Which Exercise is Supreme?

I get this question often. It's usually followed by "...for getting rid of my belly/thighs/butt/tricep fat"... etc.

Regardless of what you are looking to accomplish, that question in its current form is unanswerable.

There are exercises that work very well for certain muscle groups and movement patterns, various forms of posture, cardiorespiratory training, etc. So while trying to create a "supreme exercise" is a futile task, I will devise a criteria by how I define a "great exercise"

One that incorporates big, compound, multi-joint movements that requires a degree of coordination and integration to perform.

For arguments sake, If I could only pick 3 exercises that I had to do for the rest of my life, they would be... DeadliftsPull-upsWind sprint intervals (90-100% intensity - Tabata style)
By definition, the above work massive amounts of muscle groups, require a large degree of integration and include a very high intensity cardio. Deadlifts - are the prototypical posterior chain exercise - working the muscles of the back of the legs, butt, lower back and require a serious amount of stabilization through the core and a fight to keep a neutral spine. Pull-ups - I confess I love them. All you need is a bar and you have a near perfect lat/pec/trap (mid/low) and an appreciable amount of stabilization through the core and shoulder girdle. Wind sprints - I love running and performing near-max efforts are a fantastic way to boost fitness in a hurry. Build up to these bad boys though.
What 3 exercises would you do if you could only choose 3?

Image Credit: Flickr/elvertbarnes

View the original article here

TIPS To Keep Your Discipline When Eating Out http://ping.fm/JOUWq

I'd rather be a failure at something I enjoy than a success at something I hate. -George Burns

5 Energy-Boosting Foods
http://ping.fm/wzjEW

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. -Wayne Gretzky

Medications and disease risks---

http://www.fitness-health-wellness.com/nutrition/supplements/articles/medications-and-disease-risks

5 Simple Fitness Tips For Losing Weight

Many people at the beginning of their weight loss journey, want to find easy to implement fitness tips that will help them get started on the right foot.

If that's where you're at, there a few things that you need to consider and focus on so that you'll experience positive results as quick as possible.

Knowledge is the secret to getting the strong, slender body that you have always wanted. If you are ready to get in the best shape of your life, the right fitness tips for losing weight can make a huge difference in your life.

One of the most important aspects of weight loss and exercise is a strong core. In fact, if you do not have a strong core, it will be difficult to perform several exercises in the average workout routine. A strong core improves both balance and coordination.

Keep in mind that sit-ups are your friend, so do as many of them as you can. In the past, many people did not believe doing sit-ups was an adequate way to build the core. However, these days that tune has changed. Sit-ups effectively increase range of motion, which in turn causes your abdominal muscles to work even longer and harder.

If you prefer, you can do crunches on a stability ball or use a rolled-up towel underneath your lower back which are also effective ways to build core strength. Remember to avoid doing sit-ups or crunches with your feet anchored because you will risk injury to your lower back.

You would not wear sweatpants to Sunday school or a bathing suit to the grocery store, so it is understandable to wear appropriate attire during your workout routine.

The clothes that you wear when you're working out should be tight enough to stay in place and out of your way, yet loose enough to allow easy flow of movement. You do not want to be constricted in any way as you exercise. Clothes that are too loose may wrap around your limbs, entangling you as you move. Likewise, clothes that are too tight can cut off circulation and cause serious discomfort or pain.

It is also important to wear appropriate footwear when exercising as well. Exercises such as running, jumping rope, plyometrics, etc. can jar the joints, leading to pain, discomfort, or even serious injury. Your best option is to purchase a good pair of shoes for working out and for working out only. It is acceptable to go without shoes if you are performing exercises such as yoga or Pilates.

Make it a point to shop for your workout shoes later in the day when your feet are at their largest. You want to make sure that you have about a half of an inch of space between your longest toe and the end of the shoe. You should be able to wiggle your toes with ease.

Stretching and keeping your muscles limber are just as important as fat burning exercises. As you grow older, you muscles will become less and less pliable. Fight the aging process by staying loose.

Never stretch cold muscles. It is important to warm up your muscles before you stretch to prevent painful injury. Hold each stretch for fifteen to thirty seconds in order to get the full effect.

