Psyche: "It's a bridge between intellectual, emotional, and motor functions of the body. When we use expressive arts, often we connect very quickly with the unconscious, and hence it helps us understand our inner world better and the dynamics that are playing out in the psyche." Just having positive experiences is not enough. They pass through the brain like water through a sieve. Positive stimuli is more common, however, human brain has a bias to command more attention to negative stimuli as its easier and grows faster. With chronic stress + un-processed trauma, we end up stuck in "polyvagal" states, meaning the body can't return back to balance (homeostasis). So we start experiencing symptoms that come from chronic nervous system dysregulation like: anxiety, panic, depression, addiction, "mood swings." These are mistaken as mental disorders. Actual self-care has very little to do with “treating yourself” and a whole lot to do with parenting yourself. It is essentially about how to start to Self-soothe. Discover your own (healthy) coping mechanisms – think about the sights, sounds and hobbies that bring you peace and seek them out. You also need time alone with your true inner self. When you make time in your day and week to fill your cup — with a morning or evening ritual, doing the things you love, and small acts of self-care — then your cup will be overflowing with love, joy, creativity and inspiration. People often only see the symptoms and not the first seeds of the compulsory thought. It cannot be resolved using the thinking brain. The mind can be separated into two parts: the conscious and the subconscious. They work together to make a complete being, you. Why not stop to listening to what our unconscious mind is trying to tell us? Psyche is revealed not only through poems, but through images, sound, symbols & our body, revealing the deepest aspects of self expressing of our inner world (what lies buried within us and what often cannot be put into words). The only way to find inner peace is to balance conscious and subconscious mind. Some of us get can get lost in the chatter and clutter, but we have a lot more energy than we give ourselves credit for. The missing element for balance within each of us is 'balance' between 'conscious mind' and 'unconscious mind'. Only by learning to use each part of our mind the right way can we reach our true potential. Even when we consciously believe something, our subconscious might disapprove, especially when it is in contradiction with our most important values and beliefs. When we learned to 'listen' to our unconscious mind, we can enjoy a better quality of life and hopefully a more peaceful life. In order to do that, you need two things, knowledge and courage. My Driver of Anxiety: Trying Too Hard - instead of Doing Enough & moving on. Earlier my favourite strategy was to find another mother (not my girlfriend but divide it among my trusted friends--- I call them my support base system). A perfect mother is anyone who can make me feel nourished and accepts me as I am; who is willing to explain so that I can understand & someone from whom I can learn from by following their example. Somebody who tries to empower me with courage, confidence and independence. However, after they moved away and got married. I had to find a new way. I have to now practice how to be child-like open and curious so that I can progress in personal and professional life, but also when to not get affected by negativity by being a good protective parent. To do that, I have to regularly built the habit of checking and approving my own feelings with love in order to strengthen my self-esteem. I’ve also learned that how we react to events is far more important than what actually happens to us. It can be difficult not to become overwhelmed by negativity that fuel intense feelings of regret, anxiety, fear, despair, and anger. It isn’t the emotions themselves causing me to suffer—it’s my own judgment of those emotions. For many years, I have given too much power to my protective conscious mind, which has become too loud. I have to encourage increasing my subconscious inner voice and listen to what my subconscious inner voice is saying. "There is a common myth in society that we have to earn or prove our worth by ticking off a certain number of external achievements — like having a large house, successful career, impressive partner and acceptable body shape. The truth is your worth is innate — you were born enough. You are a changing as a person from who you were so leave the past, but your true inner self is of divine origins, and you can never be anything less than that. You did not come here to prove — you came here to play and laugh and love and learn and express and rise and create your wildest dreams. Replace self-criticism with praise and acknowledge, and not only will your confidence grow, but you will blossom into your full potential, because flowers bloom best with nourishment and love, not judgment." Whatever you do with awareness/Mindfulness = is Meditation |
Disclaimer: The information and reference materials contained here are intended solely for the general information of the reader. It is not to be used for treatment purposes, but rather for discussion with the patient's own physician.This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, emergency treatment or formal first-aid training. Don't use this information to diagnose or develop a treatment plan for a health problem or disease without consulting a qualified healthcare provider. If you're in a life-threatening or emergency medical situation, seek medical assistance immediately. The use of the site does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this web site is for general information purposes only. Links are provided only as an informational resource. Please note that many of the links provided are not on our servers and are not maintained by us or affiliated with any services provided by us. These links are provided simply as a service, and it should not be implied that we recommend, endorse or approve of any of the content at the linked site(s), nor are we responsible for their availability, accuracy or content. The user assumes all responsibility and risk for the use of this web site. Reliance upon any information provided on this site or any linked websites or from other visitors to the website is solely at your own risk. | Here are a few yoga tips to improve muscular strength, flexibility and coordination (along with strength training & cardio):
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There is a decline of 7-10% of O2 in blood after 12 days of sudden inactivity, 14-15% after 50 days, and 16-18% after 80 days.
1 Kg of fat = 7,500 calories
Men in 30s daily require 15,500 to 17,000 calories (balanced diet) per week which means, to lose 1 kg per week, you need to burn off 7,500 calories deficit per week more than what you consume (about 3-4 hours of workout per day) and 8 hours of sleep.
Since your hips are very close to your body’s center-of-gravity, stronger hips would mean that you have better control of your balance.
ALL power comes from the ground, nowhere else! Because your legs are connected to the ground, they are most responsible for pushing off the ground to generate power throughout your body. Your legs also happen to be the biggest muscles in your body, which is why all proper boxing punches are typically thrown with the legs pivoting and rotating.
Again, the legs generate the most power! Not the chest and definitely not the triceps. If you look carefully at many of the most dynamic and complete punches or boxers in history, you will see that they have great legs more often than great arms or big chests. Look very carefully at the typical boxer’s body and you won’t find over-developed pecs or huge triceps. Marcos Maidana, Manny Pacquiao, Thomas Hearns, Julian Jackson, and Felix Trinidad are some names of guys that immediately come to mind. These guys did not have big upper-bodies but they carried HUGE power in their fists. Even Mike Tyson, as dynamic a puncher as he was, was still more muscular at his legs than his arms!
Every limb in your body generates a certain amount of power individually but it is your abs that allow you to combine the force generated by every limb into one total force. Simply put, your abs allow you to connect the force generated by all your limbs into one powerful punch. Aside from connecting your whole body together the abdominal muscles help you breathe.
When you spend all your time hitting the heavy bag, you may not realize that the heavy bag is bouncing your hand back at you on the recovery phase. By neglecting to workout your back and rear shoulder muscles, you will have weaker punch recovery muscles. the back helps a lot in punch recovery–which is the speed of how fast you can pull your hand back after a punch.
Typically when boxers’ arms become too tired to punch or hold up to defend their head, it is usually because the shoulders that are tired! Think about it: when your arms get tired, it is usually always the shoulder that is the first part of the arm to get tired. From a physical standpoint, it makes sense since it’s a relatively small muscle on the edge of the arm that has to hold up the entire arm.
your arms are meant for connecting punches and NOT generating power. All your arms need to do is to connect the power generated by your body to your opponent! it’s more important to have fast arms than powerful arms. Fast arms give you that speed and snap. the triceps are for speed of straight punches. The biceps are for the speed and snap of your hooks and uppercuts.
The forearm muscles are for tightening your fist harder when you punch. A tighter fist means your hand will hit with a more solid punch. At the same time, a tighter fist means your hand is less likely to be injured since the bones don’t have much room to move around and get misaligned.
Heavy is not a weight you cannot handle, it is a weight you can handle. Heavy is still a weight that you can handle, whereupon your ligaments and joints aren't suffering. This is repeated twice because no matter how many times people are told to keep it light, they go always go too heavy and present their bodies with tremendous risk in terms of injury
Men in 30s daily require 15,500 to 17,000 calories (balanced diet) per week which means, to lose 1 kg per week, you need to burn off 7,500 calories deficit per week more than what you consume (about 3-4 hours of workout per day) and 8 hours of sleep.
Since your hips are very close to your body’s center-of-gravity, stronger hips would mean that you have better control of your balance.
ALL power comes from the ground, nowhere else! Because your legs are connected to the ground, they are most responsible for pushing off the ground to generate power throughout your body. Your legs also happen to be the biggest muscles in your body, which is why all proper boxing punches are typically thrown with the legs pivoting and rotating.
Again, the legs generate the most power! Not the chest and definitely not the triceps. If you look carefully at many of the most dynamic and complete punches or boxers in history, you will see that they have great legs more often than great arms or big chests. Look very carefully at the typical boxer’s body and you won’t find over-developed pecs or huge triceps. Marcos Maidana, Manny Pacquiao, Thomas Hearns, Julian Jackson, and Felix Trinidad are some names of guys that immediately come to mind. These guys did not have big upper-bodies but they carried HUGE power in their fists. Even Mike Tyson, as dynamic a puncher as he was, was still more muscular at his legs than his arms!
Every limb in your body generates a certain amount of power individually but it is your abs that allow you to combine the force generated by every limb into one total force. Simply put, your abs allow you to connect the force generated by all your limbs into one powerful punch. Aside from connecting your whole body together the abdominal muscles help you breathe.
When you spend all your time hitting the heavy bag, you may not realize that the heavy bag is bouncing your hand back at you on the recovery phase. By neglecting to workout your back and rear shoulder muscles, you will have weaker punch recovery muscles. the back helps a lot in punch recovery–which is the speed of how fast you can pull your hand back after a punch.
Typically when boxers’ arms become too tired to punch or hold up to defend their head, it is usually because the shoulders that are tired! Think about it: when your arms get tired, it is usually always the shoulder that is the first part of the arm to get tired. From a physical standpoint, it makes sense since it’s a relatively small muscle on the edge of the arm that has to hold up the entire arm.
your arms are meant for connecting punches and NOT generating power. All your arms need to do is to connect the power generated by your body to your opponent! it’s more important to have fast arms than powerful arms. Fast arms give you that speed and snap. the triceps are for speed of straight punches. The biceps are for the speed and snap of your hooks and uppercuts.
The forearm muscles are for tightening your fist harder when you punch. A tighter fist means your hand will hit with a more solid punch. At the same time, a tighter fist means your hand is less likely to be injured since the bones don’t have much room to move around and get misaligned.
