Joel Ingulsrud

Category: exercize

  • The Island Where People Forget to Die

    Photo of a town on the Greek island of IkariaDan Beuttner for the New York Times Magazine writes about a particularly healthy lifestyle on  an isolated Greek island:

    Pointing across the Aegean toward the neighboring island of Samos, he said: “Just 15 kilometers over there is a completely different world. There they are much more developed. There are high-rises and resorts and homes worth a million euros. In Samos, they care about money. Here, we don’t. For the many religious and cultural holidays, people pool their money and buy food and wine. If there is money left over, they give it to the poor. It’s not a ‘me’ place. It’s an ‘us’ place.”

    The island is named after Icarus, the mythical flier whose foolish ambition led to an early demise. The inhabitants of Ikaria appear to have taken the lesson to heart.

  • Two wheels better than four in Tokyo

    Excellent introduction to cycling in Tokyo by CNN’s Christopher Johnson:

    Two wheels better than four in Tokyo | CNNGo.com.

    As many of the photos illustrating the article suggest, cycling downtown on the weekends is marvelous.

    If only the sento would start catering to cyclists who just need a quick shower.

  • Less is more

    Permanent diet may equal longer life – Los Angeles Times.

    It also isn’t clear whether caloric restriction would extend human lives by very much, Phelan said. He has combined results from animal studies with data on men on the Japanese island of Okinawa who ate 17% fewer calories than men in Tokyo. He calculated that reducing intake by 35% would extend the human life span by just two years.

    “The trade-off just isn’t worth it,” said Phelan, who said he personally would have a hard time giving up doughnuts.

    I think the issue is how many doughnuts.

    One of the fringe benefits of maintaining a vigorous exercise routine like long distance cycling is that you need a lot of fuel and thus can justify eating just about anything. All that extra oxidation must be adding to the wear-and-tear though, and some days it feels as indulgent as indolence.

  • Morning walk with Bjorn

    The skies over Tokyo this morning were clear and the air cool–perfect for an early walk with Bjorn through Tama Reien to the Sengenyama view of Mt. Fuji.

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