Staying fit and healthy is more than working out for an hour or so per week. In order to get fit and stay healthy, you need to move as much as possible. Take the stairs when possible and park a little further away from the front door to squeeze in a little extra fitness in your day-to-day life.

These are only a few fitness tips for losing weight. The key to getting fit is to try out a few things to determine what best fits into your life and then stick to it.

About The Author:

Scott Gray is a fitness enthusiast and website publisher. He maintains a health and fitness tips for beginners website where you can find information about best stationary bikes, exercise equipment and tips for getting and staying in shape.

View the original article here

What to Eat Prior to a Workout

Why raw dairy?  Why any dairy?

A good buddy of mine, Bryan Barksdale, a pillar and founding member of the uber-fast-growing Austin Primal/Paleo/Ancestral Fitness community, asked me at a recent community Meet-Up, if I could quantify — and thereby justify/legitimize — my rather copious consumption of dairy; dairy not being, of course, “Paleo” by standard convention.  Good question.  And my answer, devoid, as it was, of any scientific underpinnings whatsoever (like many of my answers to questions pertaining to Physical Culture in general, and diet and training specifically) I’m sure sounded a bit New-Agey…”woo-woo”, as it were.  Hey, blame it on that evening’s super moon having hyper-sensitized my personal conviction for placing self-knowledge on at least an equal footing as that of scientific knowledge and in seeking “full truth” by way of emotional, spiritual — as well as Scientific – directions

Ok, so super moon or not, what’s my take on the whole (pardon the pun) dairy issue?  Well, again, it boils down to an n=1 assessment, evaluation and a resultant determination, of enhanced well-being.  More to the point, I relayed to Bryan how the inclusion of raw dairy (specifically here, locally produced, raw & unpasteurized heavy cream and whole milk) seems to significantly improve my workout recovery.  This means that I can train harder, and more often.  Also, I can just “feel” an enhanced well-being with raw dairy included in my diet.  Again, I know this sounds “woo-woo”, and in a “show me the science” day and age, not a very, er….shall we say, “ringing endorsement”.  Such as it is, though, those are my thoughts on the matter.  So it comes down to this: do I wait for hard science to justify what it is that I “know” to be true — at least for myself — already?  Do I need science to do this for me?  And will science ever do this for me?  In my mind, this is akin to waiting for science to acknowledge the legitimacy of my training methods before employing those methods.  And again, I stress that I am absolutely not a scientific Luddite — it’s just that science — and exercise science specifically — is way behind the n=1 curve here, and is currently playing catch-up to many, many years of trail-and-error, n=1 experimentation.  I choose not to turn a blind eye to that solid, empirical knowledge, simply because it was not lab/university produced.  In fact, one of the major downfalls to exercise science is that fact that the test subjects, by and large, aren’t drawn from the black-iron-and-chalk-dust dungeons — the very place where so much quality n=1 empirical “science” has been honed/refined over the years.  Know this: I am, if nothing else, an equal opportunity whore when it comes to matters of ascertaining what works — show me the proven results, that’s what ultimately matters to me.  Whether that comes from the lab/university environment or from the black-iron lab, to me, matters not.

On the workout front -

Tuesday, 3/15/11
Negative-only work with Skyler Tanner, with an emphasis on the XCCentric leverage equipment; check it out:

Thursday,

(A1) neg only flat press, XC bench: +140/7, 6, 6 (60×0 tempo)
(A2) blast strap flyes, feet elevated: BW/12, 12, 12
(A3) inverted L pull-ups: BW/10, 10, 6

Friday,

(A1) seated DB lateral raise: 25/15, 15, 15
(A2) front raise: 45lb plate/12, 12, 12

(A3) band pull-a parts: red/12, 12, 10

(B1) cable tri extension, lunge position: 125/15, 140/15
(B2) XC dual handle bi curl: (+20)/12, 12

Sunday,

Field sprints!   And other bodyweight, playground fun.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In health,

Keith

View the original article here

The skinny on getting skinny or healthy or buff

Cardiovascular exercise is essential for the over-nourished who want to shed some pounds. It is also a key ingredient in cardiovascular fitness, which will help to build up endurance by sstrengthening the heart and cardiovascular system and improve circulation by helping the body optimize oxygen consumption. A good choice of cardiovascular exercises might be the treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine, stationary bike, or an aerobics class, just to name a few.

http://www.fitness-health-wellness.com/nutrition/exercise-and-nutrition/articles/skinny-getting-skinny-or-healthy-or-buff

Eat the right foods, don't stop moving!