Heavy is not a weight you cannot handle, it is a weight you can handle. Heavy is still a weight that you can handle, whereupon your ligaments and joints aren't suffering. This is repeated twice because no matter how many times people are told to keep it light, they go always go too heavy and present their bodies with tremendous risk in terms of injury
Your chest, hamstrings, back and shoulders are all larger muscle groups, while your biceps, triceps and calves are smaller. If maximal strength is your overall goal, separating training of your larger and smaller muscle groups on different days will ensure that each muscle is trained at its maximal potential. If this isn't possible and your training time is limited, you could schedule three weeks with a big-first approach with 1 week of a small-first approach to your training. This allows you to get the benefits of large muscle first training while still reaping the benefits of including variance to your routine and some smaller muscle training benefits. Lifting heavier weights at lower reps is the best method for building muscle mass. Increased muscle mass boosts metabolism and heavier lifting increases bone strength. On the other hand, high reps build muscle endurance which helps muscles work under stress and get your heart pumping. However the main idea is that achieving total muscle fatigue, in which you lift a weight (of virtually any size but generally keep 4 exercises of 3-4 sets of 6-10 repetitions for each muscle) until you can’t lift it anymore, helps you gains muscle mass and density. Variety in a workout routine is necessary to really shock the muscles into new growth. Remember intensity is vital so do not just go through the motions. Regardless of the type of training used all physical improvement is based on the three principles of adaptation, overload and progression.
For example, if want to do 10-12 bicep curls for overall toning, you might try 10-15 pounds. If you can do more than 12 reps, the weight is not enough. If you can’t do 10 without breaking proper form, you should lighten up a little. After a few workouts, you'll get the idea.
Sleep loss also can cause a lack of desire to achieve goals because you feel fatigued and "run down." Sleep is also important in developing lean muscle tissue. When you work out, you are actually tearing your muscle – sleep and proper nutrients help re-build the muscle. Yes, sleep is a big deal!
Are you spreading out your meals/snacks evenly throughout the day? Doing so will keep your energy levels stable all day long. You may be experiencing either a drop in blood sugar because it has been too long since you have eaten, or you could have had a quick surge in blood sugar followed by a sharp drop. Refined carbohydrates/sugar/very large meals can cause this. My advice would be to:
The type of muscle soreness you are experiencing, up to a day or two (and sometimes even three) after your workout is known as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). DOMS is caused by microscopic tears inside the muscles, resulting from weight-training or fully exhausting the muscles during cardio. This is normal. Again, beginners will be more sore and usually for longer, but if you really worked as hard as you should have during a weight-lifting session, you should be somewhat sore for the next day or two.
This is where rest comes in. You absolutely must rest the muscles you worked for 1-2 days after a workout. Take at least one day off between strength training sessions, and if you are still very sore, take 2 days off. (This means from lifting, not from all exercise such as cardio). If you don't let your muscles recover and repair, they will continue to break down and you will actually get weaker.
To help prevent soreness in the future, and alleviate some of it now, be sure to:
1. Always warm-up for 5-10 minutes and cool-down for at least 5 minutes.
2. Stretch after a warm-up, during your workout, and after you are done. Only stretch when your muscles are already warm from some kind of light activity.
3. Stay active. The more your muscles move, the faster they will recover from exercise and soreness. If you choose to rest completely instead of "actively recovering" with light exercise, you'll probably be sore longer.
This means you CAN design yourself a diet and exercise program that will allow you to add some muscle and lose some fat. It will take a semi-fanatical attention to the details of planning and timing your nutrition and exercise in just the right way. It also means that you won't be able to lose fat or gain muscle as efficiently or quickly as you could if you focused on just one of these goals at a time.
Since most people don't have the time, knowledge or patience to settle for the slower rate of progress of this program, we usually recommend to start by aiming to lose fat and preserve existing muscle, and then, once the fat is off, switch the priority and aim to gain muscle (and weight) while minimizing fat regain. This makes the most sense simply because all weight loss does involve some loss of muscle mass (it can be very minimal), but weight and muscle gain do not have to involve fat gain.
If you want to focus on building muscle mass, doing cardio after your strength workout is not a good idea. The hour or two immediately following a strength training session is the best time to be in anabolic mode, which means you will be better off doing some eating right away than doing the cardio. Ideally, try to do your cardio and strength workouts on different days, or at least later on the same day, if necessary. Aiming for three to four high-intensity cardio sessions per week (about 20-40 minutes each) is your best bet for avoiding fat regain while trying to add muscle. Again, staying well hydrated and eat a good post-exercise meal after both strength and cardio workouts.
There are limits on the amount of exercise you want to do. Too much may cause excessive stress and strain, and too large of a caloric deficit interferes with normal metabolic functioning and will accelerate muscle loss and decrease fat loss.
Getting and staying well-hydrated is very important to enable your body to replace glycogen (energy stores in the muscles). It's also a good idea to eat a post-exercise meal (or snack) of about 300 calories, with a 4:1 ratio of complex carbs to protein. It's true that many people either gain a little weight or don't see any change on the scale for as long as 4-6 weeks after making a significant change in their level of exercise. This is often explained as "gaining muscle while losing fat" but that isn't quite accurate. This extra weight is usually water.
When you start doing more exercise, your body begins storing more fuel in your muscle cells, where it can be used easily and quickly to fuel your workouts. The process of converting glucose (carbohydrates) into fuel that your muscles actually store and use (glycogen) requires three molecules of water for every molecule of glucose. As your muscles are building up glycogen stores, your body has to retain extra water for this purpose. That's what causes most of the initial weight gain or lack of weight loss. This is a good thing—not something to worry about.
However, despite what the scale says, you are actually losing fat during this time. The extra water retention will stop once your body has adjusted to its new activity level. At that point, the scale should start moving down. You'll end up with less fat, and muscles that can handle a larger amount of work.
The strength training, when done correctly, will help preserve existing muscle mass. Maintaining an overall calorie deficit forces your body to use your body fat to replace the energy used up by both forms of exercise. Higher intensity and longer duration workouts (cardio and strength) will use more energy. Note: Neither form of exercise actually burns much fat during the exercise itself; it's the total amount of energy expended that determines how much fat you will burn. Limit your high-intensity cardio to no more than 45-60 minutes per day. More than that can increase the rate of muscle loss. Adding extra low intensity activity like walking is usually okay.
However, like I said—every body is different. Some people can workout on an empty stomach with no problems, while others would end up very sick and feel the negative effects of it. When I workout in the morning, I always eat (and drink) something first thing after I wake up. Usually by the time I start my workout it doesn't hurt my stomach to exercise with a bit of food on it. I have to do strength training first, and then eat a light snack. Then in an hour do some cardio for 1/2 hr. In the beginning you gain weight but that's till your body gets adjusted to the water retention.
Also, I think there might have been a bit of confusion here about metabolic rates in the morning. Eating breakfast in the morning has a positive effect on your metabolism, but exercising on an empty stomach does not.
Circuits are great for all levels, beginners up to advanced. A circuit of 6-8 exercises is usually a good beginner level, working up to 12-15 exercises done twice for advanced. As you can see, a circuit can last as short as 10-15 minutes and go up to 60 minutes.
Another thing to think about is occasionally alternating the order of activity. When you do the same exercises in the same order over and over again, your muscles get smart. They become efficient and aren't challenged as much, leading to plateaus in strength gain and weight loss. Every once in a while, change it up for a week or so and you should continue to see results.
Straight Leg Raises – Lie on your back. Keeping your leg straight, lift it into the air. Hold for 10-20 seconds and lower it to the ground. Do the same for your other leg. You can do variations of this on your back, stomach, and both sides as well. Try two sets of 15 reps to start, and slowly progress from there.
Swiss (Physio) Ball Squats – Place physio ball between lower to mid back and wall. Keep your spine in a neutral position. Spread feet shoulder width apart and make sure toes are pointed forward. Slowly bend knees to 90 degrees, and return to standing position, making sure to keep knees bent slightly. Make sure to place feet far enough in front so when you bend to 90 degrees, your knees don't go past the plane of your toes, but only squat down until just before your knees bother you. If you can only go down 1/4 of the way, that's fine; simply hold that position for a little while to help build more strength.
You can also try some low impact aerobic exercises, such as rowing, biking, or the elliptical machine.
You can do any of these exercises on a regular basis. About 4-5x a week should be fine.
Balls come in different sizes, typically between 55-75 centimeters when inflated. The size you should purchase and use depends on your height.
The biggest problem I see veg'ns run into is removing foods (like meat, dairy, eggs, etc.) but not replacing these foods with plant-based alternatives that are similar in nutritional value. For every food group a veg'n removes from his or her diet, something has to be added back in. That means:
It is possible to include a nighttime snack, especially on workout days, to prevent cravings and to get a good night’s sleep. What are your total calorie needs? Set aside about 200 calories for an evening snack. Then fill your kitchen with healthy choices for these 200 calories. Examples: a bowl of cereal/milk, hot chocolate, yogurt, 1/2 sandwich, fruit. Keep track of exactly how much you can have of each snack for 200 calories so you don’t fool yourself or make bad decisions at the last second.
Now you have set limits and have a plan. If you are willing to fix a snack, sit at the table and eat it (without watching TV, etc.) then you are probably truly hungry and not just eating out of boredom.
- The human body will always try to prevent possible injury and damage by adapting to any physical activity that is demanding and performed on a regular basis.
- Once your body finds the number of sets, reps and resistance being used in an exercise easy you have to increase one or all of the above to carry on getting bigger and stronger. If you do a lot of reps you can increase your endurance. Doing a small number of reps with heavy weights can increase your strength. Your muscles have two types fibers called fast-twitch and slow-twitch. The fast-twitch are associated with strength. They give out quickly but are bigger than slow-twitch fibers. The slow-twitch fibers are associated with endurance.
- there is an optimum rate at which the overload is applied in order to cause body adaptation by continually increase the intensity of your training to encourage new muscle growth.
- You need gloves only if you are doing very heavy weight lifting.
- There is no way to target weight loss to a specific area of the body because your body decides where it wants to put on weight and where it wants to take it off. Know if you are apple or pear shaped.
- It’s important to progress. Once you feel comfortable doing the desired number of reps, make sure to slowly add resistance.
- The core muscles can be trained with as high as 50 reps, making sure to work your way up slowly. For someone who wants lean, toned muscles, and have an overall conditioned body, 12-15 reps is a good number to shoot for with the upper and lower body. If your goal is to gain a little more strength and add muscle weight, 6-10 reps is a good number to shoot for.
- Some people lift very light weights - so light that they could do 20+ reps without feeling exhausted - but stop at 12-15 because those are "the rules" of lifting.
