Amateur Boxing for Beginners: A How-to Guide-Part I

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Martin Schatz.

People come to boxing for a variety of different reasons and goals.  Some come to the sport as a tool for self-defense, some come for fitness, and some have aspirations to compete.  All are respectable goals, but this three part series will focus on those who plan to compete in amateur fights through USA Boxing.

In this first section, we will discuss how to find and decide on a boxing gym and how to decide on a coach.
Finding a Gym

First and foremost, an aspiring fighter needs to find a place to train.  Despite the booming popularity in boxing and MMA, this is often easier said than done.  First, keep in mind that not just any place that “has boxing” will do.  For your easy convenience, we have provided a list of gym attributes to look out for.

Find an actual boxing gym. This means a gym that exclusively coaches boxing.  This means no martial arts gym that “also” teaches boxing.  If you are interested in becoming a well-rounded martial artist, by all means, find a place that teaches ground fighting in addition to their stand-up styles.  But this post is for boxing and boxers, and MMA gyms do not usually have the A) quality of instruction, or B) the quantity of sparring partners necessary to mold a successful amateur boxer.  You also end up having to share the ring with the Muay Thai classes, the floor space with the Brazilian jiu-jitsu guys, and so on.  Believe me, an MMA school that has boxing “classes” is not where you want to hone your craft.

Which brings me to my next point…

Eliminate most (but not all) gyms that have structured boxing classes. Classes are great for fitness crowds and hobbyists, and I know that a lot of grappling sports are taught this way, but they do not a great boxer make.  As the popularity of boxing and kickboxing has exploded, all sorts of gyms have tried to cash in by offering instruction and classes in these sports.  Look, there is nothing wrong with boxing classes, but they are not usually geared towards making a competent fighter.  Some quality boxing gyms have started adding class times in order to offer the best of both worlds.  They have the guys training for fights in the back, while a 7:00 pm boxing class grooves to the latest in top 40 beats.  That’s all well and good, and I have seen some very respectable gyms do this.  In fact, my favorite gym that I have trained at was set up like this.  I would not automatically rule these hybrid places out, just be sure to check carefully into their fighters and coaches.

Eliminate any gym where the only guys who have fought before are the coaches and trainers. That tells you immediately that you will not have enough quality sparring partners once you get some degree of skill.  Getting your teammates ready for their fights and having them help you get ready for your own is a vital part of the gym environment.  If you are the only aspiring fighter at the gym, you have outgrown it before you have even laced up a pair of gloves.
Finding a Coach

Most legitimate boxing gyms have quite a few coaches and trainers who work as private contractors.  Some of them are friends with each other, some are enemies, and some are rivals. Once you have decided on a gym, I would talk with the owner/manager/guy-at-the-front-desk about what you are looking for.  He will ask you about your goals, your experience, your age, etc.  A lot of the time he will recommend a particular coach to you, which makes your job easier. Once introduced, you will most likely go through the same round of questions that you just answered.  If you have some experience, the coach will most likely put you through a workout. He’ll hold the focus mitts for you, watch you hit the bags, and watch you shadow box.  You are looking for someone with whom you have a good rapport.  I like to watch and see how he interacts with other people in the gym as well.  Does he seem liked, or at least, respected?  Who else does he train?  These are my suggestions for what I look for in a coach, but other traits may be more important to you:

1. Does he train other amateur fighters who are currently competing? It would be nice if he has guys around your own weight and experience level.  This way, you always have a ready sparring partner if there isn’t anyone else available on a particular day.

2. Does he personally work hard? Is he engaged in what his fighters are working on?  I always like it when my coach is working with someone else in the ring but notices me on the other side of the room and yells out for me to quit messing around.  It matters to him that I am doing things right.

3. Is he on time, not terribly hung-over, and mentally “there?” Sad story, but a lot of current trainers and coaches are ex-fighters, and boxing is a hard business.  There are a lot, more than one might think, of broken-down ex-pugs who are broke and at bottom.  For some of these guys, boxing is all they know, and that’s why they are still in gyms.  It is simply the only way they know how to make money.  I would suggest looking for a coach who still has a strong passion for the sport and cares deeply about coaching a new generation of fighters.

Once you’ve picked a gym and a coach, it’s time to get your feet wet and jump in. But as a newbie, you may be nervous about how you’re supposed to act in a boxing gym. Next time we’ll cover how you’ll be expected to carry yourself and train at the gym.

What other tips do you have for finding a good boxing gym and coach? Share your advice with us in the comments!

Amateur Boxing for Beginners: A How-to Guide-Part II

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Martin Schatz.

Last time, we discussed what to look for when selecting a place to train.  We went through some of the positive and negative attributes of the common gym type.  Today in Part II, we will look at the training environment and explore the etiquette and common courtesies expected in a typical boxing gym.
Training & Gym Etiquette

Boxing gyms are intimidating, no getting around that.  Almost without exception, they are located in the worst parts of town.  Inside, they are hot, crowded, and very loud.  That being said, some of the nicest people you would want to meet are training and sweating in these damp little boxes.  Sam Sheridan mentioned this in his podcast interview with the Art of Manliness awhile back, but the guys who know what they are doing, the ones who have been-there and done-that, don’t have any need for posturing or bullying.  I am sure that there are exceptions to this rule, but I just haven’t met any.

Whether you are a rank beginner or are transferring into the sport from another martial art, there are things you can do to ease your transition into the family.

Talk less and work more – As a general rule, this is a good one.  There is not a coach or serious athlete anywhere that won’t respect a guy, especially a new guy, for his willingness to work hard without making a scene.

Don’t ask too many questions - This one goes against common wisdom a bit.  The fact is that all of the fundamentals of boxing are very unnatural acts.  The boxing stance–eyes and hands up, chin down, elbows tucked, lead shoulder pointing at your opponent–can feel very uncomfortable when you’re starting out.  Don’t waste your coach’s (or your own) time by getting into a bunch of blibbety-blap about the why’s or check with him all the time to see if you are “doing it right.”  He will tell you when you are doing it right.  Like a lot of things, repetition is the only thing that will make you comfortable and relaxed in what is basically an uncomfortable and tense posture.  Just keep the fundamentals in mind and keep showing up.  Which reminds me…

Show up – Boxing is not bodybuilding.  You don’t need 24 hours to “rest the muscles that you worked yesterday.”  Boxing training is repetitive, strenuous, and very hard on certain parts of your body.  You will do almost the same thing every single day.  If your goal is to compete, and compete with a chance of success, three days a week is not enough.  Your opponent is training five days a week, with roadwork as well, so take from that what is necessary.

Don’t make excuses – This one actually seems most common from guys who are coming to boxing from other martial arts.  After a particularly brutal sparring session where a guy gets countered non-stop with straight right hands after being lazy about bringing his jab back, you might hear, “Yeah, in taekwondo (or whatever), we keep our hands down.”  That is a wonderful and exciting bit of trivia, but in boxing, you are going to get knocked cold for that kind of habit. Other, more obvious excuses include the common ones, revolving around being tired, being injured, being sick, not getting enough sleep, etc.  Nobody anywhere likes listening to this kind of stuff, so help yourself out and avoid it.
Sparring Etiquette

Sparring is the most important part of your training.  People who are new to the sport may be surprised by the frequency and intensity of sparring in a boxing gym.  When you first get started, you will almost always be working with someone with a lot more experience than you.  This is actually a good thing, as he will let you throw punches, work mostly on defense, and just “keep you honest” by tagging you with jabs and light shots to remind you that the other guy is throwing punches too.

As you progress, sparring becomes more and more intense.  Mismatches are often amended with a handicap, where a bigger fighter will take a bit off of his punches, or a more experienced fighter will let his opponent dictate the pace.  More even match-ups, with both guys of similar weight and experience, will resemble a full-contact fight.  There are some notable differences of course, such as the larger gloves.  Also, if a guy gets noticeably rocked by a hard shot or barrage of punches, etiquette usually demands avoiding going in for the kill, unlike in an actual fight.