You just have read all that you need to know about how to prevent being overweight. That simple set of instructions should be easy to follow, but not for 35% of Americans who are unable to prevent being overweight.

Of course, once we are overweight, we usually want to trim down for a whole lot of reasons, some related to health, others having to do with looks.

In addition, it is never too late to lose weight. But the fact is, it is a whole lot easier to prevent putting on pounds than to try losing them later on. And if there is one thing we all know, it is that weight gain is likely to happen if we do not take forward-looking steps to stop it.

Health experts say that most people who are into losing weight usually stray. They tend to go back to their old eating habits even after they learn to enjoy low-fat eating. They tend to return to sedentary ways even though they enjoy exercising.

But despite the momentum toward weight gain, you can stop it from happening, experts say. And there are plenty of good reasons to avoid excess pounds, reasons that go beyond vanity or social acceptance.

In fact, some health experts contend that the significance of excess weight is more than cosmetic. They say that it takes a huge toll on people’s physical health.

The Way to Losing Weight…Naturally

The nuts and bolts of eating right maintaining a healthy weight is not all that complicated. In fact, it is a good bet that most people know pretty well what is best. Hence, losing weight the natural way should not be a problem at all.

Consequently, a reasonable approach for losing weight naturally is to stick to a diet that is high in complex carbohydrates, high in fiber, moderate in protein, and low in fat.

A complex carbohydrate is a baked potato. Fat is the sour cream and butter you should not put on it. Fiber is vegetables. Fat is the oil you should not fry them in. Protein is a lean cut of meat. Fat is the gravy you should not pour over it.

Moreover, health experts say that dietary fat promotes weight gain because it is a very dense source of calories. Also, when you consume excess calories from dietary fat, you store those calories as body fat more efficiently than excess calories from other sources.

On the other hand, it can also help you lose weight naturally if you will not fall into the so-called “fat-free” trap. Manufacturers keep coming out with low-fat or fat-free versions of their best-selling foods, but Americans keep getting fatter anyway.

One of the greatest delusions of the 1990s is that “no fat” means “non-fattening.” The truth is, you are often getting just as many calories from the no-fat version, even if the calories are not coming from fat.

The term fat-free can be a trap if you start to believe that you can eat any amount of the foods that are advertised that way.

What’s more, it is best to respond to hunger with healthful snacks. Health experts say it would be better to try eating every three to four hours, which may mean a nutritious low-fat snack between lunch and dinner.

When you feel the urge for food coming on, snacking on something healthy such as a slice of whole-grain toasted bread is a better alternative. Never skip a meal and eat snacks instead because that is the worst thing you can do if you are trying to control your eating habits and weight.

Remember, if you want to lose weight naturally, you have to keep track of every food you eat and of every activity that you do. When you say natural weight loss means that you do not have to use some accessories or helpful aids just to lose weight.

Losing weight naturally is a process and not a fad. Hence, it would take a lot of dogged determination, self-control, and discipline just to achieve your ideal weight.

Weight Loss Tips for Couples;

Walk into any fitness gym and you will find it filled with single people. Yes, they'll be some married girls and guys and those in relationships, but take a poll and singles will outnumber the others. When you are single, the motivation is high to look good which places a priority on exercising and healthy eating. The name of the game is sex appeal and being physically attractive.

Then comes marriage or perhaps a committed relationship and priorities begin to shift. For the male perspective, I interviewed several men from ages 24-54, working in all levels of employment, from auto technician to vice president of an international company. Every one of them had a similar response to why we gain weight after being in a relationship- getting comfortable. Men and women lose the intense motivation to look good for the opposite sex when they are happily in a relationship. As one guy stated, "I'm not in the market anymore, so I'm more relaxed and not so concerned about the physical part." Married or cohabiting people tend to become more sedentary than their single dating peers and settle into a routine.

Since gaining weight also comes from a tendency to pick up your spouse's eating habits, the benefit of losing weight together is eating the same healthy food and supporting one another. It's well known that the buddy system is an effective weight loss technique, but having your buddy live in the same house and eat the same food increases your chances. Encouragement and compliments from your partner is a big motivator!