- Achieving total exhaustion is key to developing more lean muscle. It will increase your metabolism as you build strength and tone your muscles, and give your metabolism a boost for several hours post-workout.
- To find your ideal ("max") lifting weight, first decide how many reps you want to do, based on your lifting goals. To build strength, do higher weights for 6-8 reps. For overall toning, try moderate weights for 8-12 reps. And to build endurance, do lighter weights for 12-15 reps.
For example, if want to do 10-12 bicep curls for overall toning, you might try 10-15 pounds. If you can do more than 12 reps, the weight is not enough. If you can’t do 10 without breaking proper form, you should lighten up a little. After a few workouts, you'll get the idea.
- Sleep is instrumental to good health and even weight loss. A disruption in your hormones and your different metabolic processes has all kinds of adverse effects. Your fat cells respond to the food you eat differently, based on your hormones. Sleep loss affects the level of certain hormones, putting your body in a position to gain weight.
Sleep loss also can cause a lack of desire to achieve goals because you feel fatigued and "run down." Sleep is also important in developing lean muscle tissue. When you work out, you are actually tearing your muscle – sleep and proper nutrients help re-build the muscle. Yes, sleep is a big deal!
- Actually, a bit of fatigue in the afternoon (usually hitting around 3 p.m., varying according to when you wake up) is very common. Studies have shown that humans were actually "designed" to sleep in the afternoon--just like when we were kids.
Are you spreading out your meals/snacks evenly throughout the day? Doing so will keep your energy levels stable all day long. You may be experiencing either a drop in blood sugar because it has been too long since you have eaten, or you could have had a quick surge in blood sugar followed by a sharp drop. Refined carbohydrates/sugar/very large meals can cause this. My advice would be to:
- Avoid or limit caffeine. You should try to have less than 1-2 cups per day of any caffeinated beverage (tea, coffee).
- Drink more water- this will actually sustain your energy more than coffee will and keep it up.
- Exercise regularly. This will give you more energy too.
- Eat several smaller mini-meals throughout the day to keep your energy levels stable.
- And if all else fails...Take a 20 minute nap in the afternoon!
- Yes, you should keep working out even though you are sore. Muscle soreness has two primary causes. The first soreness you experience happens during your workout ("the burn") and should subside within a couple of hours. This is caused by lactic acid production. When you are training and your muscles are not getting enough oxygen (anaerobic glycolysis), lactic acid builds up. You can break down lactic acid by continuing to move and by doing light aerobic exercise (such as walking) after your workout. This is why cool-downs are so important, especially for beginners. The longer you cool down, the faster that lactic acid will leave the muscles (typically within an hour).
The type of muscle soreness you are experiencing, up to a day or two (and sometimes even three) after your workout is known as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). DOMS is caused by microscopic tears inside the muscles, resulting from weight-training or fully exhausting the muscles during cardio. This is normal. Again, beginners will be more sore and usually for longer, but if you really worked as hard as you should have during a weight-lifting session, you should be somewhat sore for the next day or two.
This is where rest comes in. You absolutely must rest the muscles you worked for 1-2 days after a workout. Take at least one day off between strength training sessions, and if you are still very sore, take 2 days off. (This means from lifting, not from all exercise such as cardio). If you don't let your muscles recover and repair, they will continue to break down and you will actually get weaker.
To help prevent soreness in the future, and alleviate some of it now, be sure to:
1. Always warm-up for 5-10 minutes and cool-down for at least 5 minutes.
2. Stretch after a warm-up, during your workout, and after you are done. Only stretch when your muscles are already warm from some kind of light activity.
3. Stay active. The more your muscles move, the faster they will recover from exercise and soreness. If you choose to rest completely instead of "actively recovering" with light exercise, you'll probably be sore longer.
- Losing fat occurs in catabolic mode (which includes maintaining a calorie deficit), while adding muscle requires that you be in anabolic mode (which includes maintaining a small calorie surplus). But these modes aren't mutually exclusive; over a short period of time (like one day), the hormones and enzymes that make you catabolic or anabolic will all be active to one degree or another. In effect, you will be anabolic part of the time, and catabolic the rest.
This means you CAN design yourself a diet and exercise program that will allow you to add some muscle and lose some fat. It will take a semi-fanatical attention to the details of planning and timing your nutrition and exercise in just the right way. It also means that you won't be able to lose fat or gain muscle as efficiently or quickly as you could if you focused on just one of these goals at a time.
Since most people don't have the time, knowledge or patience to settle for the slower rate of progress of this program, we usually recommend to start by aiming to lose fat and preserve existing muscle, and then, once the fat is off, switch the priority and aim to gain muscle (and weight) while minimizing fat regain. This makes the most sense simply because all weight loss does involve some loss of muscle mass (it can be very minimal), but weight and muscle gain do not have to involve fat gain.
If you want to focus on building muscle mass, doing cardio after your strength workout is not a good idea. The hour or two immediately following a strength training session is the best time to be in anabolic mode, which means you will be better off doing some eating right away than doing the cardio. Ideally, try to do your cardio and strength workouts on different days, or at least later on the same day, if necessary. Aiming for three to four high-intensity cardio sessions per week (about 20-40 minutes each) is your best bet for avoiding fat regain while trying to add muscle. Again, staying well hydrated and eat a good post-exercise meal after both strength and cardio workouts.
There are limits on the amount of exercise you want to do. Too much may cause excessive stress and strain, and too large of a caloric deficit interferes with normal metabolic functioning and will accelerate muscle loss and decrease fat loss.
Getting and staying well-hydrated is very important to enable your body to replace glycogen (energy stores in the muscles). It's also a good idea to eat a post-exercise meal (or snack) of about 300 calories, with a 4:1 ratio of complex carbs to protein. It's true that many people either gain a little weight or don't see any change on the scale for as long as 4-6 weeks after making a significant change in their level of exercise. This is often explained as "gaining muscle while losing fat" but that isn't quite accurate. This extra weight is usually water.
When you start doing more exercise, your body begins storing more fuel in your muscle cells, where it can be used easily and quickly to fuel your workouts. The process of converting glucose (carbohydrates) into fuel that your muscles actually store and use (glycogen) requires three molecules of water for every molecule of glucose. As your muscles are building up glycogen stores, your body has to retain extra water for this purpose. That's what causes most of the initial weight gain or lack of weight loss. This is a good thing—not something to worry about.
However, despite what the scale says, you are actually losing fat during this time. The extra water retention will stop once your body has adjusted to its new activity level. At that point, the scale should start moving down. You'll end up with less fat, and muscles that can handle a larger amount of work.
The strength training, when done correctly, will help preserve existing muscle mass. Maintaining an overall calorie deficit forces your body to use your body fat to replace the energy used up by both forms of exercise. Higher intensity and longer duration workouts (cardio and strength) will use more energy. Note: Neither form of exercise actually burns much fat during the exercise itself; it's the total amount of energy expended that determines how much fat you will burn. Limit your high-intensity cardio to no more than 45-60 minutes per day. More than that can increase the rate of muscle loss. Adding extra low intensity activity like walking is usually okay.
- A cardio workout is anything that raises your heart rate for an extended period of time, usually 20-30 minutes. Although you may be breathing heavily during sex, this isn’t necessarily because your heart rate is up. It has more to do with hormones and what’s going on with your nervous system. (Think of how your may breathe harder or feel your heart rate increase if you’re scared—that doesn’t mean you’re getting a cardio workout.) Cardio works large muscle groups repetitively (such as how running uses your large leg & arm muscles and swimming uses your whole body). Sex does not typically use major muscle groups (or at least in a full range of motion the way that these examples do).
- In the morning, your body has gone 8+ hours since eating or drinking anything. Your blood sugar levels are lower at this point, and your body doesn't have adequate fuel to workout optimally. Usually, experts recommend eating something—even if it's just a small snack—within 2 hours before working out. When your body doesn’t have proper fuel in it, many problems can result, the lesser being that your workout performance suffers, and the greater being something like passing out during exercise.
However, like I said—every body is different. Some people can workout on an empty stomach with no problems, while others would end up very sick and feel the negative effects of it. When I workout in the morning, I always eat (and drink) something first thing after I wake up. Usually by the time I start my workout it doesn't hurt my stomach to exercise with a bit of food on it. I have to do strength training first, and then eat a light snack. Then in an hour do some cardio for 1/2 hr. In the beginning you gain weight but that's till your body gets adjusted to the water retention.
Also, I think there might have been a bit of confusion here about metabolic rates in the morning. Eating breakfast in the morning has a positive effect on your metabolism, but exercising on an empty stomach does not.
- The mantra is nutrition, rest, and variation. change the intensity, duration, mode, type of exercise, the number of repeats, resistance level, the music, etc. Circuit training is a great way to do resistance training and aerobic/anaerobic training in one workout. You select a certain number of exercises, and go from one exercise to the next with little or no rest, until you've completed all of them. A circuit can be set up any way--it’s fun to be creative. You can do a full body circuit, a lower body circuit, core circuit, upper body circuit, etc. By doing the exercises consecutively, your heart rate stays in the aerobic zone, at the same time developing lean muscle tissue. You can also add in exercises like jump rope and step-ups to make it an anaerobic workout.
Circuits are great for all levels, beginners up to advanced. A circuit of 6-8 exercises is usually a good beginner level, working up to 12-15 exercises done twice for advanced. As you can see, a circuit can last as short as 10-15 minutes and go up to 60 minutes.
- Resistance training is a great way to develop strength and create a "whole" body. The more lean muscle tissue you develop, the more calories you'll burn, and the better your body will handle all of life's challenges, both mentally and physically. It is important to try to work out the upper body, lower body and core. The core consists of the lower back, hips, upper and lower abdominal, and obliques. Not only should you work all three areas, you should also concentrate on working the anterior (front) and posterior (back) part of the body, to avoid imbalance in muscle.
- Think about which aspect is most important to your workout: aerobic activity or strength training. Is your primary focus to burn as many calories as possible (aerobic activity) or build muscle (strength training)? If aerobic activity is most important, do it first because the intensity and duration could be diminished otherwise. If strength training is most important, do it first because the amount you can lift and how many reps/sets you complete can be affected if you are more tired. This will ensure optimal performance on the most important activity. (For example, someone training for a race would probably do aerobic activity first.)
Another thing to think about is occasionally alternating the order of activity. When you do the same exercises in the same order over and over again, your muscles get smart. They become efficient and aren't challenged as much, leading to plateaus in strength gain and weight loss. Every once in a while, change it up for a week or so and you should continue to see results.