A few other points:

    Sparring partners touch gloves at the beginning of the round and at the end of the round. Don’t touch gloves with your opponent and then immediately throw a haymaker while he is distracted.  Even the hardest and most intense sparring session is still sparring.
    Your coach will be yelling for you to do certain things.  Don’t stop and listen.  Maintain the sparring session and try to put into practice his instructions as you go.
    At the end of the sparring session, thank both your partner and his coach for the work.  Be gracious, regardless of how the rounds went.  Sometimes you will be giving a beating and sometimes you will be taking one, but always thank both men for the work and for the opportunity.
    An almost immediate affinity is fostered between two athletes who have just gone through a hard sparring session together, even if they didn’t know each other beforehand.  It is customary to chat for a few minutes about how it went, what each other did well, and to ask about each fighter’s respective experience in the sport.  This is not always immediately possible if your coach has you go right to your bag work, but I will always try to get one last small conversation in with the guy before leaving the gym.  Even just a last “thanks again for the help today” as you are walking out the door will keep up foreign relations and help ensure you have a sparring partner in the future.

Got any more tips on boxing gym etiquette? Have a question about how you should act in one? Drop a line in the comments.

Amateur Boxing for Beginners: A How-to Guide-Part III

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Martin Schatz.

In our first article, we looked into the what’s and how’s of finding a respectable boxing gym.  In our second, we covered the best ways to earn respect and ingratiate yourself into the gym environment.  In this final installment, we will describe how to put your plan into practice and compete in a boxing match.
Getting Your Amateur License

Amateur boxing in the United States is managed by USA Boxing, which is responsible for the sport all the way up through the elite ranks of our national Olympic team.  Events arranged outside of this organization are considered exhibitions or interclub “smokers.”  To participate in USA Boxing events, you will have to go through a physical examination, proving that you are of sound mind and body and pay your annual dues to the nearest Local Boxing Committee (LBC).  You can find the relevant contact info for your district here.

First things first: make an appointment to get your physical.  It is suggested that you talk to your coach or the managers of your gym first, as they can often recommend a partnering physician in the area.  Sometimes they will have negotiated discounted rates in exchange for sending lots of athletes their way.  When this is the case, the physician will usually have the official form at the office for you. If not, you will need to get a copy from your gym or LBC.

The physical is very basic.  They will check your blood pressure, reflexes, and heart rate.  They will ask you about past concussions and hand injuries.  They do not do any kind of X-rays, brain scans, or other advanced screening types of procedures.  Assuming that you are given a clean bill of health, you will mail or deliver the Amateur Boxing application, your signed form of the physical, two passport-sized pictures, and a check for $55.00 to the LBC.  Within a week or two, you will receive your license.  Do not lose this, as you will need to surrender it at every USA Boxing event, only to be returned to you after the results of your bout have been entered.
Getting Added to an Amateur Boxing Card

Fortunately for you, this is easy.  The amateur boxing circuit is a small world, both locally and nationally, and once your coach decides that you are ready, he will be your best resource for attending and competing in events.  There are two basic types: the tournament and the local club fight.  Tournaments are more well-known, as just about everyone has heard of the Golden Gloves, Ringside’s National Championships, and others.  The second option is when a local club, business, or charity event sponsors a fight card.

Tournaments, as one might expect, span several days, with the winner moving on in the bracket, while the loser gets to watch the rest of the event from the sidelines.  Depending on the event and your weight class, you may need to win several fights to get to the championship, or one, or none.  For smaller tournaments, and if you are in a very light or very heavy weight class, you may get moved straight into the finals to face the one other fighter in your division.  I have a friend who was awarded the regional Golden Gloves Championship without having to fight a single bout.  She was the only fighter in her weight class to register.

Club fights are all over the board in terms of the size of an audience, venue, and location.  I’ve had several fights at local gyms, and I made my amateur debut at the Elks Club of San Francisco, a swanky club for the movers and shakers of the local business community.  Unlike the local gym fights, the Elks Club blessed us with ring card girls.  One notable difference on club fights is that you don’t have to fall within a specific weight class.  Matches are typically made between the two fighters who are closest in weight and experience.  Therefore, while a novice fighter (10 or less fights) has to make his weight class for a tournament at, say the 152 pound division or be forced to move up to 165, a club fight will allow a 154 pound fighter to match up against someone at 150, or 158 in the other direction.  These are ballpark figures, but the point is that a tournament is a bit more rigid in terms of match-making.
Getting Matched, and Dealing with It

You have trained hard, taken your licks, and now you’re giving out more beatings at the gym than taking.  Your coach has agreed that you’re ready to mix it up, and you and your team have shown up at the event ready for war.  Now what?

First things first, you will weigh in and see the doctor.  You will hand over your amateur card, and step on the scale.  After a light dinner the night before, and no breakfast, your weight is marked down, and you are looked over by the doctor.  He has you track his pen-light with your eyes and checks your heart rate and blood pressure, which is most likely dangerously high due to the stress and uncertainty of the situation.  He will make a joke or two about you being nervous and then wish you good luck.  After everyone goes through this, they will work over the fighters and their bios and match opponents up as best they can.  Novice fighters have to fight other novice fighters, and open class fighters, with 10 or more fights, get matched up with other open fighters.  Eventually, they come up with the schedule, as well as notifying a few unlucky (lucky) guys that they weren’t able to find a suitable match for them.  At this point, your fate is sealed.

*A quick head’s up about the above process. Nothing ever goes on time.  I have never been to a show where the weigh-in started when it was supposed to.  I have never been to a show where the doctor was on time.  I have never been to a show where the first fight started at the time it was planned.  Be prepared for this, as the waiting for everything is the hardest part of the day. Bring your iPod.

The schedule tells you what corner you will be in (red or blue) and what number on the schedule you will be fighting.  I always pray to not be first, but not to be too far down the list either.  As I mentioned, nothing is worse than the long wait.  Another small joy of amateur boxing is the close proximity to your opponent.  From the moment you get there, everyone is eye-balling each other, mentally sizing the guys up, especially anyone who looks around their weight.  Once the matchups are announced, you know which guy you will be fighting.  You will most likely be getting dressed and warmed up in the same room as him.  I had a fight last year where the room was so cramped that we were literally shadow boxing right next to each other as our bout neared.  This is stressful.

For me personally, even if my bout is near the end of the card, I like to get my hands wrapped right away.  Now the most time-consuming part of the process is done, and I can get dressed and warmed up in the 15-20 minutes before I expect to enter the ring.  While you will need to bring your own headgear, cup, and mouthpiece, the event will supply the gloves.  Typically, they will let you pick up your gloves from the scorers’ table when you are on-deck, or one fight removed from your own.

When the fight before you ends, you will wait until both opponents have left the ring, and then you will make your way to the battlefield.  You will enter the ring from the corner that you have been assigned.  Your coach will give you last minute instructions and smear some Vaseline on your face and headgear.  When the announcer says your name, move to the center of the ring where the referee and your opponent are waiting for you.  The ref will say whatever he feels he has to say; you will touch gloves with your opponent and get motioned back to your corner.

In the last few seconds before the opening bell rings, your panic and fear will be replaced by a deep and serious focus…and fear.  Your opponent will look impossibly muscular and formidable, but you will look the same to him.  Now, you will either be rewarded for all of the sacrifices, pain, and hard work that you put in, or you will be rebuked sharply for all the days that you stayed in your warm bed instead of doing your roadwork, and all of the times that you dogged it on the heavy bag when your coach wasn’t looking.  Either way, stepping in the ring is a step that the vast majority of the population is unwilling and unable to do, and you will never regret having done it.  Best of luck to you.

Unleash the Power of the Nap

I’ve detailed elsewhere how hard I worked in law school. But there was another secret to my success that I haven’t mentioned yet: the nap.

