>On other fronts, I must be a sucker for the books that are
>discussed on this
>list because, after reading "Lights Out," I bought Pavel Tsatsouline's
>"Power to the People."  I really enjoyed it but have not changed my routine
>yet (tomorrow).  I was a little frustrated at how similar his approach was
>to EvFit, but how different his methods were from Art's.  At any rate, one
>thing Pavel mentions that resonated with me was soreness after working out
>and his belief that it is unnecessary.  After Monday's squat session, I was
>sore until yesterday (Thurs.).  I never bothered with it before reading
>Pavel figuring it was just part of the game.  I only work out two days a
>week, squats/press on Monday and deadlifts/bench on Thurs or Fri.
>(I do some
>intervals to round out the week on different days).  However, I think I am
>going to a MWF routine of just deadlift and incline bench for six weeks or
>so and am going to follow the advice of 2 sets/5 reps to see what happens.

Rick, thanks for mentioning "Lights Out" again.  I read the thread back in
November and forgot all about the book and the discussions.  Perhaps with
those discussions subconsciously in mind, a few weeks ago, I rotated my
normal sleeping position 180 degrees away from windows with blinds that
poorly blocked out street light towards the bedroom wall.  Now I sleep much
more fitfully.  I might try a pair of good sleep shades in this position to
better replicate the lightlessness of John's "dark cave."

I'll add another book to your reading list.  Keith Frayn's "Metabolic
Regulation: A Human Perspective" is a good companion text if you want to
understand some of Art's excellent metabolic arguments, for example his
recent injunction against high-GI meals after intense workouts.  The book
was published in 1996 so it obviously doesn't include current research.
(Many of Art's statements seem to come from recent research.) While one
won't find everything discussed here in the book, it does provide a good
foundation for understanding.  (The book is technical, so one might benefit
from a primer in basic biochemistry too.)  I'm disappointed that the book
doesn't talk more about growth hormone and about Frayn's understandably,
exclusive emphasis on carbo-dominated diets for the diet metabolism
examples.

David Gibson's "Metabolic Regulation in Mammals" will be released soon.

After Robert's mention of Pavel, I decided to check him out again.  Despite
gaining strength and losing one or two percentage points of body fat, I've
been having a hard time gaining any lean body mass.  I remain at ~140 lbs
and ~10% body fat, standing 5'10", after five months of lifting, following a
two day split of squats/pulldown + accessories and deadlifts/bench +
accessories done hierarchally, and a regular diet of meat, fruits and
vegetables.  The workouts last less than 40 minutes and any soreness,
usually minor, quickly goes away after a day or two.  What does linger is a
sense of head fatigue and early awakening from sleep -- signs of
overtraining.  I feel better if I restrict myself to doing just one or two
major lifts each workout.  With the reduced volume, I can work out more
often.  Doing this, I seem to have gained a steady pound or two.  With this
experience, I'm enthusiastic about the idea of two major lifts five days a
week.  (I'm also taking more seriously the importance of walks, hikes, and
power law exercises outside the gym.)

Besides ordering Pavel's "Power to the People" video, I've also ordered
Pavel's "Kettlebell" video.  My lower body is much stronger and better
developed than my upper body.  As a teenager, I ran the stairs at school
everyday, two steps at a time.  Unfortunately, I didn't do them with my
hands.  Appealing to me is his idea of high volume ballistic lifts to build
the muscle groups of the upper body.  Given his emphasis on strength not
bulk, I assume his exercises build FT mass.  We'll see how well it works...
(Has anyone tried this yet?)

By the way, Pavel actively answers questions in the forums of his major
distributor http://www.dragondoor.com.

>A very good article appeared a couple of days ago in the Washington Post
>regarding Paleo eating.  Boyd Eaton is quoted in there as well as the usual
>cast of characters.  I was happy to see the conclusion of the article which
>I think is a very balanced approach to dieting, even if you're not
>a big fan
>of grains.  One thing I don't think this article takes into account is
>seasonal variation in food supply.  Even if you lived in a fairly temperate
>environment like central France 3,000 years ago, I don't think there were a
>lot of carbs available in February (one dietary area that I thought "Lights
>Out" did a good job exploring).  Here's the URL for the article:
>
>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51501-2001Feb9.html

Rick, talking about the Washington Post and paleo diets, do you know of a
good source of game meats in the DC area?  The butchers listed in the
Washingtonian seem to treat it as a seasonal or special order item.  Fresh
Fields sells various packaged, frozen game meats for over $10/lb.

Does anyone have a good protocol for rendering the fat from contemporary
meat?  Art has recommended the use of a grill for this purpose--I've been
using a Black and Decker SizzleLean electric indoor grill.  It's nicely
designed, but doesn't seem to render all that much fat.  I've found that
microwaving briefly after grilling--to speed cook the inside of chicken or
pork--brings out a lot of liquid, fat and aqueous.  Ideas?

Ming