First off - M.D.s vs. Others, there are two sides to every coin. I am not
knocking things like emergency medicine or things like heart transplants.
What I do have a problem with is the same types of attitudes that some of
you seem to feel other types of doctors have. Unless you live under a rock
and by the way if you do, how do get your computer under there?, we've all
met people on both ends of the scale. Some are humble and gracious, others
are loud and boisterous. What value does any of this discussion really
provide? So we have different opinions, imagine that, different people with
different experiences and different opinions. I'd be surprised if the FDA
didn't come to shut us down for that. I personally became a bit upset over a
post by a doctor who had to stick his title on his post as if he suddenly
had some holy grail of degrees or titles after bashing another doctor.

The HIT digest - I've left the HIT digest also, too much silliness and nit
picking over minor details that don't amount to squat. Which I see a lot of
here also. Let's face it, there isn't one person on this list who can be
completely Paleo, the times they have a changed my friends. It's no longer
the Savannah and it ain't 100 million years ago. We have to make do with
what we have now the best way we can by applying the principles Ray has
given us.

High Intensity Exercise - You may not think I'm beautiful after this one.
Anyone who advises anyone to jump around, especially with weights
(plyometrics, etc.), is not all there. That is the worst advice anyone could
give, you just keep subjecting your joints to those repetitive impact forces
and see how long you last. And try it everyday, you'll soon fall into a
severe state of over training and develop an injury. I'm stealing from Mike
Mentzer, but here's the analogies to help make my point:

Intense exercise can be compared to getting a suntan, you wouldn't want to
spend too much time in the sun each time. A little exposure at a time is all
that is necessary. You then leave the sunlight and allow your skin's defense
to build. It does this by developing the tan. If you subject your skin to
too much sun, the stress is far too much for your body to adapt to and so
you burn.

Same thing with a callous, a little friction over a period of time will
cause the formation of a callous. This is a defense mechanism. Too much
friction and you tear the skin before a callous can develop.

In both of the above sad attempts to paraphrase Mike Mentzer's examples, the
point is to subject your body to a degree of stress, allow the body time to
heal itself and build it's defenses. In this case High Intensity exercise,
this is a huge stress on the body. In defense of itself, given enough time
to heal and rebuild, it will respond by developing larger muscles. This is
to protect itself from the stress of the weight that you just subjected it
to. That's why it is important to constantly try to increase the weight that
you lift, if you keep subjecting the body to a greater stress each time, and
allow it to rest and recover and compensate for the stress, you will grow
bigger muscles. Bigger muscles mean greater strength, there is a limit, you
can only get so strong or so big or else people would be carrying the bus to
work. It's sad to say, but there are as many different interpretations of
HIT as there are of the Paleo diet. Each person puts their own spin on it
until the purity of the concept becomes so polluted that no one is sure of
how to do it right. I've trained with weights for over 16 years, going from
one routine and miracle supplement to the next without any thing to show for
it but an empty wallet and chronic joint pains. I was a competitive
weightlifter in high school, I spent most of my time favoring and nursing
parts of me from all of the jerking movements and explosive movements I had
to repeatedly perform. I've done the 6-7 day a week 3 hours a day routines,
with nothing but the ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat to show for
it. A few years ago I found HIT, I quit using all the pills and powders and
started relying on food for growth. I went from a sad 175 pounds to my
present weight of 215 pounds with little body fat. I'm stronger than I've
ever been, I only work out about once a week and I constantly add weight in
all of my lifts. I haven't had an injury from weightlifting since I began
HIT, that was late 91 early 92. I can perform the Squat without problem,
these aren't bad for you as long as you can physically do them in proper
form. I Have done calf raises with well over 1000 pounds without injury to
my spine. It's all a matter of proper technique and concentration, plus
giving your body enough time away from the gym to let your body heal itself.


For the more philosophic peoples on this list, I recommend a trip over to
www.mikementzer.com <http://www.mikementzer.com>  He explains the concept of
HIT and proper exercise quite well plus he adds his philosophical points of
view. A big fan of Ayan Rand (sp?) For those who Like low carb and training
info. Head over to www.Cyberpump.com <http://www.Cyberpump.com>  and look up
the Nutri-muscle feature. It is Lyle McDonald's section of Cyberpump and he
provides lots of good low carb training information. While you're at it,
stop by the Direct HIT feature of Cyberpump, that's my section. I'm sure any
questions you may have can be answered.

Chuck