- The best thing you can do is develop strength around your knees without putting a lot of pressure on them. This means targeting your quadriceps, hamstrings and hips. Here are a couple ideas:
Straight Leg Raises – Lie on your back. Keeping your leg straight, lift it into the air. Hold for 10-20 seconds and lower it to the ground. Do the same for your other leg. You can do variations of this on your back, stomach, and both sides as well. Try two sets of 15 reps to start, and slowly progress from there.
Swiss (Physio) Ball Squats – Place physio ball between lower to mid back and wall. Keep your spine in a neutral position. Spread feet shoulder width apart and make sure toes are pointed forward. Slowly bend knees to 90 degrees, and return to standing position, making sure to keep knees bent slightly. Make sure to place feet far enough in front so when you bend to 90 degrees, your knees don't go past the plane of your toes, but only squat down until just before your knees bother you. If you can only go down 1/4 of the way, that's fine; simply hold that position for a little while to help build more strength.
You can also try some low impact aerobic exercises, such as rowing, biking, or the elliptical machine.
You can do any of these exercises on a regular basis. About 4-5x a week should be fine.
- They go by different names (fitball, Swiss ball, physioball or exercise ball to name a few), but stability balls are some of the best exercise tools around. You can do so many different exercises with them. But most importantly, a stability ball will help you develop your core (abs, lower back, oblique) muscles.
Balls come in different sizes, typically between 55-75 centimeters when inflated. The size you should purchase and use depends on your height.
- If you're up to 5'7" tall, use a 55 cm ball.
- If you're between 5’7" and 6’2", use 65 cm ball.
- If you're taller than 6’2", use a 75 cm ball.
- If you have an opportunity to try one that is fully inflated, you should be able to sit on it with your knees at a right angle (thighs parallel to the floor) while you feet are flat on the floor.
- There are many vegans and vegetarians out there who are not being healthy about their diets. Even without consuming animal products, many veg'ns could still be consuming too many refined foods, fatty, high sugar foods, and not enough fruits and vegetables. So, as you can see, just being veg'n doesn't necessarily mean you're healthy.
The biggest problem I see veg'ns run into is removing foods (like meat, dairy, eggs, etc.) but not replacing these foods with plant-based alternatives that are similar in nutritional value. For every food group a veg'n removes from his or her diet, something has to be added back in. That means:
- Replacing meat with other high-quality protein sources, such as edamame, tofu, beans, lentils, legumes, eggs or egg whites (for ovo-vegetarians) and meat analogs (like veggie burgers.
- Replacing dairy products with other calcium-rich foods, such as calcium-enriched soymilks, soy yogurts, non-dairy milks that are enriched with calcium (like almond milk, rice milk, etc.) and possibly even a calcium supplement.
- Also, there are several nutrients that vegetarians and vegans need to make sure they're getting. Vitamin B-12, for example, is hard to come by in plant foods. Vegetarians and vegans need to be conscious about this nutrient (available in vegetarian supplements and fortified in nutritional yeast and some other foods), along with adequate calcium intake (found in dark leafy greens, almonds, broccoli, and fortified juice and soy products). Still some other vegetarians might want to monitor their intake of other nutrients like iron.
- You shouldn't eat a full, filling meal too close to bedtime, but a small, healthy snack is often okay.
It is possible to include a nighttime snack, especially on workout days, to prevent cravings and to get a good night’s sleep. What are your total calorie needs? Set aside about 200 calories for an evening snack. Then fill your kitchen with healthy choices for these 200 calories. Examples: a bowl of cereal/milk, hot chocolate, yogurt, 1/2 sandwich, fruit. Keep track of exactly how much you can have of each snack for 200 calories so you don’t fool yourself or make bad decisions at the last second.
Now you have set limits and have a plan. If you are willing to fix a snack, sit at the table and eat it (without watching TV, etc.) then you are probably truly hungry and not just eating out of boredom.
Early White-coat Syndrome
When you are in the upright position, the blood in your leg veins must work against gravity to return to your heart. To accomplish this, your leg muscles squeeze the deep veins of your legs and feet. The blood flows through tiny blood vessels called capillaries, where it gives up its oxygen to the body's tissues. One-way flaps, called valves, in your veins keep blood flowing in the right direction. Veins have one-way valves that help keep blood flowing toward your heart. When your leg muscles contract, the valves inside your veins open. When your legs relax, the valves close. This prevents blood from flowing in reverse, back down the legs. The entire process of sending blood back to the heart is called the venous pump.
When you walk and your leg muscles squeeze, the venous pump works well. But when you sit or stand, especially for a long time, the blood in your leg veins can pool and the pressure in your veins can increase. Deep veins and perforating veins are usually able to withstand short periods of increased pressures. However, if you are a susceptible individual, your veins can stretch if you repeatedly sit or stand for a long time. This stretching can sometimes weaken the walls of your veins and damage your vein valves. Varicose veins may result. They can cause symptoms of aching pain and/or itching in others.Varicose veins are swollen, twisted veins that you can see just under the skin. The term varicose derives from the Latin 'varix', which means twisted. Avaricose vein is usually tortuous and dilated. They usually occur in the legs, but also can form in other parts of the body. Varicose veins are swollen veins, most commonly in the legs and most often down the back of the calf and on the inside of the thigh. Varicose veins result when pressure on a vein makes the vein wall give and bulge, rather as a balloon gives when it is blown up. Increased pressure in the veins occurs when there is increased weight in the tummy (abdomen), slowing down the upwards return of blood back towards the heart. The tendency to varicose veins is inherited from your parents - some people unfortunately inherit veins which 'give' more easily, and this makes varicose veins more likely. They usually aren't serious, but they can sometimes lead to other problems. Left untreated, varicose veins may worsen over time. Patients who neglect early symptoms of vein disease will likely see a worsening of their veins. Once a vein condition is first detected, time is of the essence. While vein disease may progress slowly at first, once it reaches a critical point, it may progress at a much more rapid rate. Taking preventative measures can curb this progress and reduce the need for more invasive treatment options. Simple lower extremity exercises such as walking and jogging can help the circulatory system and facilitate the return of venous blood back to the central circulatory system.
Blood clotting within affected veins. Termed superficial thrombophlebitis. Restless legs syndrome appears to be a common overlapping clinical syndrome in patients with varicose veins and other chronic venous insufficiency. You are more at risk if you are older, a female, obese, don't exercise or have a family history.
What are the typical symptoms of varicose veins?
These include:
How do I deal with varicose veins?
Circulation is key. A get-up-and-go attitude is good for vein health, as long as it entails easy, fluid movement of the legs, like walking or jogging. The following methods may help:
When you walk and your leg muscles squeeze, the venous pump works well. But when you sit or stand, especially for a long time, the blood in your leg veins can pool and the pressure in your veins can increase. Deep veins and perforating veins are usually able to withstand short periods of increased pressures. However, if you are a susceptible individual, your veins can stretch if you repeatedly sit or stand for a long time. This stretching can sometimes weaken the walls of your veins and damage your vein valves. Varicose veins may result. They can cause symptoms of aching pain and/or itching in others.Varicose veins are swollen, twisted veins that you can see just under the skin. The term varicose derives from the Latin 'varix', which means twisted. Avaricose vein is usually tortuous and dilated. They usually occur in the legs, but also can form in other parts of the body. Varicose veins are swollen veins, most commonly in the legs and most often down the back of the calf and on the inside of the thigh. Varicose veins result when pressure on a vein makes the vein wall give and bulge, rather as a balloon gives when it is blown up. Increased pressure in the veins occurs when there is increased weight in the tummy (abdomen), slowing down the upwards return of blood back towards the heart. The tendency to varicose veins is inherited from your parents - some people unfortunately inherit veins which 'give' more easily, and this makes varicose veins more likely. They usually aren't serious, but they can sometimes lead to other problems. Left untreated, varicose veins may worsen over time. Patients who neglect early symptoms of vein disease will likely see a worsening of their veins. Once a vein condition is first detected, time is of the essence. While vein disease may progress slowly at first, once it reaches a critical point, it may progress at a much more rapid rate. Taking preventative measures can curb this progress and reduce the need for more invasive treatment options. Simple lower extremity exercises such as walking and jogging can help the circulatory system and facilitate the return of venous blood back to the central circulatory system.
Blood clotting within affected veins. Termed superficial thrombophlebitis. Restless legs syndrome appears to be a common overlapping clinical syndrome in patients with varicose veins and other chronic venous insufficiency. You are more at risk if you are older, a female, obese, don't exercise or have a family history.
What are the typical symptoms of varicose veins?
These include:
- Aching and pain in the legs.
- Swelling of the feet and ankles.
How do I deal with varicose veins?
Circulation is key. A get-up-and-go attitude is good for vein health, as long as it entails easy, fluid movement of the legs, like walking or jogging. The following methods may help:
- Put your legs up when you are sitting, with your feet higher than your hip joint, 3 or 4 times a day for about 15 minutes at a time. This tends to encourage the veins to drain.
- Wear support tights (medium strength at least), putting them on in the morning first thing before your veins have had a chance to swell.
- Walk around as much as possible - the working muscles of your calves are the pumps that try to send the blood from the veins back up into your body. Advice about regular exercise sounds sensible but is not supported by any evidence. Strenuous exercise that involves minimal aerobic activity and straining of the abdominal muscles actually has negative effects on the venous circulation. Increasing abdominal pressure can ultimately impair the return of blood back to the heart, further exacerbating venous reflux and venous insufficiency. These exercises include prolonged abdominal posturing (yoga), sit-ups, crunches, weightlifting, and lunges.
- Drinking plenty of tea, essential oil massages Blood clotting within affected veins. Termed superficial thrombophlebitis.
Heel-spurs Syndrome
Avoid sitting with your feet crossed behind you and pointed down. This puts pressure on your toes that can lead to ankle stiffness and soreness. Extra body weight puts added pressure on ankle joints.
The best way to sit at a desk is to have your feet flat. A three-quarter-inch shoe insole provides arch support and reduces ankle pressure.
Towel crunches with your feet also can help build strength and stability. Choose low-impact sports, such as biking, swimming or other aquatic exercises. Avoid running.
A worn-out pair of shoes has lost its cushioning, padding, and elasticity, and isn’t supporting your feet and ankles. The right pair of shoes will ease mild foot and ankle pain (however, not eliminate these conditions.)
