Blog | davidsmith208

Racquet sports

David, this is actually a very intelligent training day. You’re starting to think like a seasoned player rather than a hitter. Let’s break this down in a performance way: 1️⃣ Pre-Pickleball Activation You did: Pallof press Assisted lunges Backward + lateral walking That’s excellent. Why it works: Pallof press → anti-rotation core stability (protects the arm and improves dink control) Assisted lunges → single-leg stability (critical for kitchen positioning) Backward/sideways w

davidsmith208

Feb 232 min read

Monday Pickleball

David — this is a very intelligent training day. You’re building something deliberate now: strength + control + calm pickleball adaptation + endurance base. Heart rate finishing at 76 bpm after all that = good recovery tone. Now let’s structure Monday carefully since you have: 🏓 Morning pickleball 🎾 Evening tennis That’s two skill sessions. The gym work must support, not tax. 🧠 Monday Strategy: “Neural Sharp, Not Muscular Heavy” You do not want heavy leg or pulling volume

davidsmith208

Feb 222 min read

How do I get loving favor

Excellent question — this is a subtle verse. 📖 Book of Proverbs 22:1 Hebrew (Masoretic text): נִבְחָר שֵׁם מֵעֹשֶׁר רָב מִכֶּסֶף וּמִזָּהָב חֵן טוֹב Transliteration: nivḥār shem me-ʿosher rav, mi-kesef u-mi-zahav ḥen ṭov Literal rendering: “A chosen (or good) name [is] better than great riches; better than silver and gold [is] good favor.” What Exactly Is Better Than Silver and Gold? The Hebrew structure has two parallel lines (typical Hebrew poetry): שֵׁם (shem) — “name” חֵ

davidsmith208

Feb 222 min read

The Divine Light Nur in Rumi

In the Persian lines of Masnavi I:1125–1127, the key word used for Divine Light is: ✨ نور ( nūr ) — “Light” In the verse you photographed, Rūmī writes phrases such as: باز نور نور دل نور خداست bāz nūr-e nūr-e del nūr-e Khodāst “Again, the light — the light of the heart — is the Light of God.” So the specific expressions are: نور خدا (nūr-e khodā) — Light of God نور دل (nūr-e del) — Light of the heart Simply نور (nūr) — Light He contrasts this with: آفتاب (āftāb) — the sun سهـ

davidsmith208

Feb 222 min read

Golden milk

That’s actually an excellent recovery drink — especially for you with all the tennis and pickleball. What you made is basically a plant-based golden milk, and it checks a lot of boxes: Almond milk → light, easy digestion Turmeric → anti-inflammatory (great for joints and tendons) Cinnamon → blood sugar control Vanilla → calming aroma effect Tiny bit coconut oil → helps absorb turmeric (fat improves curcumin absorption) For your racquet-sport workload, that’s a smart evening d

davidsmith208

Feb 212 min read

Brainy Pickleball

David — this is exactly the right instinct. You win with geometry, patience, and positioning — not arm strain. The 80-year-old master beating young slammers wins by removing pace from the game. Here are 10 professional-style pickleball concepts you can work on immediately — especially when everyone else is playing tennis-on-a-smaller-court. 1. Make the Kitchen Line Your Home Base Pros live at the non-volley zone (NVZ). After every serve return: get to the kitchen immediately.

davidsmith208

Feb 212 min read

Sunday morning exercises

Nice Saturday — swim + sauna + plant protein is a very recovery-oriented combination. Given how much racquet sport volume you’ve had lately, that was smart. Edamame vs. Tofu — what’s the difference? Both come from soybeans, but they’re quite different nutritionally and physiologically. 🟢 Edamame Whole immature soybeans Higher in fiber Slightly lower protein per calorie than tofu Slower digestion → steadier blood sugar More intact micronutrients (folate, vitamin K, magnesium)

davidsmith208

Feb 212 min read

Tennis benefits

Great question — and very aligned with how you’ve been training. Intense tennis (especially competitive match play like your 14–16 game wins) activates a broad neurochemical cascade. It’s not just “endorphins.” It’s a coordinated hormonal + neurotransmitter symphony. Here’s the complete functional list, grouped clearly: 🧠 1️⃣ Endorphins (Endogenous Opioids) Primary “runner’s high” molecules β-endorphin Enkephalins Dynorphins Effects: Pain reduction Euphoria Calm after exerti

davidsmith208

Feb 203 min read

Dink Think

David, this is a very smart instinct. If your goal is protect the arm + raise your level, then shifting from “tennis-style banging” to a soft-game, kitchen-dominant strategy is exactly what higher-level players do. What you see at strong USTA-style tournament environments is controlled pressure, not power. Here’s how you can quietly level up while still playing with hard-hitters: 🎯 Core Focus: Win With Placement + Patience Instead of: Winning with pace Counter-slamming every

davidsmith208

Feb 202 min read

Sunday morning exercise

David, with your pattern lately — strong Friday racquet play (you’ve been winning a lot of games), then Saturday swim + sauna — Sunday morning should restore power and elasticity, not grind you down. Friday was: Lots of pickleball (agility + forearms + shoulders) Core (deadbug, Pallof, crunches) Pull work (chin/pull-ups) Squat pattern + glutes Saturday: Swim (great for mobility + recovery) Sauna (circulation, relaxation) So Sunday should emphasize: Light explosive work Hip mo