In law school, I rented a carrel where I kept my books and studied in-between classes. I started learning about the benefits of napping and wanted to incorporate the nap into my routine. But alas, the law school didn’t really have any good couches to sprawl out on. So I improvised. I brought a pillow and blanket from home and put them under my carrel desk. When I was ready for a nap, I simply put my iPod headphones on, put on some nice relaxing music, and slipped under my carrel for a quick nap.

It was awesome. It was nice and dark underneath my desk and because it was in the library, it was quiet. I’m sure some people thought I was a crazy bum or something, but I didn’t care. Those short little naps allowed me to power through hours of classes, reading, and outlining.

Sadly, napping is often frowned upon in our workaholic American culture. When we think of napping men we think of Dagwood passed out on the couch after consuming a giant, delicious sandwich. Naps are for the lazy and unambitious. Or for retirees with plenty of time on their hands. The man who falls asleep at his desk at work is laughed at. And when we doze off, we feel guilty.

But in reality, the nap stigma is incredibly misplaced. Naps can be one of the most powerful tools for self-improvement; they can increase not only our health and well-being but our intelligence and productivity as well. This is something great men have known all along. History is full of famous nappers. Famous thinkers and leaders like Edison, JFK, Churchill, and Napoleon were all ardent nappers. We’ll cover the specific napping habits of famous men in a future post.
Your Cat Knows Something You Don’t

Humans are among the few animals that take their sleep in one shot. The rest of the animal kingdom consists of polyphasic sleepers; they alternate sleep and wake cycles throughout a 24 hour period. Cavemen likely slept in multiple phases too, so someone was always up to keep an eye out for saber tooth tigers. While experimenting with a return to polyphasic sleep has become trendy in recent times, the ideal pattern for human sleep is biphasic–a long stretch at night along with a shorter respite during the day.

The ancient Romans were biphasic sleepers; at sexta (the sixth hour or their noon) everyone would turn in for some midday shut eye. This is where we get the term siesta, a tradition once popular in countries like Spain but which has largely succumbed to the encroaching go-go-go Western business style.

While the pace of modern life may keep us from being the biphasic sleepers we were meant to be, the urge for a daytime snooze is still hardwired into our biology. Studies have shown that when people are put into an environment that lacks any indication of time, they will fall into the long sleep at night/shorter nap during the day pattern. Thus most of us are daily fighting tooth and nail against our body’s natural circadian rhythm, and this is wreaking havoc on our well-being, turning us into a horde of zombies that crave espresso instead of brains.

Many of us find it nearly impossible to get enough z’s at night, and sleep deprivation causes a host of bodily and mental ills, keeping us from performing at our best and enjoying life to the fullest.

While a good night’s sleep is essential, a daily nap can buoy us up when we’re not getting quite enough winks. And for those who already sleep well at night, a nap can take take the performance of your body and mind to the next level.

The Benefits of Napping

Increases alertness. When your eyelids are almost too heavy to keep open, you’re not doing your best work. Make time for a nap and then go back at it. A NASA study found that a 40 minute nap increases alertness by 100%. Other studies have found that a 20 minute nap is more effective than either 200 mg of caffeine or a bout of exercise. Yet another study showed that pilots who were allowed to take a 25 minute nap (while the co-pilot manned the controls!) nodded off fives times less than their nap-deprived peers. They also made less errors during take-offs and landings.

Studies have shown that if you break up your day with a nap, you will be as alert and energetic for the second part of your day as you were for the first. So if you’ve got an event planned for after work, take a nap before going out on the town.

Improves learning and working memory. Naps improve your working memory. This type of memory is involved in working on complex tasks where you have to pay attention to one thing while holding a bunch of other things in your memory. Napping also improves your memory retention; during sleep, recent memories are transferred to the neocortex, where long-term memories are solidified and stored.

Prevents burnout and reverses information overload. While we often refuse to take a nap because we feel like we have too much to do, studies have shown that putting in extra hours without rest dramatically reduces your productivity. It would be better to take a 30 minute nap and return to your work refreshed. This was demonstrated in a study in which subjects performed a visual task over the course of four days. With each successive session, the subjects’ performance on the task deteriorated. But when the subjects were allowed to take a 30 minute nap after the second session, the decline in performance was halted. And after a one hour nap, their performance actually improved in the third and fourth sessions.

Heightens your senses and creativity. According to foremost nap scientist (napologist?) Sara C. Mednick, napping can improve your sensory perception as effectively as a night of sleep. This means that steak tastes better, the sunset looks purtier, and Annie’s Song sounds even better after a good nap. Napping also improves your creativity by both loosening up the web of ideas in your head and fusing disparate insights together.

Improves health. Sleep deprivation leads to an excess of the hormone cortisol in the body. Cortisol, known as the stress hormone, helps us deal with fight or flight responses. But excess cortisol increases glucose intolerance and abdominal fat, weakens the muscular and immune systems, stymies memory and learning, and decreases levels of growth hormone and testosterone in our bodies. These deleterious effects can lead to diabetes and heart disease.

When you sleep, you release growth hormone, the antidote to cortisol which which boosts your immune system, primes your sexual function, reduces stress and anxiety, and aids in muscle repair and weight loss. Napping gives your brain a chance to rest and your body a chance to heal.

The proof’s in the pudding. A study done with Greeks found that those that took a 30 minute nap at least three times a week had 37% less risk of dying from a heart-related condition. Among working men their risk of death was reduced 64%! So not only should you dance like Zorba the Greek, you should nap like him, too.

Improves mood. The neurotransmitter serotonin regulates our mood, sleep, and appetites. It produces feeling of contentment and well-being. But when our bodies are stressed, higher levels of serotonin are used and the production of more is blocked. As a result, we can become anxious, irritable, depressed, overwhelmed, and easily distracted. According to Mednick, “napping bathes your brain in serotonin, reversing those effects and creating a more positive outlook.”

Saves money. Instead spending $30 a week on Five Hour Energy or Starbucks, take a nap and boost your energy the natural and more effective way.

It’s awesome. Seriously, napping. It’s awesome.
Understanding the Stages of Sleep

All napping is good, but you can also tailor your nap to your specific needs. But before we delve into that, we need to talk about what each stage of sleep does for your mind and body.

There are five different stages of sleep, 1,2,3,4, and REM (Rapid Eye Movement). You cycle through them repeatedly as you sleep or nap: 1,2,3,4, 2, REM, 2,3,4,2, REM and so on. Each cycle lasts 90-100 minutes.

Stage 1: Lasting 2-5 minutes, this stage transitions you into sleep. Your thoughts and mental associations loosen up. This state of sort of wakeful dreaming has been used by artists and thinkers to cultivate rich ideas. We’ll cover this in-depth in a future post.

Stage 2: Motor skills and complex tasks you’ve been working on are solidified. Your energy and stamina are strengthened and senses sharpened. You spend about 50% of your sleep time in Stage 2.

Stages 3 and 4: In these stages you slide into Slow Wave Sleep. Your body stops releasing cortisol altogether and extra growth hormone goes to work restoring your body, repairing tissues, lowering stress, metabolizing fats and moving carbs out of your body. And your mind is cleared; memories that aren’t being used are pruned away, strengthening what remains and making room for new information. Information that you’ve recently and consciously learned such as the dates for a history test are solidified. You spend about 30% of your sleep time in Stages 3 and 4.

REM: During REM your brain shuttles your recently-made memories from their short term holding tank in the hippocampus to long term storage. The information is thus made permanent; if you don’t sleep soon after a learning session, you’ll lose much of what you studied. Creativity is given a boost as spatial orientation and perceptual skills are sharpened and the different insights and complex ideas you have swirling around in your nogggin are fused together. You spend about 20% of your sleep time in REM.

Tailoring Your Nap to Your Needs
According to Dr. Mednick, the perfect nap for everyone is 90 minutes long and taken between 1 and 3 in the afternoon. At this time, and at this length, your nap will consist of the optimal balance of all the different sleep stages. The ratio of the sleep stages in this nap exactly mirror that of nocturnal sleep. But of course, not everyone has an hour and a half to saw off during the day. And sometimes you want to tailor your nap to your particular needs on a particular day.