A supportive arch is also an essential part of a quality shoe. A shoe with good arch support will distribute your weight evenly across your foot. You never want one part of your foot bearing more of the weight and being more susceptible to injury. Look for shoes with a firm mid-sole and extra padding.
The best way to sit at a desk is to have your feet flat. A three-quarter-inch shoe insole provides arch support and reduces ankle pressure.
Towel crunches with your feet also can help build strength and stability. Choose low-impact sports, such as biking, swimming or other aquatic exercises. Avoid running.
A worn-out pair of shoes has lost its cushioning, padding, and elasticity, and isn’t supporting your feet and ankles. The right pair of shoes will ease mild foot and ankle pain (however, not eliminate these conditions.)
A supportive arch is also an essential part of a quality shoe. A shoe with good arch support will distribute your weight evenly across your foot. You never want one part of your foot bearing more of the weight and being more susceptible to injury. Look for shoes with a firm mid-sole and extra padding.
Osteophytes are the body’s attempt to repair unbalanced bone-ligament-cartilage joints that becomes too loose due to stress injury or age. The unsuccessful attemps result in overgrowth of bone tissue (tiny protruding calcium deposites) over normal bone, commonly called "bone spurs" which are actually small round lumps of extra bone that grow around joints. Though not a source of pain themselves, they may create pressure on any of the nerves that branch out from the spinal column to result in painful. If ignored, bone spurs will cause permanent damage to bones and joints, eventually leading to osteoporosis or osteoarthritis.
Some actions that can contribute to heel spurs include:
Most people seek medical attention because of tissue inflammation and intense pain near the toe or ball of the foot. Treatment directed at the cause of bone spurs may include weight loss to take some pressure off the joints. Seeing a physical therapist for ultrasound or deep tissue massage may be helpful to relieve the pain. Treatment directed at symptoms could include rest, ice, stretching, and NSAID drugs such as ibuprofen. Listen to your body and switch to different activities such as swimming or riding a bike until your heel spurs improve. Try some of the following activities:
Some actions that can contribute to heel spurs include:
- Running too often or running on hard surfaces such as concrete
- Tight calf muscles
- Shoes with poor shock absorption
Most people seek medical attention because of tissue inflammation and intense pain near the toe or ball of the foot. Treatment directed at the cause of bone spurs may include weight loss to take some pressure off the joints. Seeing a physical therapist for ultrasound or deep tissue massage may be helpful to relieve the pain. Treatment directed at symptoms could include rest, ice, stretching, and NSAID drugs such as ibuprofen. Listen to your body and switch to different activities such as swimming or riding a bike until your heel spurs improve. Try some of the following activities:
- Calf stretch: Place your hands on a wall. Extend 1 foot behind you with your knee straight and place the other foot in front of you with the knee bent. Push your hips toward the wall and hold the stretch for 10 seconds. You should feel a pull in your calf muscles. Repeat the stretch 20 times for each foot.
- Plantar fascia stretch: Perform this exercise in the morning before you've done any standing or walking. Cross your injured foot over the knee of your other leg. Grasp your toes and gently pull them toward you. If you can't reach your toes, then wrap a towel around them and pull on the towel. Hold the stretch for 10 seconds and repeat 20 times for each foot.
Sciatic Nerve and Sciatica
The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body. Sciatica is commonly misdiagnosed, which can result is either slow or non-responsive treatment. Leg pain can have various sources. It can be a local leg injury or it may even be referred from your lower back. The main nerve that travels from your lower back to your leg is your sciatic nerve. Irritation or pinching of your sciatic nerve can cause severe leg pain known as sciatica. You're most likely to get sciatica when you're 30 to 50 years old.
The pain feels worse in the leg than in the back. It may range from a mild ache to severe burning or a shooting pain. Numbness or tingling (pins-and-needles) can occur in your leg and foot. This usually is not a concern unless you have weakness in your leg muscles or foot drop.
One or more of the following sensations may occur because of Sciatica:
Sitting usually causes the most pain because of the weight this position puts onto the discs. Activities, such as bending or twisting, worsen the pain, whereas lying down tends to bring relief. Running or walking may actually feel better than sitting or standing for too long. Sciatic nerve pain can be so excruciating and debilitating that you don’t even want to get off the couch. However, living a sedentary lifestyle is often how people end up with sciatica to begin with. Some physical therapists actually call it “sitting disease”.
Not all causes of sciatica are preventable, however, taking steps to protect your spine and improve your posture can significantly reduce your risk of injury. Prevention is key to avoiding recurrence:
Without exercise and movement, the back muscles and spinal structures become deconditioned and less able to support the back. The deconditioning and weakening can lead to back injury and strain, which causes additional pain. In addition, active exercise is also important for the health of the spinal discs. Movement helps exchange nutrients and fluids within the discs to keep them healthy and prevent pressure on the sciatic nerve. Core muscle strength. Many sciatica exercises serve to strengthen the abdominal and back muscles in order to provide more support for the back.
Inflammation is a normal part of your healing process post-injury. But, excessive inflammation can be the main cause of your sciatica. Stand up straight and stretch yourself upwards “trying to grow as tall as you can”. This will help to turn on your deep abdominal muscles that open the spaces in your spine where your nerves are vulnerable to pinching. If it’s painful to sit for more than 5 minutes, limit your sitting to 4 minutes. Take regular breaks to stand and walk around. If you must be on your feet, prop one foot on a small block or footrest, and then switch feet throughout the day. Your body provides heaps of painful hints. Listen carefully and you will recover quicker.
These sciatica exercises alone will not necessarily make the patient with sciatica from spinal stenosis "better", but they will allow the patient to more easily hold a posterior pelvic tilt during activities, especially standing and walking. This posture will allow the patient to perform more activities with less pain.
Take pressure off your back by sleeping on your side or on your back with a pillow under your knees. If you don’t feel pain, you are in the right position.
The pain feels worse in the leg than in the back. It may range from a mild ache to severe burning or a shooting pain. Numbness or tingling (pins-and-needles) can occur in your leg and foot. This usually is not a concern unless you have weakness in your leg muscles or foot drop.
One or more of the following sensations may occur because of Sciatica:
- Pain in the rear or leg that is worse when sitting
- Burning or tingling down the leg
- Weakness, numbness or difficulty moving the leg or foot
- A constant pain on one side of the rear calf
- A shooting pain that makes it difficult to stand up.
Sitting usually causes the most pain because of the weight this position puts onto the discs. Activities, such as bending or twisting, worsen the pain, whereas lying down tends to bring relief. Running or walking may actually feel better than sitting or standing for too long. Sciatic nerve pain can be so excruciating and debilitating that you don’t even want to get off the couch. However, living a sedentary lifestyle is often how people end up with sciatica to begin with. Some physical therapists actually call it “sitting disease”.
Not all causes of sciatica are preventable, however, taking steps to protect your spine and improve your posture can significantly reduce your risk of injury. Prevention is key to avoiding recurrence:
- Proper lifting; avoid sitting for long periods
- Good posture during sitting, standing, moving, and sleeping
- Regular exercise with stretching and strengthening
- An ergonomic work area
- Good nutrition, healthy weight and lean body mass
- Stress management and relaxation
- No smoking
Without exercise and movement, the back muscles and spinal structures become deconditioned and less able to support the back. The deconditioning and weakening can lead to back injury and strain, which causes additional pain. In addition, active exercise is also important for the health of the spinal discs. Movement helps exchange nutrients and fluids within the discs to keep them healthy and prevent pressure on the sciatic nerve. Core muscle strength. Many sciatica exercises serve to strengthen the abdominal and back muscles in order to provide more support for the back.
Inflammation is a normal part of your healing process post-injury. But, excessive inflammation can be the main cause of your sciatica. Stand up straight and stretch yourself upwards “trying to grow as tall as you can”. This will help to turn on your deep abdominal muscles that open the spaces in your spine where your nerves are vulnerable to pinching. If it’s painful to sit for more than 5 minutes, limit your sitting to 4 minutes. Take regular breaks to stand and walk around. If you must be on your feet, prop one foot on a small block or footrest, and then switch feet throughout the day. Your body provides heaps of painful hints. Listen carefully and you will recover quicker.
These sciatica exercises alone will not necessarily make the patient with sciatica from spinal stenosis "better", but they will allow the patient to more easily hold a posterior pelvic tilt during activities, especially standing and walking. This posture will allow the patient to perform more activities with less pain.
Take pressure off your back by sleeping on your side or on your back with a pillow under your knees. If you don’t feel pain, you are in the right position.
For fast acting relief try slowing down. ~ Lily Tomlin
"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs - jolted by every pebble in the road." ~ Henry Ward Beecher
"It is better to laugh about your problems than to cry about them." ~Jewish Proverb
"You can't really be strong until you see a funny side to things." ~Ken Kesey
"Laughter is an instant vacation." ~Milton Burle
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SERE-C
Becoming a prisoner of war (POW) is a harsh reality in every war and conflict. Every year, each of the armed services sends those who work in high-risk specialties or will work in combat areas through special schools to prepare them for the possibility of being captured. The common term for this training is Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE). There are various levels to the training, depending upon the school. Some training is offered to high-risk government employees as an orientation course.
The goal of the United States Army's training in survival, evasion, resistance and escape, or SERE, is to teach personnel how to survive if they become separated from their unit; to evade a hostile force and make their way back to friendly forces; and to avoid capture. In the event that soldiers are captured, SERE training will have prepared them to resist the enemy's attempts at exploitation, to escape from captivity and to return home with honor.
Department of Defense Directive 1300.7, Training and Education Measures Necessary to Support Code of Conduct, establishes three levels of SERE training: A, B and C.
Level A. Level-A SERE training is initial-entry training that is included in the program of instruction during basic training and during all entry-level courses of instruction for officers.
Level B. Level-B SERE training is designed for officers and enlisted personnel who operate (or who could potentially operate) near enemy lines. Unit-level instruction in Level-B SERE is accomplished using a training support packet, or TSP, that contains 16 standardized lesson plans that support training in 38 tasks.
Level C. Level-C SERE training is designed for personnel whose wartime position, military occupational specialty, or assignment entails a high risk of capture, and whose position, rank or seniority would make them targets for stronger-than-average exploitation efforts by a captor. Personnel who operate in enemy-controlled areas, such as Special Forces, Pathfinders, selected aviators, flight-crew members and members of Ranger battalions, should receive Level-C training.
