Importance of Core and Lower Body Strength

Walk into a gym and observe the difference between the average man's workout routine from the average woman's.  It seems as though all the benches are always used up by men doing all sorts of bench presses and flyes.  If they are at the squat rack, they are often doing barbell curls to pump up their guns.  Men are the ones doing all the tricep extensions on the cables.  The only core exercises men seem to care even remotely about are all sorts of crunches, sit-ups, and leg raises (if that).  Then you observe the women and you notice that they are far more concerned with cardio and leg strengthening movements (especially the adductor/abductor and leg curling machines).

Men can learn a thing or two from the women at the gym.  Men are so obsessed with how their upper bodies will look at the beach, that they often neglect their lower bodies.  Ironically, their upper bodies would be even more impressive if they incorporated exercises like squats and deadlifts to their regimens.  This is because heavy exercises involving compound movements using the legs and the core produce an anabolic effect that stimulates the whole body to grow.

Let me be honest; my legs are not that impressive.  My upper body strength is decent for my weight, but my core and lower body strength could use improvement.  In fact, the imbalance is so big that my bench has always been higher than my squat.  That is not normal and would explain why I had so much difficulty shooting in effectively in wrestling for single and double leg takedowns (the bread and butter of wrestling).

I looked around for different strength training methods and encountered one that my friend Ryaan started using, Starting Strength (created by Mark Rippetoe).  This remarkably simple program has increased my deadlift AND MY BENCH in a WEEK!!!  It has a strong emphasis on squatting three times a week for three sets of five repetitions each time.  I highly recommend beginners, novices, and intermediate lifters to consider Starting Strength.  (If you're advanced, then you're probably already familiar with this.)  There is a nice wiki for his methods: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki

WARNING: The only drawback is that the program requires you to do power cleans which most gyms don't allow.  If that is the case, you can substitute rows or hang cleans.

Korean Culture: The Good and the Bad

NOTE: I would like to emphasize that by "Korean culture", I am focusing on South Korean culture.  I am aware that North Korean culture is distinctly different but some of those differences are hard to pin down since there is relatively little information available.

After my freshman year of college, like the good second-generation Korean-American that I am, I made my hajj to the motherland via Harvard Summer School's study abroad program.  The coursework was rather minimal so I had plenty of time to explore various parts of South Korea and meet relatives who I hardly knew.  I was excited to embark on this six-week journey from which my recent ancestry came.  (Of course, most of my human ancestry is from sub-Saharan Africa.)

As much as I enjoyed my visit, there were certain aspects of the culture that caught me off guard.  Upon much reflection, I have concluded that most of their social norms were positive but there were some that I thought were downright immoral.

The Bad:

1. Homophobia- This is one problem that no one can deny.  Yes, homophobia permeates cultures around the globe, but South Korea's is embarrassingly high for a developed country.  There isn't even much formal political discussion dealing with LGBT issues.  Ironically, straight men can hold hands as they walk in public, the traditional clothing could easily fit in a gay pride parade, and a lot of male K-pop stars look quite effeminate and androgynous:

2. Racism- Again, the painful truth comes out.  Many Koreans don't like the Japanese, Chinese, and immigrants from other countries.  They don't even like half-Koreans very much.  What puzzles me even more is why they are racist against blacks.  Here is an interesting video of Hines Ward (half black, half Korean) speaking about this issue: 

However, I think their racism is not much more severe than most other countries'.  Racial tolerance is a relatively new human phenomenon.  I agree with my dad who thinks that the United States has made much more progress in settling racial issues than other countries have because of America's unique history.  I could continue ranting about racism but I'll save it for another post.

3. Sexism- Despite its hyper-patriarchal culture, South Korea has made more progress on this issue than on the two issues mentioned above.  The main reason for this is simple: women are becoming better educated.  More and more women are becoming doctors, lawyers, politicians, and academics.  However, Koreans still have a strong sense of Confucian values and women are expected to be subservient to men.

4. Superstition- This is just more annoying than it is bad.  Koreans have some weird, irrational beliefs about the unluckiness of the number four, fortune-telling, the relationship between blood type and personality, fan death, and many others.


The Good:

1. Family- I was amazed by the strength of family ties in South Korea.  Even relatives who were quite removed from me and had never met me before treated me with unrestrained hospitality.  I was really blown away.  It was from this visit that I began to understand why family values are so important.  Even as I am typing this article, I am thinking about how thankful I am to have such caring relatives abroad.  Wow, I really miss that part of my experience in Korea.