Note: These recommendations are based on an average adult sleep schedule (11-12 am to 6-8 am). If you’re a night owl or have a different sort of schedule, check out Dr. Mednick’s book, Take a Nap! It has a “nap wheel” and formula for calculating your perfect nap based on when you wake up and your particular needs.

You need a boost of creativity. Don’t know how many happy little clouds to add to your painting, and Bob Ross won’t be on until 3? Does writing your essay for English class feel, as Ronald Reagan put it, like crapping a pineapple? Then you need a dose of REM sleep, which increases your creativity. You’ll need a longer nap to get to the REM stage and since potential REM peaks early in the day and declines from there, aim for something like a 90 minute nap before 2 pm.

You need stamina. Running a race that evening? Going from one job to the next? You need Stage 2 sleep which you can get in a 20 minute power nap. Don’t go down for any longer than 20 minutes though. We’ve all experienced naps that leave us groggy when we wake up. This is called sleep inertia and happens when you awaken during Slow Wave Sleep. So you need to wake up before you slip into Stage 3.

Studies have found that a 20 minute nap 8 hours after you wake up will boost your stamina more than sleeping an extra 20 minutes in the morning. So instead of hitting the snooze button, save those minutes for an afternoon siesta.

You need to relax. While REM sleep declines during the day, SWS increases. So if you’re feeling stressed, shoot for a longer nap after 2 pm and ideally in the early evening, so your body can get a cortisol break and repair itself. Naps will not affect your nighttime sleep as long as you wake from your nap three hours before bedtime.

You need to pull an all-nighter. Instead of downing can after can of Red Bull, try what researchers call the “prophylactic nap.” Taking a preventive nap in anticipation of sleep deprivation is more effective in maintaining cognitive performance and alertness than taking no nap at all, taking a nap when your sleep debt has already made you tired, and even taking multiple doses of caffeine. So when you know an all-nighter is in the cards for you, try to take a nap during the day; the longer the better, but even 25 minutes will keep keep your performance levels higher than they would be. Keep in mind that the effects of a prophylactic nap only last 8-10 hours; nothing can keep your brain from starting to unravel if you skip two nights of sleep.

You need to ace a test. After you study and before test time, take a 90 minute nap. Stage 2 will increase your alertness, stages 3 and 4 will clear your mind of unnecessary clutter, solidify the things you just studied, and lower your stress, and REM sleep will move the information into permanent storage and sort through the complex information you just learned.

You need immediate alertness. Try a “caffeine nap.” Researchers at the University of Britain at Loughborough tested several ways to improve the alertness of drivers and found the “caffeine nap” to be the most effective method. You down a cup of coffee or other caffeinated beverage and then immediately hunker down for a 15-20 minute nap. Again, don’t go any longer than that or you’ll awaken with sleep inertia. The caffeine clears your body of adenosine, a chemical which makes you sleepy. It takes awhile for the caffeine to circulate through your system, so it doesn’t effect the quality of the nap. Instead, it kicks in in tandem with the refreshment you would feel upon awakening from a normal power nap. I’ve personally found the caffeine nap to be effective, especially when you’re crunched for time; it’s easier to get up and keeps you from the temptation of turning a 20 minute nap into an hour and a half session.
Squeezing in Nap Time

It would be awesome if offices took a cue from kindergarten and broke out cookies, milk, and nap mats once a day.

Alas in the real world it can be hard to catch some z’s at work. Getting caught asleep at your desk is not a good way to earn respect at your job. But most people get an hour for lunch, and you can easily eat for half that time and then go take a snooze in your car for the other half. Tell your boss all about the benefits of napping and see if you can get a couch in some rarely-used room.

If you’re a student, do like I did and toss embarrassment to the wind and just curl up somewhere. If you can’t nap during the day, take a short pre-or post-dinner nap.

Remember, all you need to do it carve out 20 minutes somewhere in your day. One study showed that even a 6 minute nap improves memory function. So you can even sneak one in while the guy at the desk next to you runs to the snack machine.

At the very least, learn to embrace the nap and the napping of others. Napping is not a character defect! Many great men have taken advantage of the benefits of napping. It is a wonderful, wonderful way to improve your life.

Hero Training: The Chase Down a Purse Snatcher Workout

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Chad Howse. Awhile back, Chad did an awesome series for us on the basics of boxing. Today he’s starting a new fantastic series on hero training. Every other week, Chad will give Art of Manliness readers a workout based on building the strength and fitness needed to tackle a heroic task. Even if you never have to step in to save the day, it’s just a fun way to focus on functional fitness and motivate yourself to get in shape!

Every man wants to be a hero. We all have that desire to come to the aid of another human being, but do we have the skills and attributes to actually succeed?

If you witnessed a purse snatching, would you have the speed to chase down the bad guy even if he had a 50-meter head start? Do you have the leaping ability to jump from rooftop to rooftop, or the strength to climb a rope hanging off the side of bridge with hungry crocodiles waiting in the water below?

Are you strong enough, and do you have the muscular endurance to lift another human being and carry them to safety? Do you have the pulling strength to lift an object off of someone in distress, or the pushing strength to push a fallen beam off of yourself?

It’s great if you want to be a hero. But I’m here to show you how to actually succeed when–heaven forbid–you have to jump into action and save someone, or yourself.

During this series I’ll be going over just that: the training that will equip you with the skills needed to save the day. I’ll go over steps you’ll need to take to conquer each attribute, then follow it up with a video demonstration of what kind of training you would need to be able to confidently succeed in each scenario.

Let’s get started!
Mission #1: Chasing Down the Purse Snatcher

There are a few things to think about when training for this situation:

1. The explosive speed needed for the start of the sprint and the first 10-20 meters.

2. The endurance should the chase go longer than expected.
The “Chase Down the Purse Snatcher Workout”

The first part of the workout, when our bodies are fresh and energized, will be dedicated to improving our explosive power. We’ll have a weightlifting portion in the workout, as well as a plyometrics component.

The second half of the workout will be dedicated to improving our muscular endurance and lung capacity through a challenge workout, then putting our training into practice with some short sprints.
Power

The Deadlift

This is one of the best exercises for building athletic power, making it perfect for our mission. Make sure to start off with a light weight, improve your form, then begin increasing weight.

The deadlift is one of the best exercises for building athletic power in the lower body and hips. In the video, I’m using a relatively light weight to demonstrate, but if you’ve done this exercise before and have developed the proper form, you should be lifting around 85% of your 1 rep max.

Focus on a quick, explosive lift, then a slower and controlled down phase.

* Cleans and snatches are also great substitutions if you’re looking for some variation in the workout. They’re both a bit more difficult, and it’s harder to master proper technique, but I’m a huge fan of Olympic lifts for improving power from an athletic standpoint.

Plyometrics

Plyometric exercises are designed to build our fast-twitch muscle fibers. We need to be explosive from the time we see the crime being committed, and each of these exercises will help us do so.

Plyometrics are used by sprinters, basketball players, football players, and any other type of athlete that needs to improve their power, speed, and quickness. They’re a great addition to our routine, and the best thing is, you don’t need any weights to do them.
The Catch the Purse-Snatcher Challenge Workout

To improve our muscular endurance and lung capacity, we’ll be doing a “Catch the Purse Snatcher” Challenge workout. You’ll be given a list of exercises and the amount of repetitions you have to complete for each exercise.

Challenge workouts aren’t just physical tests, but mental tests as well. They test our toughness and our desire to push through pain.

    Complete the total amount of reps in each exercise–with minimal rest–before moving on to the next.
    Start timing when you begin the first exercise in the list. Only stop the clock after you’ve completed every rep of every exercise in the workout.
    Time yourself each time you perform the challenge workout so you can see your improvement. The goal is to improve every time you do it.

