This week I finished reading the popular book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It was an interesting read, and I do not think Malcolm hit upon a groundbreaking idea in this book, he revealed his evidence in an engaging manner.
For example, he argued that software moguls like Bill Gates were not just smart and driven: they were there at the right time and at the right place. There is truth to it, no doubt, as any biography of Bill Gates quickly reveals. He is after the myth that everyone who has been wildly successful deserved it completely. That myth has another, tacit, nefarious corollary which is Calvinistic in nature by saying that those who have not been wildly successful have no one to blame but themselves. Europeans and Asians do not need convincing that such idealized vision of success, the rags to riches story, are not what they seem.
Consider how the number of billionaires in China has ballooned. Have the Chinese become more ambitious all of a sudden? Of course not. They can now be entrepreneurial in a limited capacity, that's all. In a country where the government officially owns everything, wealth is precarious indeed.
One example Malcolm cited was hilarious. Jeb Bush, son of George HW Bush and brother of George W Bush repeatedly stated that he was a self-made man during his campaign for the governorship of Florida. And no one called him on it. Such is the implicit assumption about successful persons in the US. This belittles the accomplishments of truly self-made men such as Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln.
Malcolm does not offer a final word or advice -- but I would say this, as I have said to others -- Do the best to put yourself in the best position to make the most of the opportunities that come your way. Hardly groundbreaking and I don't think all of my staff has liked hearing that, but that's just how it is.
December 30, 2009
December 29, 2009
Working out and becoming Mini-me
I have been lifting weights for a few years and since I also know sports science, it has been a constant source to amusement to me to hear what the personal trainers say and what the newbie trainees say. Then of course there is the gospel on TV and before/after pictures in the print media. Most of the latter are stolen and used without permission.
What annoys me the most is that I see men and women doing sets after sets with weights that could not trigger hypertrophy of any sort and the only impact they could have is to give them tendinitis and lumbago (as you bend at your knees and h-e-a-v-e, pushing out with your lower back and flexing the lumbar spine). That is ridiculous. Repetitive movements involving one small joint are dangerous to your health and give you chronic pain in the form of carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis. That's dumb working out. I have done that and not seen results as fast as with a powerlifting 5 x 5 program that I am now on.
The second source of annoyance is the diet purported to lose fat and sculpt muscles. That's total bullshit. Learn a little bit of Sports Science, y'all. What then happens is that women starve themselves, kill their brain cells due to malnutrition and they do not become stronger -- they just become SMALLER. That's the figure of women who go to gym but play no sports where strength is of great importance. The stick-figure thighs are unhealthy. Ever see the thighs on an Olympic swimmer? They are large and have definition: those quads can kick some ass. Not the malnourished mini-me who works out an hour a day and lives on a subsistence diet of 1,000 calories. That's not attractive, ladies... or gentlemen, you know who you are.
The third most annoying myth is that doing more sets at moderate weight develop cuts. Nothing could be further from the truth. The cuts develop by dieting, or what is called cutting in bodybuilding parlance. The main reason I don't want to compete in bodybuilding contests is that I would then need to cut 15 lbs in 3 weeks, meaning I would have to go on an unhealthy diet, suffer from minor ketosis, drink 2 gallons of water every day -- all while maintaining my job and my workout schedule in addition to my other hobbies or, erm, my family responsibilities.
What annoys me the most is that I see men and women doing sets after sets with weights that could not trigger hypertrophy of any sort and the only impact they could have is to give them tendinitis and lumbago (as you bend at your knees and h-e-a-v-e, pushing out with your lower back and flexing the lumbar spine). That is ridiculous. Repetitive movements involving one small joint are dangerous to your health and give you chronic pain in the form of carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis. That's dumb working out. I have done that and not seen results as fast as with a powerlifting 5 x 5 program that I am now on.
The second source of annoyance is the diet purported to lose fat and sculpt muscles. That's total bullshit. Learn a little bit of Sports Science, y'all. What then happens is that women starve themselves, kill their brain cells due to malnutrition and they do not become stronger -- they just become SMALLER. That's the figure of women who go to gym but play no sports where strength is of great importance. The stick-figure thighs are unhealthy. Ever see the thighs on an Olympic swimmer? They are large and have definition: those quads can kick some ass. Not the malnourished mini-me who works out an hour a day and lives on a subsistence diet of 1,000 calories. That's not attractive, ladies... or gentlemen, you know who you are.
The third most annoying myth is that doing more sets at moderate weight develop cuts. Nothing could be further from the truth. The cuts develop by dieting, or what is called cutting in bodybuilding parlance. The main reason I don't want to compete in bodybuilding contests is that I would then need to cut 15 lbs in 3 weeks, meaning I would have to go on an unhealthy diet, suffer from minor ketosis, drink 2 gallons of water every day -- all while maintaining my job and my workout schedule in addition to my other hobbies or, erm, my family responsibilities.
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