2. Environmentalism- I remember buying a pack of chewing gum and taking out a piece while walking outdoors.  I soon regretted it because I couldn't find a garbage can to throw away my wrapper.  That's when I realized how clean the streets were.  It drove me nuts, but I found a Burger King where I could throw it out.  But then I noticed that people didn't throw away the paper cups in the trash after they finished their drinks.  They put them in a separate area to be reused!  Wow, that's commitment to recycling, my friends.

3. Health- It's just a fact that there are far fewer overweight people in South Korea (including percentage) than there are in North America.  Genetics may be one component but many of them make a conscious effort to stay thin given the stigma attached to being even slightly chubby.  They watch their diets and many of them engage in regular physical activity.

4. Work ethic- The South Korean work ethic is incredible.  Whether they apply it to their jobs or studies, they really push themselves to the limit.  It was one of the Asian Tigers during Asia's economic boom in the mid-late twentieth century and its GDP (at roughly $1.12 trillion) is the fourth highest in Asia (after China, Japan, and India), nearly double Saudi Arabia's.  This is despite the fact South Korea has only 50 million inhabitants (less than a sixth of the US population), spent much of the past century as a developing nation, and was deprived of the little natural resources it had to the Japanese during the latter's colonial occupation.  Their hard work has resulted in certain economic inefficiencies (e.g. education inflation), but overall they are doing quite well.

This was just a short list of the main points I wanted to mention but I might add more on in the future.  Feel free to disagree with me on any of the points but I'm certain that most people who are familiar with the country would agree on all the issues I stated.

Three Subjects Everyone Should Study

School will be back in session in a couple of months so I thought I'd give some early advice on picking classes for the new semester.  This is the same advice I gave to my younger brother who will be a freshman at Harvard this fall and to all of my students.

1. Psychology- This is by far the most important one.  Not only will you have a better understanding of how others think and behave, you will have a deeper understanding of the inner workings of your own mind.  I enjoy almost every subfield of psychology (developmental, abnormal, humanistic, analytical) but the most important ones for the average person to know are social, cognitive, and evolutionary psychology.

2. Economics- You don't have to know it at a highly advanced mathematical level. Knowing the essential concepts will suffice: supply, demand, market equilibrium, taxes, diminishing marginal returns, unemployment, GDP, Keynesianism, et cetera.  Two semesters that cover micro and macro should be more than enough.

3. Statistics- All the sciences use large sums of data that need to be analyzed through statistical methods.  In addition, having a strong grasp of statistics can help you make better decisions in moments of high uncertainty.  It may not come easily to some of you, but it is worth knowing well.

An excellent book that touches upon the importance of each of these subjects is Thinking: Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, the 2002 Nobel laureate in economics for co-founding behavioral economics with Amos Tversky.  Kahneman is a top authority among social scientists, in the same league as John Maynard Keynes, B. F. Skinner, Jean Piaget, Jürgen Habermas, and Noam Chomsky.

(Optional) Computer Science- We live in an era full of computers and their ubiquity will only increase as time goes by.  Unfortunately, most people don't know what computers are or how they work.  They use the Internet, but what is the Internet exactly?  Is it a really just a series of tubes?  Eventually, you will need to know some basics of computer science as they start merging with our bodies and perceptions of reality.  (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, look up The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Raymond Kurzweil.)

Five Essential Weightlifting Exercises

What are the most important exercises you should do in the gym?  That really depends on your goal.  Most young people go to the gym to look better.  Athletes go to increase their strength and overall fitness.  Older individuals go to maintain or strengthen their bodies.  Although these goals may not always overlap, there are some movements that everyone should perform.  I will list them here in order of importance.  Here are The Big Five:

1. Squat- This is by far the most important lift you can do.  It strengthens your legs and core while stimulating muscle growth for your whole body.  However, it is very difficult and make sure you use proper form in order to avoid injury.  Make sure to squat below parallel to get the most out of the movement.

2. Deadlift- The deadlift is the best full-body strength exercise.  Again, make sure you use proper form or you can risk permanently damaging your lower back.  Strongly resist the urge to sacrifice form to put on more weight for this one.

3. Bench press- Although benching is not as important as people make it out to be, it still is the best exercise for developing upper body strength since it strengthens your chest.

4. Bent-over row- To be honest, I was tempted to put this above the bench press or at least have it tied for third on this list.  I find this movement more difficult than the bench press but it is the best move for developing your back.

5. Shoulder press- The press is definitely the best shoulder exercise.  There's just something about lifting weight over your head that makes you feel really really strong!