We need exercises that will build full-body strength, but also get us used to having our blood pumping throughout our body, not just being isolated or relegated to one muscle group like you’ll see in bodybuilding. This will help us get used to being fatigued, while still having the wherewithal and ability to grab a hold of the bad guy and retrieve the lady’s purse.
Sprints

We’re working on sprinting right? So we’re actually going to have to put our training into practice. We’re working on explosiveness, so we’re only going to be focusing on the first 10 meters of our chase.

Head outside for the sprinting portion of the workout; it isn’t as effective if you try and do this on a treadmill as you won’t be able to get to your top speed as fast as you should be able to. You can also do this portion of the workout up a set of stairs.

Make sure you get a good enough warm-up in! The first 1-2 times you do sprints, don’t go more than 90% if you haven’t sprinted in a while. It’s a great way to pull a hamstring (not what we want).
Splitting the Workouts to Save Time

If you’re pressed for time, split the workout into two days. Do all of the power exercises–which include deadlifts, box jumps, and sprints–on one day, then the Endurance Challenge on another day. This will cut the time down to around 20 minutes each workout.

The key to this workout is intensity. Jump as high as possible, lift as fast as possible, and sprint as quickly as possible; in short, push yourself as hard as you can. We’re going for quality over quantity so the intensity that you put into each workout will give you the tools to catch the bad guy.
Warm-up:

Burpees: 2 sets of 10 reps

Rest for 120 seconds after each set.
The Workout

1. Deadlift (use a barbell or dumbbells if a bar isn’t available).

A1. 3 sets of 3 repetitions (120 second rest after each set).

2. Plyometrics

B1. Box jumps 1:

6 reps x 2 (120 seconds rest after each set).

B2. Box jumps 2:

10 reps x 1 (120 seconds rest).

3. Challenge Workout

50 reps of each exercise

1. Push-ups

2. Kettlebell Swings (use a dumbbell if no kettlebell is available)

3. Bodyweight Row

4. Squats

5. Lunge Jumps (50 each leg)

6. High knees (60 seconds)

4. Sprinting

4×10 meters – 120 sec rest between sprints.

Hero Training: The Pulling to Safety Workout

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Chad Howse. For this series on hero training, every other week Chad will give Art of Manliness readers a workout based on building the strength and fitness needed to tackle a heroic task. Even if you never have to step in to save the day, it’s just a fun way to focus on functional fitness and motivate yourself to get in shape!

Let’s set the scene:

You’re headed down a crocodile-infested river with the bad guys in hot pursuit, fedora on your head, and a waterfall fast approaching around the bend. The current is strong, rendering the oars attached to your boat virtually useless. Getting out of the boat is not an option; the current would sweep you under and towards the waterfall.

It’s just you and your cargo: a beautiful young lady caught up in a mess that you are now responsible for fixing.

You notice a tree branch up ahead hanging over the river. If you can grab onto the branch as you pass under it, you can climb to safety with the young lady on your back, watching as your boat goes crashing over the falls.

It’s a do or die situation. There’s just one question:

Do you have the strength?

For this hero mission we’re going to be primarily working on three aspects of strength:

    Our upper body pulling strength and endurance.
    Our grip strength and endurance.
    Our core strength. Stability is going to be big with this mission.

To gain these abilities, we’re going to be doing a challenge workout. You’re given a list of exercises which have been chosen to help you build the strength needed to be a hero in this situation. We are lowering the reps and upping the weight being used, as we’re going to be pulling more than ourselves (the young lady).

We’re going to be doing a challenge-based workout because it’s the closest method of training to the real life situation. In instances like this you’re not going to have rest periods or breaks. You either succeed or you don’t.

The weights used in the workouts are split into three categories: beginner, intermediate, and advanced, depending on your fitness level.

Get each station set before you begin the challenge, as you don’t want to be wasting time setting up the various exercises. As soon as you start the first exercise, start the clock as well. Go through each of the exercises, taking minimal rests only when you can’t go on any further. As soon as you’ve finished the last rep of the last exercise, stop the clock: this is your score.
The Pulling to Safety Challenge Workout

Complete 30 repetitions for each exercise unless otherwise stated.

Weight to be used (3 categories):

    Bent-over row – beginner: 45 lbs, intermediate: 90 lbs, advanced: 155 lbs
    Farmer’s walk – beginner: 20 lbs, intermediate: 40 lbs, advanced: 80 lbs
    Barbell curls – beginner: 45 lbs, intermediate: 65 lbs, advanced: 95 lbs

1. Alternating chin-ups – using a rope or towel

2. Bent-over row – using a rope or towel

3. Farmer’s walk – 60 seconds total

4. Barbell curls

5. Plank – 120 seconds total time

6. Hanging leg raise – 20 reps
Exercise Tips:

Alternating Chin-ups – if chin-ups are not an option, do a cable lat pull down.

Bent-over row – keep your hips locked in place and your lower back straight. Your lower body shouldn’t move during this lift.

Farmer’s walk – grab relatively heavy dumbbells. If the weights suggested aren’t heavy enough, add weight. Squeeze the dumbbells with your shoulder’s back and chest out in good posture. Walk at a slow pace.

Barbell Curls – try to limit swinging during this exercise.

Plank – keep your core activated and back flat throughout the exercise.

Hanging leg raise – There are two options here depending on your fitness level. If you can do a full raise, right to the bar, then do so. If not, then raise half-way up. Try and keep your body still throughout the exercise, just moving your legs.

Hero Training: The Carry a Person to Safety Workout

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Chad Howse. For this series on hero training, every other week Chad will give Art of Manliness readers a workout based on building the strength and fitness needed to tackle a heroic task. Even if you never have to step in to save the day, it’s just a fun way to focus on functional fitness and motivate yourself to get in shape!

A hero is a man of distinguished courage and ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.

Assuming you have the courage to attempt a heroic deed, you then need to develop the ability to be able to complete it successfully.

Courage is a great and noble attribute to possess. But without the ability to save someone, you’re more likely to risk your own life, as well as the life of the person you’re trying to save.

Carrying someone to safety is no easy task. It takes strength, endurance, and technique.

We’ve seen it in the movies a hundred times, but this is a situation that could realistically occur in real life as well. You could have to carry your wife if she sprains her ankle on a hike, or put your own life in danger, rescuing someone from a burning building.

Brute strength will definitely help with this task, as will proper technique. If you can carry someone safely and remain injury free yourself, you’re more likely to succeed–both strength and technique play a role in that.

Muscular endurance and mental toughness will be important as well. Who knows how long you’re going to have to carry this person or the dangers you’ll face in even attempting to do so? You’d better be able to withstand the pain that your body is going to go through–no matter how long it takes and whatever the dangers you encounter in the process.

The keys in successfully completing this mission:

    grip strength
    lifting strength/power
    muscular endurance
    lifting technique

The Carrying to Safety Workout

For lifting power, we’re going to focus on “Cleans,” one of the best exercises for building explosive, athletic power. We’ll be using lower reps, with a greater rest period in-between each set.

To build our strength, muscular endurance, and mental toughness, we’re going to be doing an especially hard challenge workout this week. Due to the fact that most of our lifting strength comes from our legs, we’re going to be focusing on lower body exercises. But we’ll also add in some pulling and pushing exercises that will help us lift and carry the victim.

For the challenge workout, complete each exercise for the allotted reps consecutively while taking minimum rest periods.

Exercise 1 – Cleans

4 sets of 3 repetitions – 2 minute break between each set.

The Challenge Workout

30 repetitions for each exercise unless otherwise stated.

1. Farmer’s walk  – 60 seconds total

2. Hack Squat

3. Lumberjack Press

4. Front Squat

5. Upright Row

6. Lunge Walk (each leg)

7. Heavy Bag Walk – 30 feet 6x

Weights to Use (3 categories):

Note: You want to continue progressing, so use these weights as a starting point. But if you’re not failing at least 2-3 times per exercise, add weight.