Level-C SERE training is conducted by the JFK Special Warfare Center and School's Company A, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group. Company A is one of four advanced-skills companies within the 2nd Battalion. Because nearly 70 percent of Company A's instructor positions are allotted to its two SERE detachments (the Field Training Detachment and the Resistance Training Detachment), the company is commonly referred to as the "SERE Company" or as the "SERE School." Company A is the only Army unit that is authorized to conduct Level-C SERE training.
The Army's Level-C SERE training is conducted at Camp Mackall, N.C., approximately 35 miles southwest of Fort Bragg. Camp Mackall is also the training site for Special Forces Assessment and Selection and for the Special Forces Qualification Course. The Camp Mackall SERE training facility is one of only four facilities within the Department of Defense that are authorized to conduct Level-C SERE training. The Navy has facilities at Brunswick, Maine, and at North Island, Calif.; the Air Force has a facility at Fairchild AFB, Wash.
The cadre of the Army's SERE Course are among the finest training instructors within DoD. While the majority are SF NCOs, there are also SF retirees (Department of the Army civilians); NCOs from other Army branches such as Military Intelligence (interrogators), Infantry (Rangers), Signal (audiovisual technicians); and NCOs from the U.S. Marine Corps.
The Army's 19-day SERE Course is the longest SERE course taught within DoD. All training is conducted in support of DoD Directive 1300.7, Training and Education Measures Necessary to Support the Code of Conduct, 23 December 1998. Students include personnel from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and other government agencies. The course is taught in three phases: academic instruction; a survival-and-evasion field training exercise, or FTX; and a resistance exercise.
History
The Army's Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Course traces its roots to the Vietnam conflict. On Oct. 29, 1963, Captain Rocky Versace, First Lieutenant Nick Rowe and Master Sergeant Dan Pitzer were captured in South Vietnam after an intense fire fight. All three endured hardships as captives of the Viet Cong. Versace was eventually executed for his staunch resistance to communist indoctrination. Pitzer was freed after four years.
Rowe remained a prisoner for more than five years. In late December 1968, the Viet Cong, frustrated by Rowe's refusal to accept communist ideology and weary of his continued attempts to escape, scheduled his execution. As Rowe was being transferred for execution, he took advantage of the distraction caused by a sudden overflight of U.S. helicopters and struck down his guard. Still keen to his surroundings after 62 months of captivity, Rowe ran into a clearing, where he was spotted by the helicopters. He was rescued and quickly repatriated.
Rowe left the Army in 1974 and wrote a book about his POW experiences, Five Years to Freedom. When the Army Special Forces School recognized the need for a SERE program, Rowe was the first choice as the person to design the course and to establish its operation. He was recalled to active duty in 1981 and was given the mission of developing and running the SERE program.
There are plans to revamp pre-deployment workups, reinvigorate jungle warfare training and develop broader cultural expertise in this vast, diverse and dynamic part of the world. Lessons learned during the past decade will undoubtedly play a role in determining how these programs evolve, said Maj. Gen. Tom Murray, the head of Training and Education Command, but with budgets and people stretched, TECOM must look closely at cost and benefit -- that is, how the Corps will get the best return on investment.
Meanwhile, TECOM is looking at shaking up the experience recruits get at boot camp and re-examining its approach to ethics training, the general said. The related efforts are meant to address some troubling cultural issues that have taken root within the Corps.
Murray met with Marine Corps Times here in September. Excerpts from the interview, edited for space and clarity:
Q. Among the changes TECOM has looked at over the past two years, what's been the most significant to implement?
A. The biggest one is the [Marine air-ground task force] training program for the future. It all stems from the fact that the whole environment is changing. We've been here before as a Marine Corps, but we're here again. We're seeing a major evolution with 10 years of combat drawing down. We also have financial restrictions that are going to be put on us and also in manpower. So from a training and education standpoint, we're trying to look at all of that.
Q. So what will MAGTF training look like going forward?
A. We're doing the last Enhanced Mojave Viper pre-deployment training right now at Twentynine Palms, Calif. We used to have the [combined arms exercises] about 10 years ago before we instituted Mojave Viper, so we're looking at kind of a hybrid of the two going forward. We have it in two pieces: ITX, which is an integrated training exercise, and then LSE, which is a large-scale exercise.
The ITXs will be for the battalion, squadron and logistics unit level where they will come out, we'll provide them some time to train as an individual unit, as a squadron and as a battalion. Then we'll also bring that together and integrate all of the pieces of the MAGTF. We're looking to do five of those each year.
Then the LSE is for the command elements. That's a large scale exercise, and we'll do two of those per year. That will be focused on the [Marine expeditionary brigade] or the [Marine expeditionary force] staffs.
Q. What are the biggest lessons learned over the last decade in regard to pre-deployment training?
A. I think one of the biggest things we learned is that there are no more front lines like there used to be. We found that it was very often corporals and sergeants dealing with local populations and governance, making decisions that could have strategic implications. In the past, that would've been a battalion or company commander. That's why we've gone to increase the [professional military education] and change the curriculum. We've changed the way we think about things.
Q. Where is cultural training headed next?
A. That's a challenge because we don't know where the next environment will be. So how do we give people the basics that they know enough about culture and how to think through problems but not be country-specific? We are focusing toward Asia-Pacific because we've been told to do that, but our culture and language training is going to be balanced ... and basically every Marine is going to participate in it.
It's called Regional, Cultural and Language Familiarization, and they will pick or be assigned a region, a culture and a language that they are going to learn throughout the rest of their career, with certain milestones they'll have to pass to be eligible for future promotion.
We found over the past 10 years that the cultural piece is probably more important than the language, because even if you can speak the language, if you don't understand the culture, you can get yourself into a lot of trouble.
Q. Will certain countries have a heavier emphasis than others?
A. There are 17 different regions. There will probably be a little bit more of an emphasis on Asia-Pacific, but we do want to maintain a balance. A person whose region is Asia-Pacific, culture is Chinese and language is Mandarin, it won't stop him from deploying on an East Coast [Marine expeditionary unit]. It's about having a balance and a mix.
Q. The commandant recently discussed an overhaul of jungle warfare training. What is being considered?
A. We've kind of been thinking about this for a while. There's the training center on Okinawa, Japan. But it's not anything like what the Mountain Warfare Training Center is for mountain training or cold-weather training because it's not a service school right now.
The commandant wants us to look at a service-level jungle warfare training center on the model of the Mountain Warfare Training Center up at Pickel Meadows in California. So who is it that we'll put through this training? Is it forces that are going out to Asia-Pacific? Or could it be anyone?
[At] the Mountain Warfare Training Center we train in mountain climbing, we train in cold weather, but it's not all that school's about. It's about small-unit leader training. In the future, it will be a venue where people will work in those ITXs, so they might be at [different training locations]. So it's really more than just mountain and cold weather. And as we develop the jungle warfare training center, it'll be the same thing.
We are also looking at costs because if we were going to take forces from the U.S. that aren't on their way to deploy to the Pacific, it would cost a heck of a lot to get a unit over there to go through jungle warfare training and then come back.
So is there somewhere here in the western hemisphere where we can do it as well? Do we want one, do we want the other? But we are going to -- within a reasonable amount of time -- develop a service-level jungle warfare training center if that's what the commandant decides.
Q. So there could be multiple training centers?
A. Yes, we're looking at all of that. We're looking at the most efficient and cost-effective way to train now -- for using a jungle environment, but to do all the small-unit leader training as well.
Q. TECOM also is looking at boot camp. A review board met in September to talk about curriculum changes. What's being considered there?
A. There's a lot that we're going to beef up within the curriculum at the depots -- the sexual assault prevention, readiness training, we're getting at the hazing, the Marine total fitness package, resiliency, combat stress, and then a thing called mission command that has become very big in the joint world recently. That's where all up and down the chain of command, people understand the commander's intent. We are nurturing an environment where understanding turns into trust and then empowerment. That way you don't have to ask questions, you understand what the mission is, where you want to end up and how the commander wants to do it.
We also want to get at the idea of diversity and what has been done for the Marine Corps by the diverse cultures that have joined it.
We're also looking at changing around the instructors some. We only train female Marines at Parris Island, S.C., but what we want to do is put women in positions of leadership. So whether its instructors or sergeants major ... our recruits -- male and female -- see a mix of male and female figureheads, authority figures.
Q. What about ethics training? The commandant has toured the Corps discussing this, and there was a servicewide ethics standdown. How will ethics become part of sustained training for Marines?
A. It's ethics but also the issues we're having with sexual assault, hazing and mentoring properly. Instead of doing shotgun-blast training for six topics, we're going to take all these kinds of things under an umbrella of training and get this back to being part of our culture.
We're going to get to where it's talked about all the time -- in all of our schools, in foot locker discussions, in weekly command leadership training discussions.
Q. How does TECOM identify a need for training to be improved or changed?
A. It's the operating forces that we want to be responsive to. So we're out there, we discuss with them, we identify gaps. Then we prioritize those gaps.
Q. So how do you get more Marines through the training they need when fewer resources are available?
A. Getting individuals out of the units is a challenge, especially as we get smaller because they're going to be busier. There's still a lot more distance or online learning.
We want to get to where this training is mandatory for promotion. But you have to be really careful about making residential training mandatory for promotion because of the large numbers at certain ranks that were deployed back-to-back. By giving them the distance learning now, if this all works out, then we may go to a mandatory training to be promoted.
Q. Aside from distance learning, how else is technology helping to better train Marines?
A. Simulators have really advanced. You can stop, restart and work through a problem much easier with simulation. We have the Infantry Immersion Trainer, and at first it started out small with just fire teams, but now you can put very large units through it. It's a mix of live and virtual training. The repetition trains Marines to do some basic things without thinking, which allows more of your brain to focus on the unexpected.
We're also getting to the point where we can network this stuff ... a big advancement.
Becoming a prisoner of war (POW) is a harsh reality in every war and conflict. Every year, each of the armed services sends those who work in high-risk specialties or will work in combat areas through special schools to prepare them for the possibility of being captured. The common term for this training is Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE). There are various levels to the training, depending upon the school. Some training is offered to high-risk government employees as an orientation course.
The goal of the United States Army's training in survival, evasion, resistance and escape, or SERE, is to teach personnel how to survive if they become separated from their unit; to evade a hostile force and make their way back to friendly forces; and to avoid capture. In the event that soldiers are captured, SERE training will have prepared them to resist the enemy's attempts at exploitation, to escape from captivity and to return home with honor.
Department of Defense Directive 1300.7, Training and Education Measures Necessary to Support Code of Conduct, establishes three levels of SERE training: A, B and C.
Level A. Level-A SERE training is initial-entry training that is included in the program of instruction during basic training and during all entry-level courses of instruction for officers.
Level B. Level-B SERE training is designed for officers and enlisted personnel who operate (or who could potentially operate) near enemy lines. Unit-level instruction in Level-B SERE is accomplished using a training support packet, or TSP, that contains 16 standardized lesson plans that support training in 38 tasks.
Level C. Level-C SERE training is designed for personnel whose wartime position, military occupational specialty, or assignment entails a high risk of capture, and whose position, rank or seniority would make them targets for stronger-than-average exploitation efforts by a captor. Personnel who operate in enemy-controlled areas, such as Special Forces, Pathfinders, selected aviators, flight-crew members and members of Ranger battalions, should receive Level-C training.
Level-C SERE training is conducted by the JFK Special Warfare Center and School's Company A, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group. Company A is one of four advanced-skills companies within the 2nd Battalion. Because nearly 70 percent of Company A's instructor positions are allotted to its two SERE detachments (the Field Training Detachment and the Resistance Training Detachment), the company is commonly referred to as the "SERE Company" or as the "SERE School." Company A is the only Army unit that is authorized to conduct Level-C SERE training.
The Army's Level-C SERE training is conducted at Camp Mackall, N.C., approximately 35 miles southwest of Fort Bragg. Camp Mackall is also the training site for Special Forces Assessment and Selection and for the Special Forces Qualification Course. The Camp Mackall SERE training facility is one of only four facilities within the Department of Defense that are authorized to conduct Level-C SERE training. The Navy has facilities at Brunswick, Maine, and at North Island, Calif.; the Air Force has a facility at Fairchild AFB, Wash.
The cadre of the Army's SERE Course are among the finest training instructors within DoD. While the majority are SF NCOs, there are also SF retirees (Department of the Army civilians); NCOs from other Army branches such as Military Intelligence (interrogators), Infantry (Rangers), Signal (audiovisual technicians); and NCOs from the U.S. Marine Corps.
The Army's 19-day SERE Course is the longest SERE course taught within DoD. All training is conducted in support of DoD Directive 1300.7, Training and Education Measures Necessary to Support the Code of Conduct, 23 December 1998. Students include personnel from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and other government agencies. The course is taught in three phases: academic instruction; a survival-and-evasion field training exercise, or FTX; and a resistance exercise.
History
The Army's Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Course traces its roots to the Vietnam conflict. On Oct. 29, 1963, Captain Rocky Versace, First Lieutenant Nick Rowe and Master Sergeant Dan Pitzer were captured in South Vietnam after an intense fire fight. All three endured hardships as captives of the Viet Cong. Versace was eventually executed for his staunch resistance to communist indoctrination. Pitzer was freed after four years.
Rowe remained a prisoner for more than five years. In late December 1968, the Viet Cong, frustrated by Rowe's refusal to accept communist ideology and weary of his continued attempts to escape, scheduled his execution. As Rowe was being transferred for execution, he took advantage of the distraction caused by a sudden overflight of U.S. helicopters and struck down his guard. Still keen to his surroundings after 62 months of captivity, Rowe ran into a clearing, where he was spotted by the helicopters. He was rescued and quickly repatriated.
Rowe left the Army in 1974 and wrote a book about his POW experiences, Five Years to Freedom. When the Army Special Forces School recognized the need for a SERE program, Rowe was the first choice as the person to design the course and to establish its operation. He was recalled to active duty in 1981 and was given the mission of developing and running the SERE program.
- Purpose
- SERE training is designed to produce high stress levels that will come close to the actual experience of being cut off from friendly forces. The training prepares military members for the possibility of capture and imprisonment, but also trains them with survival techniques. These schools are not just about physical survival in the wilderness; they teach the importance of mental survival as well. The latter is important during the prisoner of war scenarios.
- SERE training begins with scenarios of soldiers, sailors or airmen stuck behind enemy lines. This is the survival and evasion portion of their training. They must learn to live in a harsh environment with no supplies and techniques to avoid the enemy. The latter portion constitutes the resistance and escape portion of the training. In these scenarios, the students have already been captured. They must now learn how to resist interrogation and possible torture. The students are placed in an artificial prisoner of war camp with phony camp guards. While a prisoner, they may find an opportunity to escape using training given to them during the early portions of the class.
- SERE students in this phase are inundated with multiple stress factors. They are subjected to food and sleep deprivation. They are put into mock interrogation scenarios and expected to resist to the best of their abilities. Resistance training has evolved with the advent of Middle East terrorism and the demise of the Cold War. Hostages and prisoners from recent conflicts are debriefed, and their experiences provide valuable input for future training. Many specific details of SERE training are classified. The latter portion where the students are thrust into a prisoner of war environment is considered particularly sensitive.
- The different SERE schools have many similarities in the basic knowledge they teach their students. There may be differences in approach and length of training. However, there is one subject that is taught at each school that is unalterable: the Code of Conduct. Its purpose is to instill in each member the importance of his continued allegiance and proper behavior even when under the power of the enemy. There are six articles to the Code of Conduct, and students at SERE training are encouraged to memorize them.
- U.S. and POW flags
In 1995, the Air Force Academy canceled the resistance portion of SERE training for cadets after allegations of excessive abuse surfaced. A female cadet accused her perpetrators of going beyond simulated sexual assault and crossing the line into actual abuse. Other allegations of extreme rape scenarios also came to light.
The Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have shown that aircrew members are no longer the only high-risk jobs. Many other specialties are equally at risk of capture in conflicts with constantly shifting enemy lines. Because of this, the resistance portion of the training for cadets was reinstated in 2008.
- SERE training is designed to produce high stress levels that will come close to the actual experience of being cut off from friendly forces. The training prepares military members for the possibility of capture and imprisonment, but also trains them with survival techniques. These schools are not just about physical survival in the wilderness; they teach the importance of mental survival as well. The latter is important during the prisoner of war scenarios.
There are plans to revamp pre-deployment workups, reinvigorate jungle warfare training and develop broader cultural expertise in this vast, diverse and dynamic part of the world. Lessons learned during the past decade will undoubtedly play a role in determining how these programs evolve, said Maj. Gen. Tom Murray, the head of Training and Education Command, but with budgets and people stretched, TECOM must look closely at cost and benefit -- that is, how the Corps will get the best return on investment.
Meanwhile, TECOM is looking at shaking up the experience recruits get at boot camp and re-examining its approach to ethics training, the general said. The related efforts are meant to address some troubling cultural issues that have taken root within the Corps.
Murray met with Marine Corps Times here in September. Excerpts from the interview, edited for space and clarity:
Q. Among the changes TECOM has looked at over the past two years, what's been the most significant to implement?
A. The biggest one is the [Marine air-ground task force] training program for the future. It all stems from the fact that the whole environment is changing. We've been here before as a Marine Corps, but we're here again. We're seeing a major evolution with 10 years of combat drawing down. We also have financial restrictions that are going to be put on us and also in manpower. So from a training and education standpoint, we're trying to look at all of that.
Q. So what will MAGTF training look like going forward?
A. We're doing the last Enhanced Mojave Viper pre-deployment training right now at Twentynine Palms, Calif. We used to have the [combined arms exercises] about 10 years ago before we instituted Mojave Viper, so we're looking at kind of a hybrid of the two going forward. We have it in two pieces: ITX, which is an integrated training exercise, and then LSE, which is a large-scale exercise.
The ITXs will be for the battalion, squadron and logistics unit level where they will come out, we'll provide them some time to train as an individual unit, as a squadron and as a battalion. Then we'll also bring that together and integrate all of the pieces of the MAGTF. We're looking to do five of those each year.
Then the LSE is for the command elements. That's a large scale exercise, and we'll do two of those per year. That will be focused on the [Marine expeditionary brigade] or the [Marine expeditionary force] staffs.
Q. What are the biggest lessons learned over the last decade in regard to pre-deployment training?
A. I think one of the biggest things we learned is that there are no more front lines like there used to be. We found that it was very often corporals and sergeants dealing with local populations and governance, making decisions that could have strategic implications. In the past, that would've been a battalion or company commander. That's why we've gone to increase the [professional military education] and change the curriculum. We've changed the way we think about things.
Q. Where is cultural training headed next?
A. That's a challenge because we don't know where the next environment will be. So how do we give people the basics that they know enough about culture and how to think through problems but not be country-specific? We are focusing toward Asia-Pacific because we've been told to do that, but our culture and language training is going to be balanced ... and basically every Marine is going to participate in it.
It's called Regional, Cultural and Language Familiarization, and they will pick or be assigned a region, a culture and a language that they are going to learn throughout the rest of their career, with certain milestones they'll have to pass to be eligible for future promotion.
We found over the past 10 years that the cultural piece is probably more important than the language, because even if you can speak the language, if you don't understand the culture, you can get yourself into a lot of trouble.
Q. Will certain countries have a heavier emphasis than others?
A. There are 17 different regions. There will probably be a little bit more of an emphasis on Asia-Pacific, but we do want to maintain a balance. A person whose region is Asia-Pacific, culture is Chinese and language is Mandarin, it won't stop him from deploying on an East Coast [Marine expeditionary unit]. It's about having a balance and a mix.
Q. The commandant recently discussed an overhaul of jungle warfare training. What is being considered?
A. We've kind of been thinking about this for a while. There's the training center on Okinawa, Japan. But it's not anything like what the Mountain Warfare Training Center is for mountain training or cold-weather training because it's not a service school right now.
The commandant wants us to look at a service-level jungle warfare training center on the model of the Mountain Warfare Training Center up at Pickel Meadows in California. So who is it that we'll put through this training? Is it forces that are going out to Asia-Pacific? Or could it be anyone?
[At] the Mountain Warfare Training Center we train in mountain climbing, we train in cold weather, but it's not all that school's about. It's about small-unit leader training. In the future, it will be a venue where people will work in those ITXs, so they might be at [different training locations]. So it's really more than just mountain and cold weather. And as we develop the jungle warfare training center, it'll be the same thing.
We are also looking at costs because if we were going to take forces from the U.S. that aren't on their way to deploy to the Pacific, it would cost a heck of a lot to get a unit over there to go through jungle warfare training and then come back.
So is there somewhere here in the western hemisphere where we can do it as well? Do we want one, do we want the other? But we are going to -- within a reasonable amount of time -- develop a service-level jungle warfare training center if that's what the commandant decides.
Q. So there could be multiple training centers?
A. Yes, we're looking at all of that. We're looking at the most efficient and cost-effective way to train now -- for using a jungle environment, but to do all the small-unit leader training as well.
Q. TECOM also is looking at boot camp. A review board met in September to talk about curriculum changes. What's being considered there?
A. There's a lot that we're going to beef up within the curriculum at the depots -- the sexual assault prevention, readiness training, we're getting at the hazing, the Marine total fitness package, resiliency, combat stress, and then a thing called mission command that has become very big in the joint world recently. That's where all up and down the chain of command, people understand the commander's intent. We are nurturing an environment where understanding turns into trust and then empowerment. That way you don't have to ask questions, you understand what the mission is, where you want to end up and how the commander wants to do it.
We also want to get at the idea of diversity and what has been done for the Marine Corps by the diverse cultures that have joined it.
We're also looking at changing around the instructors some. We only train female Marines at Parris Island, S.C., but what we want to do is put women in positions of leadership. So whether its instructors or sergeants major ... our recruits -- male and female -- see a mix of male and female figureheads, authority figures.
Q. What about ethics training? The commandant has toured the Corps discussing this, and there was a servicewide ethics standdown. How will ethics become part of sustained training for Marines?
A. It's ethics but also the issues we're having with sexual assault, hazing and mentoring properly. Instead of doing shotgun-blast training for six topics, we're going to take all these kinds of things under an umbrella of training and get this back to being part of our culture.
We're going to get to where it's talked about all the time -- in all of our schools, in foot locker discussions, in weekly command leadership training discussions.
Q. How does TECOM identify a need for training to be improved or changed?
A. It's the operating forces that we want to be responsive to. So we're out there, we discuss with them, we identify gaps. Then we prioritize those gaps.
Q. So how do you get more Marines through the training they need when fewer resources are available?
A. Getting individuals out of the units is a challenge, especially as we get smaller because they're going to be busier. There's still a lot more distance or online learning.
We want to get to where this training is mandatory for promotion. But you have to be really careful about making residential training mandatory for promotion because of the large numbers at certain ranks that were deployed back-to-back. By giving them the distance learning now, if this all works out, then we may go to a mandatory training to be promoted.
Q. Aside from distance learning, how else is technology helping to better train Marines?
A. Simulators have really advanced. You can stop, restart and work through a problem much easier with simulation. We have the Infantry Immersion Trainer, and at first it started out small with just fire teams, but now you can put very large units through it. It's a mix of live and virtual training. The repetition trains Marines to do some basic things without thinking, which allows more of your brain to focus on the unexpected.
We're also getting to the point where we can network this stuff ... a big advancement.
The idea is PoWs are not the same as "enemy" fighters or hostis humani generis (enemies of all mankind), hence, the torture doesn't fall under UN's Geneva Convention of 1949. The Soviets employed torture as a systematic part of its counterintelligence doctrine, whether it was resisting the Nazi incursion or pacifying the Baltics and Ukraine.
It is possible, though by no means certain, that the information could have been acquired using “typical FBI practices,” but only if “we had all the time in the world … But we did not. You cannot overstate the urgency that we felt about getting answers quickly”, at any price. To minimize the risks of people going too far, the CIA psychologically assessed those charged with implementing the EITs to screen out sadists and other defectives. The CIA did not “blindly accept” what was told by prisoners, even after they became compliant. “Every statement … was checked and double checked”
"The message this sends to the CIA workforce is simple: Engage in war crimes, in crimes against humanity, and you’ll get promoted. Don’t worry about the law. Don’t worry about ethics. Don’t worry about morality or the fact that torture doesn’t even work. Go ahead and do it anyway. We’ll cover for you. And you can destroy the evidence, too.” John Kiriakou, a former CIA counter-terrorism officer and a former senior investigator with the Senate Foreign Relations Committe.
US Army's “Project X” Coercive Counterintelligence Techniques (torture) On Resistant Sources & Human Resource Exploitation Training ("interrogation"). Among the revisions, the sentence was added: "use of most coercive techniques is improper and violates policy." The Bible of “coercive interrogations” CIA's KUBARK 1963 brutal torture manual shows that agents were free to use coercion during interrogation, provided they obtained [headquarters] approval in advance. The original KUBARK manual offered a prophetic warning that would be repeatedly disregarded in the ensuing years: “The routine use of torture lowers the moral caliber of the organization that uses it and corrupts those that rely on it….”
Vietnam counter-terror intelligence War: CIA-sponsored Phoenix program used by South Vietnamese paramilitary teams to target undercover VietCong insurgents in villages. Also involved in the Phoenix Program were US special operations forces. They acted as advisers sometimes trainers. The same people involved in the Phoenix program were later sent to advise El Salvador and Guatemala and Honduras regarding torture programs. In Iraq they explicitly called it the El Salvador solution and they sent people who had helped El Salvador wage it’s reign of terror to Iraq to train the Shiite Badr brigades.
William F. Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut in 1984-5, who was kidnapped by Iran’s agents, acting as part of the nascent Hizballah. Buckley was murdered, but not before he was tortured horrifically into giving up everything he knew, crippling the CIA’s operations in Lebanon for years to come.
It is possible, though by no means certain, that the information could have been acquired using “typical FBI practices,” but only if “we had all the time in the world … But we did not. You cannot overstate the urgency that we felt about getting answers quickly”, at any price. To minimize the risks of people going too far, the CIA psychologically assessed those charged with implementing the EITs to screen out sadists and other defectives. The CIA did not “blindly accept” what was told by prisoners, even after they became compliant. “Every statement … was checked and double checked”
"The message this sends to the CIA workforce is simple: Engage in war crimes, in crimes against humanity, and you’ll get promoted. Don’t worry about the law. Don’t worry about ethics. Don’t worry about morality or the fact that torture doesn’t even work. Go ahead and do it anyway. We’ll cover for you. And you can destroy the evidence, too.” John Kiriakou, a former CIA counter-terrorism officer and a former senior investigator with the Senate Foreign Relations Committe.
US Army's “Project X” Coercive Counterintelligence Techniques (torture) On Resistant Sources & Human Resource Exploitation Training ("interrogation"). Among the revisions, the sentence was added: "use of most coercive techniques is improper and violates policy." The Bible of “coercive interrogations” CIA's KUBARK 1963 brutal torture manual shows that agents were free to use coercion during interrogation, provided they obtained [headquarters] approval in advance. The original KUBARK manual offered a prophetic warning that would be repeatedly disregarded in the ensuing years: “The routine use of torture lowers the moral caliber of the organization that uses it and corrupts those that rely on it….”
Vietnam counter-terror intelligence War: CIA-sponsored Phoenix program used by South Vietnamese paramilitary teams to target undercover VietCong insurgents in villages. Also involved in the Phoenix Program were US special operations forces. They acted as advisers sometimes trainers. The same people involved in the Phoenix program were later sent to advise El Salvador and Guatemala and Honduras regarding torture programs. In Iraq they explicitly called it the El Salvador solution and they sent people who had helped El Salvador wage it’s reign of terror to Iraq to train the Shiite Badr brigades.
William F. Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut in 1984-5, who was kidnapped by Iran’s agents, acting as part of the nascent Hizballah. Buckley was murdered, but not before he was tortured horrifically into giving up everything he knew, crippling the CIA’s operations in Lebanon for years to come.
"physicians were transformed into agents of the military and performed acts that were contrary to medical ethics and practice" ~ Taskforce on Preserving Medical Professionalism in National Security Detention Centers.
Using these findings, the CIA designed 'enhanced interrogation' designed to 'induce hopelessness' and also to 'psychologically dislocate' the suspect. U.S military doctors broke oath to design new torture techniques to be used at Guantánamo Bay, under both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.
CIA lied to President Bush about the effectiveness of torture, and CIA lied to the American people by manipulating the media. Senate Committee on Intelligence staffers examined 20 cases the CIA has held up as justification for it program, and found all of them flawed and highly misleading. CIA repeatedly raped people in its custody. CIA officers regularly called into question whether the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques were effective. It's no wonder some of the CIA officers were so disturbed they requested transfers out of the program. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQF7K4_KuQg
Using these findings, the CIA designed 'enhanced interrogation' designed to 'induce hopelessness' and also to 'psychologically dislocate' the suspect. U.S military doctors broke oath to design new torture techniques to be used at Guantánamo Bay, under both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.
- “Conditioning” techniques:
a) sensory deprivation: handcuffed inside a windowless box with a bucket for toilet, shackled to an overhead bar with sleep deprivation for up to 11 hours,
b) dietary manipulation for physical weakness, and
c) enforced nudity. - “Corrective attitude” techniques: such as grabbing a prisoner by the collar, a “facial hold”, and propelling prisoners into a plywood “room within a room”, “walling” which saw detainees slammed against a wall.
- Humiliate and surprise: slapping on the tummy and face, threats with kidnapping and sexual abuse of family members, repeated rape
- “Coercive“ techniques:
a) Stress positions: “Stuffed confinement” unable to stand or sit in a dark box for up to 18 hours; “wall standing” where a detainee stood on a small box with their arms against a wall (the intent was to cause fatigue, not pain); and
b) Waterboarding "iron lung" technique where the detainee is strapped upside down to a water board, spun around and water is poured onto a cloth placed over his mouth and nose. The method restricts the detainee’s airflow and simulates near drowning and suffocation.
(US prosecuted Imperial Japanese officers for using waterboarding against US. PoWs during the Pacific War in the 1940s. Since waterboarding does no lasting physical damage, it is not considered as real torture because the "goals, techniques, and application of Japanese waterboarding were entirely different from the carefully managed and applied procedures" U.S used. The Japanese were using waterboarding to punish and to extract forced confessions to pre-arranged statements. The U.S aim is not about confessions) - Heightened suggestibility and hypnosis,
- Narcosis,
- Induced regression
CIA lied to President Bush about the effectiveness of torture, and CIA lied to the American people by manipulating the media. Senate Committee on Intelligence staffers examined 20 cases the CIA has held up as justification for it program, and found all of them flawed and highly misleading. CIA repeatedly raped people in its custody. CIA officers regularly called into question whether the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques were effective. It's no wonder some of the CIA officers were so disturbed they requested transfers out of the program. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQF7K4_KuQg
C.I.A. Computer Engineer Who Leaked Secrets Is Sentenced to 40 Years:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/02/02/joshua-schulte-cia-wikileaks-sentence/
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