I know that I probably left out some of your favorite weight exercises.  A lot of guys might complain that I forgot to rank the bicep curl.  As much as I enjoy curls, I have to admit that curling to make your arms bigger is mostly for show.  Curls don't directly develop functional strength the way the press or the row does.  The same goes for leg and tricep extensions, flyes, calf raises, and pull downs.  By all means do them if you want to.  I usually do them too.  I just give The Big Five priority over the others.

A lot of men fall into the trap of only training their upper bodies.  Even then, they only focus on benching and curling.  Trust me, they should focus on developing their lower bodies as well.  They will have a more complete, well-rounded look.  In addition to looking stronger, they will be stronger too.

I began weight training for sports in middle and high school so my focus was initially on developing strength (mostly upper body).  To this day, I confess that I am still more focused on increasing my strength but I do put some emphasis on overall fitness and aesthetics.  I hope this helped.

Interesting Mixed Martial Arts Facts

I've decided to take on a new hobby so I'm trying out MMA (Mixed Martial Arts).  I went to the nearest gym from where I live and took one 1-hour lesson in MMA and one 1.5-hour lesson in BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu).  Here are some interesting things I've learned:

1. MMA gyms are WAY more expensive than many other martial arts gyms or dojos.  Even the best deals are $100+/month for membership fees.  Compare this with boxing gyms where the prices are around $40/month.  If you're poor, MMA can be especially tough to break into.

2. There are a fair amount of women who workout at MMA gyms.   They seem particularly interested in boxing and kickboxing but there was also one in my BJJ class.  This may be an incentive for some of you.

3. You should be in good shape before you start.  These gyms often advertise saying that you don't need to be in good physical condition beforehand, but I disagree.  You can't expect someone who is severely overweight or very weak to do takedowns and be repeatedly taken down for an hour.

4. Wrestling is by far the best base for MMA.  If you don't know how to wrestle and want to do MMA, then start wrestling.  Even if you are more of a striker, you can benefit from learning takedown defenses and escapes from the ground.  The only reason I was able to keep up with guys who had been doing MMA and BJJ for several months to over a year (even though today was my first day doing any of this) was because of my wrestling background (which isn't even that extensive).  In fact, the only guy who I really had trouble rolling with was a dude who wrestled in college.  He easily took care of all the wrestling moves I sneaked in.  The others had trouble taking me down, didn't really know much about wrist control, and couldn't really submit me.  (Then again, it could have been the people I rolled with more than BJJ itself.)  There's a reason why many of the best mixed martial artists are also wrestlers (e.g. Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Jon Jones, Dan Henderson, Dominick Cruz, and many others).

5. Despite my praise of wrestling, I will say that wrestling is not complete.  My stance was initially too low which made me vulnerable to knees and kicks.  Submissions are still foreign to me and so are guards (since a wrestling match is over when you're pinned).  BJJ is a nice complement to wrestling.  Alternatively, you can just ground and pound the guy once you have strong ground control.  That said, you should also learn a martial art like boxing or Muay Thai to develop your striking skills.

6. MMA is a great way to get in better shape!  I hate running so I'd rather grapple or strike something to condition my body.

I'm going to try kickboxing, wrestling, boxing, and maybe even some kung fu in addition to more MMA stuff.  Anyways, you should give it a shot!

(Note: For MMA classes, they might ask you to take wrestling, BJJ, and kickboxing classes beforehand.  However, if you're a wrestler then they'll probably let you start right away.)

Why Aren't There More Black Scientists?

Well, it's February which is Black History Month.  Woodrow Wilson started it to recognize the importance of black history in American history.  After all, African-Americans did much of the work to power America's economy and fought in all of America's most important wars, including the Revolutionary War.  Also, I'm pretty certain that most genres of American music were pioneered by African-American musicians (e.g. jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, rock, funk, pop, hip-hop).

Today, I realized something peculiar.  At Harvard, there is not a single black mathematics professor.  In fact, I only know one math researcher who is black but he is not a descendant of American slaves.  Harvard's physics department is not any different.  I think there's one who is sort of affiliated with them (Andrew Kiruluta) but I'm also assuming (from his last name) he is not a descendant from American slaves either.  I wouldn't be surprised if the lack of black representation in the other science departments at Harvard is common.

Why would this be?  Is Harvard discriminating against black scientists?  I don't think so.  The harsh truth is that there aren't as many black scientists as there are white and Asian (very broadly speaking to include South Asian and Middle Eastern) scientists.