    Cleans: 65 lbs, 95 lbs, 155 lbs
    Farmer’s Walk: 20 lbs, 40 lbs, 80 lbs
    Lumberjack Press: 45 lbs, 65 lbs, 95 lbs
    Front Squat: 45 lbs, 95 lbs, 135 lbs
    Upright Row: 45 lbs, 65 lbs, 135 lbs
    Lunge Walk: 45 lbs, 95 lbs, 135 lbs

Exercise Tips and Technique

1. Cleans

Lift with your legs, keeping the weight close to your body throughout. As the weight gets to about chest height, drop underneath and finish with a front squat.

2. Upright Row

Use a bit of a heavier weight, but get your legs into the lift. We want to build power with this exercise. Treat it as if it’s a clean without the last phase of the lift.

3. Lunge Walk

Choose a lighter weight for this exercise and focus on technique. Your front foot should hold the majority of the weight. Make sure your knees, chest, and head don’t move past your front toe. Keep the weight focused towards the heel of your front foot. This will take stress off of your knees and place it on your hips which are much better equipped to handle the load without experiencing injury.

4. Front Squat

Make sure your chest, knees, and head don’t move past your toes. Keep the majority of your weight towards the heel as well. You want to keep your chest parallel to the wall in front of you while sticking your butt out during the lift. This helps take the stress off of your lower back and puts it on your quads and hips.

5. Hack Squat

The same rules apply to the hack squat that apply to the front squat. You want to sit back with the weight. At first it might be tough to balance, and you may scrape the backs of your legs, but it’s a great exercise for building strength in your quads.

Start with a light weight and work on your technique before adding any weight.

In addition to having the strength and endurance to carry someone to safety, you also need to know how to do it. Read this post to learn how to perform the fireman’s carry.

Hero Training: The Lift an Object Off Someone in Distress Workout

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Chad Howse. For this series on hero training, every other week Chad will give Art of Manliness readers a workout based on building the strength and fitness needed to tackle a heroic task. Even if you never have to step in to save the day, it’s just a fun way to focus on functional fitness and motivate yourself to get in shape.

Maybe an earthquake buries your wife in rubble. Or you’re hiking and a falling rock pins your friend’s leg. Maybe as you’re trying to get out of a burning building, a beam falls on top of your buddy. As your friend or loved one lies there in danger, will you helplessly be pulling on the fallen object, unable to budge it? Or will you be able to come to their rescue by lifting the object and freeing them?

During this series we’ve been building the strength, speed and endurance required to be able to come through if we’re ever needed. Think of these skills and these workouts like they’re insurance policies with immediate benefits.
Don't let Alfred's genteel appearance fool you; this man definitely has some serious lifting power. How else did Bruce Wayne escape from under that beam when his mansion burned down?

For this workout we’re going to be focusing on pure lifting power. While you might think about your arms when it comes to lifting, true lifting strength comes from your legs. So we’re going to be concentrating on two powerful exercises: the deadlift and the hack squat.

For the deadlift, we’re going to be using a lower rep count and lifting a heavier weight. This will improve our power more than anything. But be sure to use proper form as it’s easy to injure yourself with the heavier weight.

For the remainder of the workout we’re going to be doing a challenge workout to improve our muscular endurance.
Workout

Deadlifts – 5 sets of 3 reps (heavy)
Challenge Workout

30 repetitions per exercise. Complete  the reps and exercises consecutively while taking minimum rest periods.

1. Hack Squat

2. Kettlebell Swings

3. Chin-ups

4. Med Ball Slams

5. Alternating Push-ups

6. Military Press
Tips:

1. Get low for the deadlift, making sure the majority of your weight is on your heels. Keep the bar close to your body. I suggest wearing pants when doing the deadlift as it can scrape your shins.

2. Much of the same principles apply for the hack squat. Keep the bar close to your body and get low during the lift. You want to lift with your legs, not with your back.

3. For medicine ball slams, lead with your body, not with your arms. This is a great power exercise that replicates the movements of a sledgehammer.

4. Alternating push-ups are another great explosive power exercise. Complete 30 reps total of this exercise–15 each arm. Keep the medicine ball close to your mid-point; stretching out too far will place unnecessary stress on the shoulder.

5. We’re doing the military press for power purposes, so we’re not going to be isolating the shoulder. This means you’re actually going to be getting your legs into the lift. In the video, notice how I’m doing just that; dipping down a little bit to allow my legs to activate in the lift.

Become a Stand-Up Guy: The History, Benefits, and Use of Standing Desks

In the past couple of years, as studies have come out sounding the alarm on the ill-effects of excessive sitting, the popularity of standing or stand-up desks has soared. Those who have read much of the coverage of this trend might be forgiven for thinking that standing to work constitutes a new hip fad.

But as it is with many things, everything old is new again. For the stand-up desk was cool long before the cats in Silicon Valley got hip to them. They’ve actually been a secret of great men for centuries. Today we’ll explore the standing desk’s place in history, discuss the benefits of using one, and outline how you can rediscover this old/new tradition.
The Standing Desk in History

Offices in the 19th century often had communal sitting/standing desks as opposed to individual desks for each employee.

Searching the historical record, and by historical record I mean Google Books, you’ll find mentions of the standing desk in a variety of places.

Old inventories of furniture from state legislatures and other government bodies during the 19th century often include an entry for stand-up desks. And in industrial journals you’ll find references like this one:

    “Mr. W. H. Thompson, President of the gas company, with his hat off, stood near the centre of the room, behind a standing desk used by the weigher of the establishment. To his right Emerson McMillin, with his silk hat on, chewed at a cigar.”

                                                         Scientific American, 1886

School classrooms were sometimes outfitted with standing desks. In an 1899 book, School Hygiene, Dr. Ludwig Wilhelm Johannes Kotelmann described the rationale behind their use:

    “It has in late years been repeatedly suggested that even with the proper kind of desk much sitting is liable to injure the abdominal organs and the circulation. Desks have accordingly been proposed which can be arranged for standing as well as sitting. These are hardly necessary for the lower and intermediate classes, since the pupils here rise when questioned, and tumble about vigorously on the play ground during recesses. They are rather to be thought of for the upper classes.”

The book showcases some of the designs for student desks that converted from sitting to standing:

In another instance of the everything old is new again phenomena, schools are once more experimenting with giving students adjustable height desks, which allow them to stand and work. Educators feel such desks help students focus more, since kids (and adults!) aren’t made to sit still all day.

The stand-up desk has also been the favorite workstation of many a great man from history.

Thomas Jefferson is perhaps the most famous user of the stand-up desk. His six-legged “tall desk” had an adjustable slanted top that was large enough to place a folio. Jefferson used the desk to draw up brilliant architectural blueprints for buildings like the Virginia State Capitol.

Jefferson was not the only head of state to favor the standing desk. Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck would be standing at his desk by five in the morning, ready to sort through all the proposals and business of the day. When Winston Churchill was not lounging in bed, he liked to lay out the galley proofs of his next book on an upright desk and pore over them, looking for needed corrections.

Many authors felt like standing up to work got their creative juices flowing. Charles Dickens used one, as revealed by the description of his study by a visitor: “books all round, up to the ceiling and down to the ground; a standing desk at which he writes; and all manner of comfortable easy chairs.”

    Hemingway working on the porch of friend Bill Davis’ house in Malaga, Spain. Davis provided the desk for Hemingway.

Ernest Hemingway discovered the standing desk method from his editor at Charles Scribner’s Sons, Maxwell Perkins. In Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir, AE Hotchner describes Hemingway’s set-up in his home in Havana:

    “In Ernest’s room there was a large desk covered with stacks of letters, magazines, and newspaper clippings, a small sack of carnivores’ teeth, two unwound clocks, shoehorns, an unfilled pen in an onyx holder, a wood carved zebra, wart hog, rhino and lion in single file, and a wide-assortment of souvenirs, mementos and good luck charms. He never worked at the desk. Instead, he used a stand up work place he had fashioned out of a bookcase near his bed. His portable typewriter was snugged in there and papers were spread along the top of the bookcase on either side of it. He used a reading board for longhand writing.”