Extra weight can leave you with less energy and less enthusiasm. For some, especially women, not feeling as attractive can affect your sexual relationship. As couples work together to lose weight, renewed vitality, improved energy and body image kick start the sexual desire and passion. Now that's motivation!

Creating a weight loss plan as a couple increases the chances of sticking to it and being successful. Here are some tips to jump start you on your way:

1) Schedule regular fun fitness dates. Plan a hike, filling a backpack with fruit, low-fat cheese, whole grain crackers and plenty of water. At the end of the hike, have a picnic.

2) Make eating a shared and enjoyable time. Shop together for healthy foods; plan fun, healthy menus; try out new recipes; cook together.

3) Exercise together. Even if you don't want to go to the gym together, take a long, brisk walk together or ride bikes. Or for the more daring couple, take a zumba class together, a major calorie burner!

Have fun and enjoy your new healthy lifestyle together!

http://www.fitness-health-wellness.com/lifestyle-management/weight-loss-and-lifestyle-management/articles/weight-loss-tips-couples

Is Eating Fruit Making You Fat?

If you've read the most popular diet books for the past decade, then the answer is a resounding YES!

But is there scientific rationale for the demonization of something we've been told to eat daily?

The ever-popular Dukan diet shuns them - too high in carbs, says the good doctor.And no surprise that the darling of low carb, Gary Taubes recommends eschewing fruits.Ditto for Tim Ferris, author of "The 4-hour Body" who includes the avoidance of fruit as one of his "slow carb" diets 5 rules. And another new kid on the diet book block, "The 17-Day Diet", recommends not eating any fruit after 2:14pm, Eastern Standard Time (or something equally ridiculous).And let's not forget the scads of books based on the glycemic index scale - with a variety of fruits higher in glycemic index strictly verboten - the equivalent of drinking a blended snickers bar.

Before looking at the data, we must apply context. Any category of food can be "fattening" in high enough amounts. Gorging on mangos, bananas and apples all day long will hinder any fat loss goal.

Also, having said fruit in the form of juice adds copious amounts of sugar and calories to the diet without yielding much in the way of nutrition - even though they count as "servings" of fruit.

While studies that examine strictly fruit intake and body composition are hard to come by, you know what's impossible to come by? Studies that show fruit consumption CAUSES weight gain.

Here's a study that showed a net fat loss with 3 apples or pears per day.

Add that to the multitude of studies showing vegetable and fruit consumption boosts health in many ways and you'd be hard-pressed to convince me to ditch my daily apple.

And if these authors are trying to play the "fruit-drives-insulin-and-insulin-makes-you-fat" card - wrong again! Doesn't happen when calories are kept in check and protein is adequate.

Eating a variety of fruits will give you a broad range of antioxidants and other phytonutrients that serve to lower disease risk. There is absolutely no need to eliminate them from your diet, not eat them after 1:18pm during a crescent moon when the dew point reaches 2.780, or in any other situation. Just don't go overboard.

Has fruit been part of your weight loss diet?

Image Credit: Flickr

View the original article here

4 More Diet and Exercise Myths That Die Hard

AKA "Things we thought we knew that might be wrong".

In this installment, we will look at some other misconceptions surrounding nutrition and exercise. If you missed the first part, you can read it here.

If you read chain emails started by lunatics then yes, they are horrible - causing everything from cancer to leprosy. But are they really carcinogenic? The body of evidence says no - although some may be safer than others. My beef with AS's is not the potential dangers they supposedly cause but rather the caloric emptiness of the foods they are designed to sweeten.

These substances are rigorously tested - toxicology, mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, etc. Scientists collect data and determine an Acceptable Daily Intake - the maximum amount that regulatory bodies consider safe. Even 90th percentile consumption falls in about 5-10% of the ADI. Over 1000 studies have been published on Aspartame alone and with scant exception they have been deemed safe. Of course you'll hear the "yeah but those studies are funded by the companies that make it". When looking at studies, the methodological quality is the most important factor when validity is the subject.

