine Van Loo is an elite athlete that started out as an acrobatic gymnast, a sport in which she was a 7-time consecutive US National Champion, female Olympic athlete of … Continue reading Learn to Soar With Christine Van Loo →

I decided to do an out and back to the IBM hill since I omitted it from my ride Friday. This follows Dougherty Ave, I nice rural road, then Santa Teresa Boulevard, to Bernal road which climbs the IBM hill. I then returned (with a decent tailwind) to west Morgan Hill, doing seated sprint intervals … Continue reading IBM Hill and Some Hill Climbing Intervals →

Now that I'm done with my exercise stress test I've decided to focus more on riding. I went out for four hours today, and covered just over 50 miles. The first two hours were standing pedaling, and in the last hour I threw in a bunch of intervals. My old low-end watch recently died so … Continue reading Toughest Ride in a While →

Dr. Dean Ornish developed his lifestyle program decades ago, which is famous for being the first program to be scientifically proven to reverse heart disease, way back in 1990 [1]. The same program has been shown to reverse (or undo, as Dr. Ornish likes to say), other important chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, early … Continue reading Undo It! A Book About the Ornish Lifestyle Program →

I did my nuclear perfusion stress test yesterday. This is to check how open your coronary arteries are, at rest and under stress. Here's a quick overview: This is the first part. But in my case it was seated, on a machine that rotates you very slowly, through about 45 degrees. It took about 7 … Continue reading Did My Nuclear Perfusion Stress Test →