5 Reasons to Use a Stand-Up Desk

So should you follow in Jefferson’s and Hemingway’s footsteps and start working on your feet? Here are five reasons to consider making the switch:

1. To Avoid an Early Grave

Excessive sitting is slowly killing you. I know. It seems like hyperbole. But it’s not. A study found that men who sit for more than six hours of their leisure time each day had a 20% higher death rate than those who sat for three hours or less. The epidemiologist who conducted the study, Alpha Patel, concluded that excessive sitting literally shortens a person’s life by several years. Another study showed that men who sat for 23 or more hours a week had a 64% greater chance of dying from heart disease than those who sat for 11 hours per week or less.

So why is sitting so frighteningly bad for you?

Well sitting is the ultimate passive activity; you burn more calories chewing gum than you do slouching in your chair.

When you sit, the electrical activity in your muscles flat lines, and your body uses very little energy. Powering down your body like that for long periods of time leads to a cascade of negative effects. Your heart rate, calorie burn, insulin effectiveness, and levels of good cholesterol all drop. Your body also stops producing lipoprotein lipase and other molecules that are only released when you flex your muscles, such as when you are standing and walking. These molecules play an important role in processing fats and sugars; without them, your metabolism suffers. Add these factors up, and it’s no wonder that those who sit for long periods of time each day have larger waistlines and worse blood sugar and blood pressure profiles and are at higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer than who sit less.

And if you think you’re off the hook because you get in a bout of vigorous exercise each day…you’re not. Studies have shown that exercise does not counteract the negative effects of sitting. It’s like thinking you can snack on Twinkies all day, and then offset that by running for an hour.

2. To Lose Weight

As mentioned above, when you sit, your heart rate and calorie burn go down. Health experts will tell you that weight gain typically creeps on gradually from consuming a few too many calories here and there, and slowing down in small ways as we age. We just keeping putting on a couple of pounds each year until a decade goes by and suddenly we’re tubby. I did a test with my heart rate monitor and found that my heart rate was 10 beats higher when I was standing than sitting, and I burned 54 calories in an hour of sitting as opposed to 72 in an hour of standing. That doesn’t seem like much, but if you sub in four hours of standing for four hours of sitting a day, that could translate to 7 lbs a year!

3. To Save Your Back

When I go to the gym I see all these middle-aged guys lying on the floor and contorting their bodies into weird stretches in an attempt to alleviate their chronic back pain. These aren’t blue-collar men who’ve strained their back from years of heavy labor; no, they are white collar guys whose pain stems from not using their backs enough. Years of slouching in a chair has taken a toll. Standing up engages your back muscles and improves your posture. Many folks who have made the switch to a stand-up desk have reported that the change cured their back pain.

4. To Increase Your Focus

Standing up can increase your focus in several ways. First, you don’t get that sleepy feeling where you desperately want to put your head down on the desk and pass out; your muscles are engaged and you’re less comfortable, so you stay alert. And second, it lets you be more active so you can release your restless energy. You can move around more, shift from one leg to another, and start pacing around whenever you’d like.

And perhaps there’s something to be said for the argument one hears from creative-types that standing increases your blood flow, thus keeping your brain juiced for inspiration.

5. To Gain a Satisfying Tiredness

While you get less sleepy while working standing up, at the same time you gain a satisfying overall tiredness by the end of the day. I hate going to bed feeling like my body hasn’t done a damn thing all day. When you stand up while you work, you earn that satisfying body-used feeling, and at night you fall asleep fast into a restful snooze.
Making the Switch to the Stand-Up Desk

So you’re sold on the whole standing desk thing. How do you get started?
New Heights Electric Sit to Stand Desk

Well of course you can just buy a standing desk outright. BeyondtheOfficeDoor.com carries great, Made in America desks that are built with electric motors that easily adjust the desks up and down, so you can alternate sitting and standing. Or you can shop for more classic styles on sites like standupdesks.com

Luckily, you need not have $800 to drop on a new desk if you want to start standing up while you work. The options for jerry-rigging a stand-up desk are limited only by your imagination, and the tolerance levels of others for your potential eyesore of a creation.

I use a kitchen counter that’s about the right height for working. And I also frequent a coffee shop that has a high table that can be used with stools or for standing up. In my old place, I stacked together a bunch of large books and placed my computer on top.

You can also raise your whole desk by placing it on top of cinder blocks or milk crates. Or you can set a coffee table on top of your current desk.

    The options for jerry rigging a stand-up desk are limitless, albeit ugly.

And you don’t even have to start with a desk at all. You can stack together some plastic storage tubs or boxes, or use a book shelf or even an ironing board. Folks have also had luck with modifying IKEA furniture to their purposes.

Of course the third option is to build the desk yourself. I’m going to be doing just that, documenting it, and sharing how I did it with you guys once I’m done.

Finally, here are a few things to keep in mind no matter what form your standing desk takes:

    If you work in an office, some or all of these options may not be viable. You can talk to your boss about getting a different desk. And you can always stand up to surf the web and such when you get home. I personally like to pace around while reading my Kindle.
    Excessive sitting isn’t healthy, but standing all day long in the same place isn’t the best thing for you either. Ideally, you want to move around and change positions throughout the day, standing sometimes, then sitting, then pacing, and so on. So keep that in mind when buying or making a desk; get an adjustable one so you can both stand and sit, or have a place to sit near your upright desk (or use a stool). You might consider getting just a podium to place next to your regular desk.
    For the best ergonomic positioning, create a stand-up set-up that puts your arms at about 90 degrees while you type. If you’re keen on getting the ergonomics just right, check out this write up from David Martinez on how to find the perfect height for your desk.
    Standing up while you work will take some getting used to. At first it will seem tiring, but as you continue to do it, your body adapts, and you’ll be able to stand for longer and longer periods of time. You might also consider getting a soft pad to stand on to give your dew beaters some extra cushioning.

So get to work like Jefferson, and soon people will be saying that you’re a real stand-up guy!

Ready, Set, Fast: How Strategic Meal-Skipping Can Help You Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, and Get Healthier

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by John Berardi, PhD.

When we were kids, Mom was always looking out for our health. Chew your food. Eat your vegetables. And always eat breakfast because it’s the most important meal of the day.

As busy grown-ups, a good breakfast often falls victim to the time crunch. Who has time to cook and eat a breakfast of champions? It’s so much faster and more convenient to just grab a coffee and a bran muffin.

Of course, deep down we know it’s not right. Not only would Mom disapprove, that pudgy physique in the mirror deserves better, too.

So what’s a guy to do?  Get up earlier and make it happen, right?  Perhaps not.

Lately, some really fit guys–men with muscles, visible veins, and abs so sharp you can grate carrots on them–are doing something a whole lot different. They’re not eating breakfast.  Healthy or otherwise. In fact, they’re not eating at all for extended stretches. And they’re getting leaner, more muscular, even healthier.

This practice is called Intermittent Fasting–IF for short–and it’s challenging everything nutritionists, dieticians, and your Mom ever told you about healthy eating.
Going Against the Grain

Typical dietician dogma involves eating small meals spread two to four hours apart, starting with a nutritious breakfast. This, we’re told, stimulates the metabolism, so we burn more calories throughout the day.  It’s also supposed to make us less likely to binge on cookies and ice cream at night.

It’s sound advice that’s been field-tested by thousands of fit, healthy, hard-bodied people.

Proponents of IF, on the other hand, eschew the idea of small, frequent meals. They claim to have achieved quicker fat loss and better health by deliberately skipping breakfast.  Some even go entire days without eating.

The experts are skeptical. They call IF extreme, impractical, even harebrained–and yet no one can dispute their results. Or that the number of IF converts is growing.

I was also a skeptic. I built my reputation on recommending small, healthy, frequent meals, starting with breakfast. And that strategy has definitely worked well for most of my clients.

