A fantastic article from the July/Aug 2011 issue of The Atlantic Monthly on the increasing acceptability of alternative medicine in the conventional medicine world. Here's the money quote:

Morie Gertz, a hematologist, who chairs the Mayo Clinic’s internal-medicine department. “Most of the doctors here were top of their medical-school class, top of their residency, blah, blah, blah,” he told me. “That’s technical mastery. That doesn’t make them effective healers. Over the past 30 years, I’ve seen hundreds of patients who clearly feel they’ve benefited from alternative therapies. It’s not my job to tell them they shouldn’t feel better. And I wouldn’t tell patients they shouldn’t try alternative medicine if they want to—we need to follow the clues patients give us about what might help them. If a patient chooses to walk away from the therapy I’ve prescribed and go to an alternative therapist instead, that’s not the fault of alternative medicine; it’s because I’ve failed as a doctor to do a good job of making my case in terms that are important to the patient.”

Gertz is among the many physicians who dismiss the lack of supportive randomized-trial data as a reason to write off alternative medicine. “The randomized trial is a very high bar,” he says. “Eighty percent of what I do here isn’t based on randomized-trial data.” Physicians routinely write “off-label” prescriptions, Gertz says—that is, prescriptions that call for drugs to treat conditions for which those drugs have not been officially approved. It’s a perfectly legal and ethical practice, and even one that physicians consider essential, accounting for about a fifth of all U.S. prescriptions. “It’s off-label not because it doesn’t work, but because there’s no good randomized-trial data on it. In the same way, we may not have great evidence that alternative medicine works, but that’s very different from saying it doesn’t work.”

Ten days ago I set out on a journey back to get back into shape using RossTraining's 50 Day Program. Well, I have only done three workouts in those ten days. Ugh. Two things: getting out of bed should be easier. 100 degree temps don't help.

Oh, and I hit another psychological road bump. I suffered a bruised wrist doing push-ups. I have subconsciously given myself permission to dial it back because of this. That is an admittedly weak move. No more. I will get a solid week's worth of work done, here. I will hammer out an explosive strength session this afternoon. I will get this train back on the tracks. First practice is in 13 days!

About six months ago (or was it nine?), I quit going to the Plano rec center to lift weights. That's no knock on them. My membership ran out and I vowed to start doing something different. Of course, that meant that I had no plan. I had an idea, but not a plan. I thought that I would spend that $140--that would've gone towards another 12 months of membership--into buying equipment for the house. I would finally have the conveniences of a work-out facility right in my own home. Typically, this idea failed to take shape. I never acquired or built the equipment and here we are.

One Spring soccer season later, I am determined to see this through. I want to be the guy who never tires on the field; who's always making the effort to defend and making the long run; the guy who can be counted on to make the play. I don't want to be the guy who wears the headband and craps out after 15 minutes. No one should be that guy.

My first move is complete. I have purchased the used Power Tower on CraigsList for cheap. I have the resistance bands coming in from Iron Woody. This weekend, I plan making the t-handle for kettle swings with parts from Home Depot. I plan on raiding Play-it-Again-Sports for the weights. Finally, I plan on putting together THE PLAN based on a book that I already own--a book that was once used and dismissed for awhile and is collecting dust on a shelf right now. It's called Never Gymless by Ross Enamait (pronounced en-am-ITE).

Ross is the founder of a fitness website called RossTraining.com. He's a fitness trainer and author based out of Massachusetts. His M.O. is body-weight training and I think that's what turned me onto him in December 2008. I wish, for the life of me, I could remember how I first discovered him. I know I was always intrigued by military-style training: running, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, etc. I had just watched the Navy SEALs Discover Channel documentary about the BUD/s training and got inspired. I probably stumbled upon his site while rummaging through the web, looking for military workouts. Alas, here we are.

50 days until Game 1 of the fall soccer season. 50 days to train hard and get in shape. 50 days of grueling Texas summer heat. 50 days of pain. 50 days to glory.

Give me 5 days, first. It takes 5 days to create a habit--30 days if you really want to entrench it. I've just got to work through 5 first. I'll report back then.

Here's some inspiration for you...

My father-in-law, Harold Harrison, has launched his own website: www.justmythoughts.info

This new site and blog will be the platform for his hot opinions about Health & Wellness, the Healthcare industry, FDA, Government Regulations, and Personal Freedoms, as well as a landing pad for pictures of the grand kids from time-to-time.

Harold has spent over 30 years as an independent technical recruiter. However, his true passion has been a lifelong devotion to evangelizing the benefits of homeopathic healthcare. He enthusiastically educates his friends, family and willing strangers on the importance of paying attention to one's health and well-being. He advocates The Original Limu, Limu BluFrog Energy Drinks, and BarleyLife. You will never meet a more passionate "health care" expert than Harold. He is truly knowledgeable and resourceful when it comes to health & wellness.