"Hallowing" is a technique popular in yoga and Pilates whereby people are instructed to "suck in" their bellies" to stabilize. Unfortunately the science here is unstable (nyuk, nyuk). The rationale is to try and fire up the deep muscles of the abdominals and lower back.

When tested clinically, however, a technique called "bracing" was shown to be far more effective in recruiting the right muscles for lower back stability. To "brace", think about filling the belly up with air without letting the belly button stick out or draw in. Pretend you are bracing for a punch to the gut. Side note: Anyone involved in prescribing exercise should read Stuart McGill's books.

Telling people what they want to hear 101 - the #1 trick of the trade of diet book authors. In a perfect world we could just eat near-limitless amounts of certain kinds of foods and never gain an ounce. Well, reality can be harsh, but it's the only place to get a good steak. The simple indisputable fact remains, that chronically eating more than you burn will cause you to gain weight - regardless of macronutrient composition. At some point, even extreme low carbers and the fading low fat advocates will have to watch calories.

This one has weaved its way into "common knowledge-hood" without much in the way of scientific validity. The fact is, however that there is no evidence that those with healthy kidneys will suffer kidney issues from elevated protein intakes. In fact, boosting protein (in the presence of adequate calcium) will likely benefit bone density.

While the scientific process is never final, it's a good idea to question things we think are fact.

View the original article here

Desk Jobs: How to Prevent Weight Gain

We all know that sedentary lifestyles and desk jobs can make people fat. But, is this lifestyle something that we can modify and increase our chances of staying slim?

When I started my first desk job, within a few weeks, I noticed a change in my physique. The busier I got, the less time I had for exercise and the more sedentary I became.

My calorie level stayed about the same and I realized I gained a pound or two. A small weight fluctuation isn't such a big deal, but over the course of a year or five years, that could result in major weight gain.
Schedule your exercise. If you don't plan it into your day, it won't get done. Other things will begin to seem more important and will become your new habit and routine if exercise is not scheduled in. Make a plan to exercise everyday or choose the two most hectic days of your week as your days off. Exercise close to home or work. The less you have to travel, the more likely you will be able to exercise. Try walking around your neighborhood or do a home exercise DVD. Jump rope in your basement or find a hill nearby to walk up and down. If you belong to a gym, make sure it is within a five minute drive and is open when you want to exercise.Every little bit counts. Even if you can only fit in 15 to 20 minutes, any exercise is better than nothing. The goal is to try to break a sweat everyday. Park your car far away from your job. Walk up and down the stairs at work or take five minute walking breaks whenever you can as blood flow increases productivity after all.Bring your lunch. It is likely your total calorie burn will be less while working a desk job, so you will need to eat lower calorie lunches and snacks. Bringing a lunch is one of the best ways to control your calorie intake. Remember to focus on fruits and veggies for your meals and snacks.Do you have a desk job? If so, how have you learned to stay fit and healthy despite all the hours spent sitting?

View the original article here

We as humans are constantly searching for the “answer” or the “system” or “tool” or “be-all-end-all” to our health and fitness problems and goals.

http://www.fitness-health-wellness.com/exercise/strength-and-conditioning-training/articles/kettlebell-hype

Why Getting to a Healthy Weight Matters.... Our world (media, friends, family) has a definite opinion on what we should weigh. If a number isn’t p

http://www.fitness-health-wellness.com/weight-management/benefits-weight-loss/articles/why-getting-healthy-weight-matters

Extreme Fitness... Workingout with a purpose!

Many people think about building muscles as abandoning life outside the gym and devoting hours in the gym like a monk in a monastery. Perhaps the only way to chisel the body into a hot muscular physique is by toiling hour by hour over the rusty iron day in, day out and year in, year out.


This need not be so. Although hard work is truly required, extreme fitness demands one to be a slave of the iron weights. Full-body work outs can make one progress and it easily fits in one's exercise program. This is very convenient if one is looking forward to achieving extreme fitness but finds it hard to hold on to a great workout routine.

Genuine full-body work outs done by athletes with an aim in mind makes for maximum muscle contraction using heavy weights, makes room for full recovery so one can actually grow and continue to train hard plus it also prevents burnout which is inevitable due to excess training.


So if one is ready for extreme fitness, here is all there is to know about full body work out:


Full-body work out is a time saver. The biggest plus about having the whole body trained all at once is probably having to go to the gym less frequently; perhaps around two to three times for every seven days would be enough.


