Mike Robertson Interview with Dan John

Excellent interview with the "elderly" 60 year old lifter with a resting heart rate of 60 and systolic BP of < 120.

He talked about an interesting concept of "bus bench" versus "park bench" workouts. You can listen specifically about this concept at the 31:14 mark

From his article on T-Nation (I used to frequent this site once upon a time):

“Another way to look at a year-round approach to reasonable training is my “bus bench” and “park bench” workouts.

Bus bench workouts: You’re expecting results – on time! (Like you’re hoping the bus will be.)

Park bench workouts: Are an opportunity to explore and enjoy where you are in training.

It’s a simple concept. Like weights, benches have multiple uses. If you’re waiting to get to work sitting on a bus bench, you don’t just hope, you demand that the bus be on time. If it’s even a little late, it could ruin your day at work.

Park benches are built the exact same way, but when you sit in a park, you don’t expect or worry if Toby the squirrel comes by or not. You sit back and enjoy the process.”

Or how Tony Gentilcore paraphrases bus bench stuff (allowing the general population to relate):

“I have a class reunion/vacation/World of WarCraft Convention in July and I need to look gooood. I will go to the gym six times per week, train for a marathon, maybe hit up a CrossFit class or two when I can squeeze them in, between yoga class of course, omit all carbohydrates, find perfection in all I do, and meet the person of my dreams.

...

As Coach John states, “When you compete or train, take time to enjoy the view, breathe the air, and don’t worry about the minutia! Whatever comes along during your competition or training should be viewed through the lens of wonder and thanks.”

Fitness doesn’t have to be a ball buster all the time. And, not coincidentally, taking the park bench approach is often what yields better, long-lasting results.”

I think that "park bench" anything (maintaining consistency as priority) most of the year and "bus bench" a few short periods a year (going full balls to the wall) is a good way to keep yourself sane and have sustainable success.

TextExpander for Windows

On the Differences Between American Education and The Rest

From the Economist:

“At the heart of the problem is an educational ethos that prizes building self-esteem over academic attainment. This is based on a theory that self-confidence leads to all manner of other virtues, including academic achievement, because children who feel good about themselves will love learning – right?”

I'm not sure if our education system prioritizes creativity, self-esteem and sports as much as other developed countries (other than the States), but there are downsides to America's fascination with those fields by sacrificing the "sciences": 

“According to the OECD’s latest international education rankings, American children are rated average at reading, below average at science, and poor at maths, at which they rank 27th out of 34 developed countries. At 15, children in Massachusetts, where education standards are higher than in most states, are so far behind their counterparts in Shanghai at maths that it would take them more than two years of regular education to catch up.”

And:

“In a study of eight countries, American children came top at thinking they were good at maths, but bottom at maths. For Korean children, the inverse was true: they considered themselves poorer at maths than the children of any other country, but were the best. The OECD study, similarly, found that American children believe they are good at maths and, indeed, are adept at very simple sums; but give them something halfway tricky and they struggle.”

I'm pretty sure that education everywhere evolves in their own pace and direction, but in Malaysia (at least back then) the system wasn't too good either. In the States I learned basic skeletal anatomy in 3rd grade and world history in 6th grade, stuff that wasn't taught in the Malaysian education system until at least years later (world history was what, Form 5?). And there was much more creative/arts education there, compared with the "churning out results" nature of East and Southeastern Asian education. And let's not talk about sports; it's like a night and day difference.

But hey, in spite of their so-called flawed school education system, they have the highest rate of scientific innovations right? You could argue that it's partly from immigration, but hey you should get my point.

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Short Notes on MRI and Anesthesia

It's certainly not comprehensive (designation of MRI areas, implications in resuscitation and classification of MRI safety); hence termed as short notes.