But the track record of certain Intermittent Fasting protocols, both in scientific publications and in real-world practice, seems pretty impressive too.  That’s why I decided to put some of these protocols to the test.  I wanted to answer the following questions: “Is IF just another fad diet?  Or is it something health and body conscious people should consider?”
My Fasting Experiments

To this end, I spent the last 9 months testing the most popular Intermittent Fasting protocols on myself. In the end, I tried 8 different fasting protocols.

At times I was consuming nothing but calorie-free beverages for a full 24-36 hours.  (Mercifully that was only once per week.)  Other methods had me fasting for much shorter periods, yet more frequently.

While each method was basically a spin on not eating a thing, the varying effects were fascinating. Some methods made me feel energized, strong, and focused.  Others simply left me lethargic, weak, and very, very hungry.

Of the 8 different protocols I tried, there are three main variations:

The trial fast: This is where I recommend you start if you’re interested in this approach.  Just try going 24 hours without food. I did my first trial fast on a Sunday. I set it up by having a small meal on Saturday night at 10pm, and then didn’t eat again until another small meal on Sunday night at 10pm. (I did drink green tea and water throughout the day.)

The periodic fast: If you survived the trial fast without breaking down and cleaning out the refrigerator, then you can try this. Simply do the trial fast above once in a while.  It could be once per month.  It could be once per week.  (More frequently than once a week, however, is a mistake.  I tried to do it twice a week and it was a disaster. More isn’t better.)

The daily fast: This is a more advanced way of doing things. Here we cut the fast from 24 hours to 16-20 hours (say 8pm to noon to 4pm the following day) but we do it every day. Ideally, most days there’s a workout at the end of the fast, followed by some pretty large meals during the 4-8 hour feeding window.  (As complicated as this system sounds, I found myself actually gaining muscle and losing fat at an alarming rate.)

So what’s the conclusion?  What did I learn?

Well, for body transformation, Intermittent Fasting works. Over the course of my experiments, I dropped twenty pounds of weight, from 190 pounds to 170 pounds, and I was pretty lean to start with. I also reduced my body fat from 10% to 4% (measured via a well-validated ultrasound protocol) while maintaining most of my lean mass. And I kept it off.  In addition, I saw some interesting improvements in my health profile.

You can check out my before and after pics below for some visual evidence:

Beyond vanity, the reported health effects of an intelligently designed Intermittent Fasting program read like a laundry list of live longer, live better benefits including: reduced blood lipids, blood pressure, markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and cancer.  Increased cell turnover and repair, fat burning, growth hormone release, and metabolic rate. And improved appetite control, blood sugar control, cardiovascular function, and neuronal plasticity.

Wow is right!  At this point, if your wheels are turning, that’s a good thing.  But be careful.  This article isn’t designed to persuade you to try Intermittent Fasting right away.  Rather, it’s designed to simply get you thinking about your own eating plan.  And, if it needs improvement, how you can think about starting.
Fasting Best Practices

If you’re a busy guy, work 50 plus hours a week, and spend most of your free time shuttling kids around and working the honey-do list, working out daily and eating 6 meals a day may be challenging.  So skipping a few meals and looking like the Men’s Health cover model may sound pretty appealing.

But not so fast. You can’t just skip meals willy-nilly and get awesome results.

Remember, some of these fasts follow very specific protocols.  Just eating haphazardly and then not eating is what gets many people overweight in the first place. But if you’re keen on giving IF a try, here are 9 things that you must first consider.

1. Food choices matter. Just because you’re not eating often doesn’t mean the basic rules of good nutrition don’t apply. Fasting for 20 hours and then spending 4 hours eating pizza, Twinkies, and half your kid’s Halloween loot won’t get you lean. You need to focus on good sources of protein, healthy fats, high quality carbohydrates, and lots of fruits and veggies.  (Your mom was right about that one.)

2. Be patient. If you’re a big fan of breakfast, fasting is going to be a major test of willpower–especially for the first few weeks. In my case, the early stages left me suffering from massive stomach rumblings, hunger cravings, and big-time morning moodiness. I did my best to stave off the breakfast cravings with a few cups of green tea or coffee, but I still felt really bad. Luckily, I told my friends and family what was going on, and they’re a pretty understanding bunch. But here’s the good part. It gets better–much better–after 14 days or so. Stick it out. You’re not dying –you’re just hungry.

3. Exercise helps. The best fasting protocols had me hitting the gym as hard as ever, empty stomach be damned. There’s a reason for that –exercise drives the fat loss bus.

4. Timing is everything, but not the only thing. I experienced the best results when I fasted for around 16-hours per day, followed by an 8 hour eating window.  I usually ended my 16-hour fasts with a workout.  Then I ate my largest meal of the day.  However, other less stringent protocols also delivered results. Experimentation is the key.

5. Progress slowly. It’s important to start with the trial fast and allow yourself to get “good at it” before graduating to more frequent or complicated fasting protocols. Many find going just a few hours without eating unbearable. It takes practice and willpower, so be patient. Dominate the easy steps before moving further up the fasting ladder.

6. Don’t overdo it. In my case, after achieving great results with a weekly fast, I tried doubling the frequency to twice a week to see if I’d get twice the results. It didn’t happen. More isn’t necessarily better.

7. Eat meat. I ate upwards of three pounds of meat a day to get my calorie and protein requirements.  Now, I’ve always been an omnivore, but during extended fasts, where meals are so infrequent, eating meat is even more important. Of course, you can still do this if you’re following a vegetarian diet.  It’s just more difficult to meet your calorie needs for the day.

8. It’s still a lifestyle. There are no diets, only lifestyles. And any diet that you couldn’t theoretically follow for the rest of your life is doomed to failure. During my first few fasts I was convinced that there was no way I could eat like this for life. But after a few weeks, I was loving it, and it was a breeze.

9. Some shouldn’t do it. I think anyone and everyone should attempt the trial fast. Trust me, you learn a lot about yourself when you go without food for a full day. However, for the more regular or more extreme forms of fasting, I’ve found they’re more successful when:

    You have a history of monitoring calorie/food intake (i.e. you’ve “dieted” before).
    You’re an experienced exerciser.
    You’re single or you don’t have children.
    Your partner (if you have one) is extremely supportive.
    Your job allows you to have periods of low performance while you adapt to a new plan.

Granted, these are just observations. There are folks who have kids, busy careers, and tons of responsibility who love IF. And again, the real rough period usually ends after two weeks or so. However, if it’s not for you, it’s not for you.  Again, there are other ways to eat and exercise to develop a lean, strong, healthy body.

Remember the Basics

One more thing.  It’s important to remember that there’s no magic pill (or magic eating plan), and when all’s said and done, mastering the basics is still your best approach. What are the basics?

    Eating good quality food. Fresh, unprocessed, nutrient-dense food is a must, regardless of eating style.  So make food awareness a priority and make the best choices you can afford.
    Eating slowly. Rushing through meals impairs digestion and confuses satiety centers in the brain.  So slow down.  It helps control intake and improve your enjoyment of eating.
    Eating reasonable portions. When calories are controlled, progress is made.  Overeating is still possible with IF, just as it is with every other eating style.  So pay attention to food amount.
    Eating when you’re hungry, and not eating when you’re not. Learning to tune into your appetite and listen to your true hunger is important.  Using mindfulness during meals is a best practice for healthy eating.
    Regular exercise. Of course, exercise and healthy eating are two sides of the same coin.  They both help promote health and a lean body but in different ways.  So use both.

Interestingly, these things are enough for most people to get in the best shape of their lives. No Intermittent Fasting required.  I know that because I’ve been in this business for 20 years and have helped a lot of clients achieve success in fat loss and improving health.  Very few of them did any more than the trial fast, but all of them are taught those essentials.  So, if you’re a beginner, please start with these.

However, if you’re a little further down the fitness path, I will say this. For a very specific demographic–people with fitness and exercise experience who also consider breakfast 15 minutes they’ll never get back–IF could be a very effective approach. Maybe even the best approach.

Just don’t tell Mom, okay?