I was the skinny kid, too small for sports for most of my childhood. Plus, I'm left handed so many coaches ignored me as much as possible. I ran cross country (junior varsity) in high school and attempted wrestling during most peak growth period with maximum clumsiness. During college, I filled out. During medical and graduate school, I joined a gym near my home and used it during off hours and got hooked on weightlifting because the attendants had time to help me out; they loved to grind me up with negative workouts. By the time, I was in my Pathology Residency, I was beginning to worry about my long term cardiovascular health (dangerously low HDL, the good cholesterol).
I took up stationary biking and got hooked (I can read alot while riding). I tried going the low fat route for many years, but was slowly adding weight and fat and watching my cholesterol get worse. Then, a medical student working in my lab asked me a question one day about basic biochemistry and how it could be applied to exercise approaches. I was amazed at how stumped I was. I started what became a long, strange trip of reviewing medical texts and then sifting throught the primary medical literature.
I was stunned with the contradictions between what I was learning and understanding and what public health pundits were proclaiming to gullible lay people. In 1996, I began applying what I was learning, (and really understanding for the first time). I abandoned the low fat route, restricted carbs (almost no refined grains), focused on essential fatty acids, and upped my protein intake. My weight has gone from 210 to 175. My HDL has gone from 35 to 72. My aerobic fitness has gone from a VO2max of 37 to 57. I'm healthier now than I was 20 years ago. Youth really is wasted on the young.
I've recently shifted to higher intensity aerobic workouts and interval train 2X weekly. Weights are done 3X per week with low sets, mid reps, to failure. During this time, I have written extensively on nutrition, aging, and exercise physiology for various websites. I continue to be fascinated how our views on aging are evolving. My personal opinion is that people really don't age, they just get fat and lazy over time. My current interests relate to exercise physiology and its impact on various body fat depots and nutrition's impact on aging and vice versa. My current philosophy is that "you're as young as you workout."
Name: Michael Kurilla, MD-PhD
E-Mail: mgkurilla@comcast.net
Age: 45
Occupation: Pharmaceutical R&D
Height: 5' 9''
Weight: 173
Waist: 32"
Favorite Bodypart: Legs
Hobbies: Reading, Working Out, Writing