Quickly, without using Google or Wikipedia, name as many renowned black scientists as you can.  I only came up with three: George Washington Carver (inventor, botantist, polymath), Neil deGrasse Tyson (astrophysicist at the Hayden Planetarium), and Sylvester James Gates Junior (theoretical physicist working on superstring theory).  I think part of the problem is that black scientists are hardly ever mentioned or given any recognition.  Many black Americans don't have scientific role models and instead revere the musicians, actors, and athletes.

To illustrate, let me tell you a quick story.  A former house tutor of mine worked as a high school teacher in DC.  He told me that when he asked his students (most of whom were black) what they wanted to be when they grew up, they said they wanted to either:
A) Play in the NBA
B) Play in the NFL
C) Become a famous hip-hop artist
He then went on to teach them how to calculate the probability of making it to the NBA or NFL.  The get a rough estimate for the NBA, divide the number of NBA players by the number of aspiring high school basketball players.  If you work it out, it's essentially zero.

Now, there is nothing wrong with going into the entertainment industry.  However, to make it big in entertainment is extremely difficult and lot of luck is involved.  It would be more realistic for more young black high school students to continue their studies in math and science.

Personally, I think Neil deGrasse Tyson is amazing.  He is clearly passionate about popularizing science and he is a great example of a role model for young African-Americans.  He will be hosting the new sequel to Carl Sagan's Cosmos and I think that will have a very positive impact.

The Gay Enigma

            Evolutionarily speaking, homosexuality is puzzling.  Homosexual intercourse produces no offspring and is a waste of time and energy (again, evolutionarily speaking).  Nevertheless, many species exhibit this behavior.  Let us explore the possible reasons why homosexuality persists.

            One theory is the “Gay Uncle” theory.  Although, your gay uncles and aunts don’t have biological children of their own, they can help raise you while your parents are busy hunting and gathering food.  You still share a quarter of your uncle’s genes so if you have at least three other siblings or first cousins being taken care of, then the evolutionary math adds up.  The problem with this theory is that gay men and women do not spend much of their time taking care of their nieces and nephews.

            Another is called the “Sneaky Fucker” theory.  Let’s say that caveman Fred is off to hunt for the day but wants to protect his lover Wilma from predatory animals and interested men while she stays home.  Fred feels safe though since he asked his gay best friend Barney to protect her while he’s gone.  Although Barney is almost exclusively gay, he is infatuated with Wilma; he also knows that Wilma wants Barney as well.  Unbeknownst to Fred, Barney and Wilma have a secret affair.  However, straight men tend not to ask gay men to protect their wives and girlfriends.  (However, kings did have eunuchs to protect their concubines; “Eunuch” literally means “bed keeper” in Greek.)

            A far more convincing theory has to do with genetics.  The groundbreaking sexologist Alfred Kinsey found that human sexuality is not black-and-white but a spectrum with a lot of gray area.  While most people are sexually attracted to the opposite sex, sometimes they do feel same sex attraction and act upon them.  We can think of homosexuality as a recessive trait that straight individuals can carry.  Therefore, full-blown homosexuality may be the result of someone receiving the recessive gay genes from both parents.

            Some may even argue that we can skip the genetics part and solely rely on Kinsey’s spectrum theory.  As long as a lesbian feels an attraction to one man to have sex with him at least once, she has a chance of passing on her genes.  The idea: you only have to be “straight enough” make it through to the next round in natural selection.

            One more possibility is worth mentioning: homophobia.  Because of the rampant discrimination that exists around the world, many gay men and women stay in the closet and have heterosexual relationships.  I went through a fascinating book called Gay in America by Scott Pasfield and I was amazed by how many of these gay men had biological children with their ex-wives, especially ones from the South and Midwest.  I also asked my parents if they personally knew any gay Koreans back in Seoul.  They said they couldn’t think of a single one and everyone there eventually gets married and has kids.  According to my dad, most gay Koreans are in the closet because of the intense homophobia and strong Confucian values that permeate Korean culture.

            One thing that is unclear is if the percentage of homosexuals will decrease as time goes on.  As we become more tolerant of gays in our communities, fewer gays will be pressured into heterosexual relationships.  On the other hand, we now have the technology and means to enable same-sex couples to have biological children of their own so the percentage of gays could increase.

            As a final note (in case it wasn’t clear), I’d like to remind readers that I am not making any moral justifications for homophobia.  Just because it may have a served an evolutionary purpose does not mean that it is right.