Social Workout

SW-e-AT

Food-Ex Pairing: Oblique Barley

What: External Abdominal Oblique

And: Barley

How: Renegade Rows

And: Boricha

Why: Shimmy

And: Regularity

SW-e-AT

Food-Ex Pairing: Latissimus Carrot

What: Lats

And: Carrots

How: Pull Ups

And: Pickled

Why: Only Muscle with connections to your upper and lower body.

And: Fewer Heart Attacks.

SW-e-AT

Food-Ex Pairing: Cauliflower Ears

What: Cauliflower

And: Ears

How: Slaw

And: Qi Gong or T'ai Chi

Why: Cruciferous

And: Orpheus

SW-e-AT

Food-Ex Pairing: Artichoke Ankle

What: Ankle

And: Artichoke

How: Bosu Ball

And: Stuffed

Why: Two Million Twists

And: Aphrodisiac

SW-e-AT

Food-Ex Pairing: Brown Rice and Hammies

Today's food-ex pairing needs no introduction. One of them supports, in a nutritional sense, well over half the world. The other supports, in a literally sense, you.

Let's talk about your hamstrings. They're not super visible in most people, and they're kind of awkward to exercise. (Yogis, think standing split. Weightlifters, think prone thigh curls.) This makes them easy to ignore, but that would be a mistake. Your hamstrings are responsible for minor things, like allowing you to flex your knee, and also to extend your hip. As in: walking, running, jumping, and lifting things off the floor. And they're also responsible for important things, like Moonwalking, and/or doing that other Michael Jackson move, where he lifts one knee and taps the lifted heel with his hand.) OK, I bet you're wondering where the term hamstring came from. Not to be a shameless Wikipedia quoter, but check this out:

Another commonly accepted origin is that legs of ham used to be hung by a hook through the space between the thighbone and the tendons behind the knee. Ham/pork used to be more common in England than beef and lamb.

Who knew!

If you're curious about how to work your hams in a kind of Western-weight-lifty way, I recommend this page on Project Swole. These people seem smart. Dancers and yogis might can try almost any of the exercises demonstrated in this very jazzy Pilates promo video. These people seem funny. Take your pick, but remember the old Chinese proverb: "Talk does not cook rice." 

Oh snap! Let's talk about brown rice. Did you know that in some languages "to eat" translates directly as "to eat rice." This according to the food geeks at WHFoods, who also point out what you already know: Whole grain brown rice is very good for you, while stripped and polished white rice is a lot less so. Eat the brown rice, and you'll be thinner, have lower cholesterol, and be less likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes. How should you do it? TheKitchn.com has your back with its normal Five Ways to Eat... post, one of which would seem particularly appropriate as it includes some delicious hammy: "Fried with onions, ginger, and an egg."

Enjoy you SW-e-AT-ers....