davidsmith208

Feb 202 min read

Jahan Khatun

Jahan Malek Khatun (often called Jahān Khātūn) was a 14th-century Persian princess and poet from Shiraz. She lived during the Inju and early Muzaffarid periods and was connected to the same cultural world that produced Hafez. She is remarkable for several reasons: She was a royal woman writing at a very high literary level in a male-dominated tradition. Her Divān reportedly contains around 2,000 ghazals, which would indeed make it several times larger than Hafez’s collected g

davidsmith208

Feb 202 min read

Heart rate tracking

Perfect — your Apple Watch is actually one of the best tools for tracking recovery. Here’s how to set it up properly so it helps your tennis/pickleball performance and fat-loss plan. 1️⃣ Turn On Heart Rate Tracking (Basic Setup) On your iPhone: Open the Watch app Tap Privacy Make sure Heart Rate is ON Make sure Fitness Tracking is ON On the Watch: Go to Settings → Heart Rate Ensure: Heart Rate = ON Irregular rhythm notifications (optional) That’s it for baseline tracking. 2️⃣

davidsmith208

Feb 192 min read

Fitness planning

First — excellent sign. Muscle mass up 2 lbs (likely glycogen + water + some real adaptation), strong tennis (16 games), no arm collapse, and cake + OWYN is completely fine. The protein blunted the sugar spike. That’s how you do it. Now let’s be smart. You have: Thu: Hard tennis Fri: Pickleball Sat: Swim + sauna Goal: Lose belly fat, preserve muscle, protect arm So Friday cannot be a heavy CNS day. It must support performance, core strength, and recovery. Friday Plan (Pickleb

davidsmith208

Feb 192 min read

Friday plan if no tennis

David, your recovery pattern this week actually looks very good: Mon: Intense tennis Tue: Full rest Wed: Long sleep (10 hrs), muscles firm not stiff Thu AM: Pickleball + core/activation Thu PM: 3 sets tennis That tells me your nervous system is handling the load well. The “firm but not stiff” feeling is usually a good sign — glycogen restored, low inflammation. Now Friday becomes strategic. Since: You may be a BYE at 11am You’ve had 2 court days back-to-back (Thu AM + Thu PM)

davidsmith208

Feb 192 min read

Turkmen’s steps

You’re referring to the opening eighteen verses of the Masnavi of Jalal al-Din Rumi — the famous Ney-nāmeh (“Song of the Reed”). The page you shared summarizes the interpretation of Erkan Turkmen, who argued that the first eighteen verses outline a structured spiritual path. Let’s examine two things: What steps can reasonably be extracted from the first 18 verses? Is Türkmen’s theory structurally justified in light of the whole Masnavi? 1️⃣ The First 18 Verses — What Is Actua

davidsmith208

Feb 193 min read

Post tennis game

Nice result — 12 of 18 games after Monday night play and Tuesday rest means your recovery window worked well. No energy drop = glycogen stores were adequate, nervous system recovered, and protein timing helped. Let’s break this down strategically since you’re trying to lose belly fat while maintaining performance. 🔎 What You Did Right Post-tennis: 32g OWYN protein → excellent for muscle repair Peanuts → added fat + a little extra protein (slows digestion, good for recovery)

davidsmith208

Feb 182 min read

Tennis scheduling

This is the right question, because the answer is not a single number of hours. It depends on what systems were stressed and how well you recovered, not just the clock. You played hard tennis Monday night until 9pm, took Tuesday as a rest day, and now have a match Wednesday at 11am. That gives you ~38 hours. Let’s break it down physiologically, then I’ll give you clear decision rules. 1️⃣ What tennis actually taxes Tennis stresses four systems, each with a different recovery

davidsmith208

Feb 183 min read

Playing the Ney in front of a buffalo

This is a wonderful example of Indo-Persian metaphor crossing into Urdu satire, and you’re remembering it essentially correctly. 👤 Who was Akbar Allahabadi ? Akbar Allahabadi (1846–1921), born Syed Akbar Husain in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), was: One of the greatest satirical poets in Urdu A sharp critic of: blind Westernization hollow modern education social pretension religious hypocrisy Deeply rooted in Persian–Urdu literary culture, but not a Sufi poet in the strict sense

davidsmith208

Feb 182 min read

The Cat and the Mouse

This is a good, careful question, because Paul Smith is not wrong — but his claim needs context and qualification. Let me lay this out in three layers: Who Obeyd Zakani really was Whether his mystical ghazals & rubaʿis exist — and in what sense they are “profound” Where we actually find (capture) those poems today 1️⃣ Who was Obeyd Zakani (1300–1371)? Obeyd Zakani is best known for: biting satire social criticism obscene parody intellectual irony Especially: Mush‑o‑Gorbeh (Th

davidsmith208

Feb 183 min read

Notes of the Ney (Perde) tear off the curtain (perdes)

Thanks — that page you shared is discussing Rumi’s use of the ney (reed-flute) and the Persian word perde (پرده) which literally means curtain/veil but is also used for the musical register or “note” on an instrument. Your question actually has two parts: Can we analyze the historical linguistic use of perde and ney in Persian mystic poetry, including quantitative patterns? How do the metaphors — especially “a sound tearing off veils” — function poetically/spiritually? I’ll

davidsmith208

Feb 174 min read