I hope your weekend has been as restorative as mine has been.
I just read a report about a judge in Texas who dismissed a lawsuit brought against a hospital that had dismissed over a hundred employees because they refused to accept a Covid-19 vaccination.
I've always been troubled by the ethics of mandatory vaccinations, not because I don't believe that vaccines work, but because I'm basically opposed to any mandates. And when a vaccine has not yet been given full FDA approval, it seems odd that the law would allow mandatory vaccination as a condition of employment. That being said, I'm quite sure it's coming. There is a subset of humans in the US who aspire to inflict their ideas of how a person should live (and even think) through any means necessary.
I'm also sympathetic to the argument that the pandemic has been taken advantage of by lots of people with their own agendas. Regardless of if it was a leak or release of a bioengineered virus, the ways it was used to effect certain political outcomes certainly demonstrated the old adage "Never let a crisis go to waste."
All that being said, I encourage anyone who has not had Covid-19 to be vaccinated, and especially those with a high risk of serious disease if infected. I would like to think that people are capable of making good decisions if given good information, but there's a plentitude of evidence to the contrary.
And on that cheerful note, I'll remind you that it's Sunday night, and time to plan your coming week if you haven't already. This is how you control your week, and your life.
My supporters' group is getting daily content that is separate from this. Right now I'm only charging $5 per month, and I can promise you that the value I'm delivering is at the level that other groups charge hundreds a month for. I'll keep this low price for the next hundred folks who join, but after that, I'll be raising the price for new members. I won't raise it for my "charter members."
Stay healthy!
I'm on a weekend night call schedule this weekend, which always leaves me feeling under-rested and generally icky.
But I wanted to remind you that outdoor exercise without screens is really good for your mental health.
Go outdoors, preferably into the woods.
Get in tune with those surroundings, the sights, the sounds, the smells, even the movement of air and the varying temperatures as you walk.
We were made to be outdoors.
We were definitely not made to work in cubicles.
One Degree!
What you want from your body will dictate what you need to set as goals, and the goals will determine what you'll end up having to change to attain them.
I've spoken many times about systems being better than goals, and my position has not changed.
But goals are easier to discuss and to understand, so for this week, we'll be very specific about goals.
Do you want more muscle mass?
Do you want to be stronger?
Do you want to run faster?
Do you want to gain weight?
Do you want to lose weight?
Do you want to improve general fitness?
Do you want longevity?
Do you want strong bones?
Do you want to earn a Black Belt?
Understanding the benefits and costs of each particular goal may help you decide what you want.
For example, if you want to compete in body-building competitions, you'll not be doing the same thing as if you were focused on longevity. Same with strength competitions.
But general fitness and longevity go fairly well together.
Running is great but will increase the likelihood of needing knee or hip ...
I'll make this one short and to the point.
Spring time change is hard on all of us. Having to get up an hour early doesn't make going to bed an hour earlier much easier.
Yes, it's nice to have more productive time in the evening.
But it's at the cost of forcing us out of be an hour earlier, as we all know.
Our challenge is to adjust our circadian rhythm to match the world's expectations around us.
My main strategy is supplementing with a dose of melatonin about a half hour before I need to be asleep. It helps most people fall asleep more readily.
If you need a nap during your day, take it between mid-morning and early afternoon. Limit it to 20 minutes.
Taking a longer or later nap may make it even harder to get off to sleep in time.
All of the other normal advice applies even moreso: