Live Longer, Eat Healthy and Exercise

The Japanese are some of the longest living people on the planet and no where is this more true than the island of Okinawa, where many of the longest living Japanese people live.

Now keeping in mind this is not a matter of genetics. It is a matter of exercise and diet. The people of Japan simply exercise a lot more and healthier when compared to many other cultures around the planet.

It is very much a health-crazed culture which values eating healthy foods and regular exercise, and this is doubtlessly the biggest contributing factors to their long lifespan.

Japan's quality of health there is ranked number one in the world. Their life expectancy is also number one. If you live in Canada or the USA however it’s a different story, and not one to brag about.

America’s health score is the worst amongst all developed nations. Canada is significantly better, but it is dropping in recent years as a higher obesity rate starts to take grip in Canada. What is funny is that the USA spends more money on health care - billions of dollars more than any other country. The reason is because Americans get sick very easily, they get cancer very easily, and they get a huge variety of health problems very easily - and it is all due to low exercise and an unhealthy diet.

So what is Japan doing right and what is the USA doing wrong?

Infant Mortality Rate

Well lets start with infant mortality rate (IMR) as that can be a big contributor to life expectancy. For example if you have 100 babies and 50% die as infants and the rest live until 100 years old, then the average lifespan is 50 years old. Thus a country with a high IMR will have a lower life expectancy.

Japan's IMR is 2.17 per 1000 births.
USA's IMR is 5.9 per 1000 births.

So right from the very start America is killing their babies with bad food. Or maybe it is some other cause. (Such as a health care system driven by greed...)

Some people point the finger at America's tendency to vaccinate babies like crazy. Babies in the USA get 26 doses of vaccines. Japanese babies gets a mere 12. Now there is no proof that over-vaccination is tied to infant mortality in the USA, but there needs to be a study done on this sometime to see if a lower vaccination schedule would increase the number of babies who live past the first year. Because the IMR alone lowers life expectancy in the USA by a year or two.

Culture

Japanese people believe in being peaceful, calm, positive and to behave honourably. Especially in public. It is sort of a Zen Buddhist thing that they believe in. They believe in being patient, forgiving, kind and virtuous. For the vast majority of Japanese this is working really well because their culture is very low crime.

The murder rate in Japan is 0.4 per 100,000 per year.

The murder rate in the USA is 4.8 per 100,000 per year.

(Note: Japan's suicide rate is higher, but that is only because some of them believe in seppuku - Japanese ritual suicide when a person has dishonoured themselves so much they can no longer perform a role in society. Since seppuku is mostly a male thing it shows in the difference between life expectancy for women and men in Japan, where women live 7 years longer on average. So a quick way to raise your life expectancy is not believe in suicide.)

Exercise

Japanese people love hiking in the mountains. A long mountain climb burns a lot of calories and is a bit like weightlifting for the legs because you are going uphill so much. Many Japanese people also enjoy jogging, swimming, weightlifting and a huge variety of exercises.

Bathing

Now you might not think this is a factor, but many Japanese people swear by it. Soaking in very hot water - especially hot springs - is said to be very therapeutic for the skin. Whether this increase longevity is another topic, but I am mentioning it anyway. The extreme heat of the water does kill bacteria and that contributes to a lower rate of infectious diseases and illnesses.

In contrast most Americans take showers, which doesn't scrub off all the bacteria.

Green Tea

Unsweetened green tea is most common beverage in Japan is tea. Their green tea includes gyokuro, sencha, bancha, matcha (powdered green tea), konacha and hojicha. This may be the healthiest drink that exists and that is why the Chinese, Koreans and Japanese drink it as their main beverage. Green tea is very high in alkaline - and alkaline prevents cancer. When compared to other foods with high alkaline scores green tea has an acid binding score of 53.50 while spinach is only 28.01. (High blood acidity is a high contributor to cancer, so reducing the acid in your blood using alkaline makes a huge difference.)

Green tea also lowers blood pressure because it contains theanine, which helps relax a person. In contrast most Americans drink coffee - which raises blood pressure and makes you jittery.

Diet

Japanese people eat a wide variety of vegetables and also a lot of fish. This extra variety of greens, beans, nuts and berries, and even seaweed means that they get a wide variety of vitamins and minerals in their diet. In contrast most Americans go for "meat and potatoes", which doesn't give them much variety in their diet - and the only seaweed most Americans are eating is an additive to their ice cream.

Fish wise Japanese people eat a lot of tuna and salmon, which is very healthy for you because of the Omega-3 fatty acids in it. In contrast Americans eat a lot of pork, poultry and beef - which are high in bacteria. Fish is readily available all over the USA, but most Americans prefer farm animals for their meat.

Japanese people also eat a lot of soy - which has a long list of health benefits.

With respect to sugary foods Americans eat 3 times that of people in Japan. The average American consumes 153 lbs of sugar per year. That is almost half a pound of sugar per day.

Taken all together the obesity rate in Japan is 3.2%. In the USA it is 35%, so clearly Japan is doing something right and Americans are doing it horrifically wrong.

In an effort to lower obesity rates in Japan even further the Japanese government has reclassified obesity as anyone with a BMI over 25 (the global standard is 30 or more). This way they can scare more Japanese people into eating healthier.

The following is a list of popular foods in Japan:

Sweet potatoes/yam; Soy; Goya - a type of melon; Konnyaku - a Japanese jelly derived from the starchy tuber of the Konjac plant; Shiitake Mushroom; Gobo - a root vegetable; Hechima - a gourd or squash; Seaweed; Turmeric - this spice contains a powerful anti-inflammatory; Mugwort or fuchiba spice; Hihatsu - a type of pepper; Fennel or ichiba spice.

Archery Compliment / Tight Clusters

I got a compliment from a fellow archer today. I don't remember his exact words but it was something like this:

"Wow. You are getting really tight clusters. That is pretty impressive because you're not using a clicker [an Olympic archery gadget]."

My explanation for my tight arrow clusters?

Anchor point, anchor point, anchor point!

Now obviously sometimes you will make a mistake and you will have one shot that isn't near the cluster, but if you get your anchor point really consistent - and your form is super consistent - then your arrows should be in a tight cluster regularly and sometimes even touching one another.

Or on rare occasions you might even hit your own arrow.

September Motivational Quotes

"Don't dream it. Do it. Only then will you succeed."
- Charles Moffat


"Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it."
- Oprah Winfrey

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill

"Some people dream of success... while others wake up and work hard at it."
- Author Unknown

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, I will try again tomorrow."
- Mary Anne Radmacher

"Eighty percent of success is showing up."
- Woody Allen

"Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
- Samuel Beckett 

"Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records."
- William Arthur Ward
 
"Champions keep playing until they get it right."
- Billie Jean King
 
"Fans don't boo nobodies."
- Reggie Jackson
 
"Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts."
- Dan Gable
 
"Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best."
- Tim Duncan

"Gray skies are just clouds passing over."
- Frank Gifford

Trampoline Workouts - Fun and Low Effort

When it comes to unusual workouts you can't get much weirder than trampoline exercises - or trampoline sports.

 These "death traps" however are not to be taken lightly. As the classic Simpsons episode demonstrates, trampolines can cause some serious injuries so my immediate recommendation is that you start small, use a space with lots of headroom (so you don't hit your head on the ceiling), and proceed slowly with a degree of caution until you get used to the trampoline.

These days you can get a mini exercise trampoline and this will make much more sense if you are getting purely to be part of your workout. (Note that I said "part of your workout". Using a trampoline should not be sole source of your exercise.)

Like any other fitness gadget you will need to learn how to use it properly and safely - and to its full potential, and thus realize also its limitations. You will want to use it barefoot or in socks, pad the area around the trampoline (in case you fall off), and never have food or water on the trampoline with you (it has the potential to make a mess, become a distraction and cause slippery accidents).

8 Super Fun Trampoline Exercises

#1. Start by doing a simple bouncing exercise on both feet for 2 minutes to warm up. This will be relatively relaxing and fun.

#2. Boxing - Upwards, forward and sides. Alternate punching upwards, to the side and forward. Do this for 2 minutes. Take a small break and stretch if you feel tired after this.

#3. Jumping Jacks - Do 50 if you are just starting. 100 if you've done this before.

#4. Snap Kicks - Be careful doing this. You will want to get your foot back down quickly so you need to kick quickly upwards and back down again. (Snap kicks is a basic martial arts move, but definitely fun to do.) Do 20 snap kicks total. Take your time in-between each kick.

#5. Bounce Side to Side for 2 minutes.

#6. Twist Jumps - Twist your hips from side to side while jumping for 2 minutes.

#7. Marching - Get your knees up high while doing this for 2 minutes.

#8. Cool down again by doing a basic bouncing exercise, going slower until you hop off after 2 minutes.

If you get bored of the workout above try making up your own exercises you can do on the trampoline. Experiment!

NOTES

Trampolines are a low impact workout, but it also tones the legs and core muscles because it involves so much jumping and balance.

The National Ballet School in Toronto even uses mini exercise trampolines for their ballet students.

If you suddenly feel dizzy slow down and get off the trampoline. Take a break and drink a small amount of water.

You may feel a significant energy boost after exercising on a trampoline - the reason is because the fun quality of the exercise boosts your adrenaline and other "fun" hormones in your body which make you feel energized.


Trampolines work well when combined with other exercises like jogging outside, doing yoga on a mat, and even weightlifting with free weights at home (not on the trampoline, that is dangerous).

Trampoline exercises don't really burn a lot of calories by themselves. Hence why they work well as a motivator, but not so good at burning fat. Use the trampoline to motivate yourself to exercise - like a reward for completing your morning jog.

Rapid Fire Archery - Different Techniques of Fast Shooting

I have talked about Lars Anderson before in an archery post called Ancient Techniques of Fast Shooting. I highly recommend reading it and watching the video if you are interested in learning how to shoot arrows super fast.

The problem with Lars Anderson's technique is that it requires some specific archery equipment - so you cannot just do that kind of archery with just any bow.

In theory you would need a bow that you can shoot off the right side (which is very unusual for a right-handed shooter) so that you don't have to move the arrow around the bow riser to rest it on the left side (which is the normal place for an right hand archer to shoot off). So right away this means that various longbows and shortbows would be more ideal for this kind of shooting because you could shoot off your left hand's thumb instead of off an arrow rest.

Thus certain styles of archery - like traditional Korean archery or Turkish archery - have a distinct advantage for archers seeking to shoot fast.

In the photo on the right you see a man using a thumb ring and shooting off his thumb on the right side of the bow. Using the thumb ring means he doesn't have to slow down to check his finger positioning on the bowstring so he gains an advantage to his speed. Shooting off his thumb also means he doesn't have to move the arrow around to the left side just to be able to rest it in preparation for his shot. Taken together this speeds up the process of shooting dramatically.

But the big thing is being able to hold your arrows in your right hand in preparation of the next shot. The Lars Anderson technique (which he learned from ancient texts from Persia) is to hold the arrows between his fingers in preparation for the next shot... But he moves so quickly in the videos you cannot see how he positions the arrows so quickly, moving them into readiness to be nocked on the bowstring.

In the video below you will see a man (Adam Swoboda) demonstrating Middle Eastern techniques of fast shooting - but doing them slower than Lars Anderson does so you can see how he holds his arrows in his hand, uses a Mongolian style draw with a thumb ring, and rests the arrow on his thumb while shooting. In the first part of the video Adam Swoboda holds the arrows backwards so they don't interfere with his shot so much and he comparatively takes his time with each individual shot.

In Part 2A of the video he demonstrates another way of shooting, this time holding the arrows in-between his fingers in a manner similar to Lars Anderson's style. It is comparatively faster. Then in Part 2B he does it again, but this time backwards held between the fingers. And lastly Part 3, where he holds the arrows midway on the shaft - and shoots roughly the same speed.


Thus what we have learned from this is partly that fast shooting requires a lot of fingerwork to the point of sleight of hand because it is tricky to hold the arrows like that - let alone 10 of them like Lars Anderson does in the photo at the top of this post.

But the video above also shows Adam Swoboda's mistakes too. His left arm is moving around too much horizontally when he should have it fully extended the entire time, he is taking too much time positioning and nocking the arrow with his fingers, he is simply taking too many motions to get the task done when he only needs TWO motions - nocking arrow in one motion and then pulling back quickly and releasing quickly. Lastly he seems to take his time actually aiming - whereas for speed shooting you want to be aiming more instinctively based on your past experience.

Using a wooden shortbow I recently purchased I have been practicing these fast techniques at home seeking to find my own fast shooting methodology. So far I have eschewed the thumb ring and am instead using a two finger draw method (with no gloves) and hold the arrows between the two fingers doing the drawing (see photo further below). I hold all the arrows between those two fingers and each time I nock a new arrow it happens very naturally because I don't have to move the arrows from one finger to the next before nocking. I also don't do a full draw of the arrow either. I pull it back only part way before each release and then start nocking the next arrow.

Aiming wise I have to do it pretty much instinctively because my nocking method is so fast I don't really have time to consciously aim. HOWEVER, I am getting surprisingly good consistency using this method. I wouldn't have thought it would come so easily, but my arrows are always hitting the target in tight clusters.

During the first day of trying this method I was able to shoot 3 arrows in 2.7 seconds. With practice I may be able to shoot a lot more and hopefully get faster.

Other things I have learned about fast archery...

#1. Canter the bow to the left. I know it feels weird, but the tilt away from the arrow rest allows me to rest the arrow / nock faster and causes no difference to the accuracy quality of my shots. If anything it improves it because the tilt allows me to see the target easier.

#2. Wear gloves and a bracer to protect your hands and forearms. Mistakes will be made and they hurt. Use feather fletching too. Less problems if the fletching rubs against the other arrows' fletching.

#3. Sometimes I accidentally use a three finger draw without realizing it. It doesn't seem to make any difference.

#4. Note to self, buy wider nocks for faster nocking.

#5a. You have to really practice nocking quickly. I find using the backs of my knuckles as a guide for the bowstring works really well and I don't have to think about it to the point it starts to feel instinctive.

#5b. Don't try to use three or more arrows at once. Learn to nock and shoot two arrows very quickly first before trying to do three or more. Master two arrows fast shooting first!

#6. Don't worry about the arrows bumping or rubbing against each other during the nocking or drawing process. It doesn't matter by the time you actually take the shot so don't waste time thinking about it.

#7. I think my reading about Zen (particularly the book "The Unfettered Mind") may have better prepared me for this because I am less distracted by minor things. Avoiding distractions and not dwelling on them by maintaining a disciplined mind that is focused on doing everything quickly seems to make me go faster. If you think about something too much it ends up slowing you down, but you just do it without really thinking you are much faster.

#8. Note to self, buy a better bowstring for my wooden shortbow. Something thinner and easier to nock.

#9. Note to self, switch to double-fletched arrows instead of triple-fletched arrows. I am not sure it will make a difference but I want to see if the double fletching is faster / more accurate for this kind of shooting.

#10. After awhile it starts to feel like I am aiming without really looking at the target. Makes me wonder if I could hit the target blindfolded if I knew where it was and practiced as such.

#11. Learn to nock the arrows by feel - not by sight. Stop looking at the arrows during the process. If anything look at the target (ignore what I said in #11, I was getting over confident) and do everything else in terms of nocking and drawing by feel.

#12. I also tried an alternate method of shooting a nocking which has the bow going completely horizontal, the arrows over the top (left side shooting this time), and the arrows resting on the top of the bow the same way with my fingers as above, but during the draw I keep the bow relatively horizontal and I am pulling back with the fingers facing downwards (which compared to my normal shooting method, is backwards). It actually felt like it had the potential to be faster still than the method I am using above, but would require a lot of practice to get used to. I guess the tip here then is...

Keep practicing!