Another advantage of working out the entire body all at once is that one need not spend two or more hours of strenuous exercise in the gym for every session; one only spends one hour in the gym for every session. So that's just three to four hours per week in the gym right? With full-body work outs, it is all about the quality of exercise one does for session and not the quantity, nor even the amount of time you allot per session.


Full-body work out boosts the cardiovascular system for extreme fitness. One must allot two to four sets for every body part into the one hour session. Jam packed with exercising, each one hour session then gets the heart and the rest of the cardiovascular system pumping and up to speed in a flash.


Now feeling pumped up, next find out what rules does one have to follow when engaging in full-body work outs:


Training commences only once every two to three days. This is so easy isn't it? What is great about this is that there is time spared during rest days so that one can indulge in a few weight lifting routines sessions instead of depending on cardio exercises one normally does at the end of each work out session which after all, are not at all very effective.


Heavy lifting is strongly advised. Contrary to popular belief, especially among athletes. It is not true that it is good to get trapped on training lightly than one actually could so as to conserve energy for the other body parts that will come later in the routine. What is true is that one cannot get in shape progress if one is not training heavy, no matter which program that person is doing.

One exercise only per muscle group. This is very easy to follow and is also important. Doing basic exercises which are also intense means you do not have to do another different exercise for that body part.

Keep work out short. Resistance training affects the natural composition of the body connected to muscle building. Intense exercising boosts the testosterone levels and long work outs increase those of metabolic cortisol. Sixty minutes of work out allows you to get the best of both worlds.

Now with this convenient and powerful work out regimen, one can now truly experience extreme fitness. 

Chasing Performance…at the Expense of Health

“Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts”

- Richard Feynman

Below is the result of a little Sunday morning think-ering (hat tip to Brent Pottenger, of the Healthcare Epistemocrat for coining that clever word) — so what we have here is my sketched interpretation of the health/performance continuum:

First of all, I’d like to point out that the general shape of this health-performance curve/continuum is applicable across the human genome, however, it can still be “bent” on an  individual level, and “stretched” in an applicable, n=1 fashion.  The gist of the idea is, though, that health and performance track quite nicely up to a certain point (point A), at which time further increases in performance — let’s call it “sporting proficiency” at this level — do nothing to make an individual any healthier.  We might say that competitive athletics (or competitive bodybuilding) begins at or near point B — that point at which an individual is willing to forgo a certain degree  of overall health in the pursuit of bettered sporting performance.  Point C inhabits the land where the real juggle begins, and where the bulk of Strength and Conditioning work is practiced.   At this point, the athlete’s health is just another parameter (among a myriad of parameters) that must be tweaked and dialed so as to keep said athlete’s performance red-lined.  Just as in a finely tuned Ferrari though, if a single component wears and fails (as it inevitably will), the whole entity flies apart at the seams.   Performances here tend to swing between moments of absolute and stunning beauty, or gruesome spectacles of crash-and-burn grodiness.  The significance of this area is that health most definitely takes a backseat to performance — it can be no other way.  I won’t deny that the living here is exhilarating (even as it is thoroughly exhausting), but for most — whether by bad luck or genetic weak-link — the ride just doesn’t last long.  The consequences, however, can last a lifetime.

The other major point of significance here is that while 95% of Strength & Conditioning brain-power and know-how is directed unabashedly toward that heady land of peak performance in the C-zone, the vast majority of American citizenry is floundering helplessly somewhere beneath the “point zero” bottom left on this graph.  My contention is that is takes very little in the way of proper training and dietary intervention to move the general populace into that zone between “point zero” and point A.  In fact, we at Efficient Exercise proved this could be done via our recent Project Transformation.  And know this: moving the populace into that “pay-off aisle” will result in the end the of American healthcare crisis as we know it today.  Yeah, Washington, it is that friggin’ easy.

Of course “easy” and “financially beneficial” mean different things to different folks.  I’ll just leave that part of the discussion for another day, though.

Now I’m a little biased here, but I do believe that this health-performance curve ought to be taught at an elementary level, right along with the idea of personal responsibility, basic civics, and the Pledge of Allegiance.  Eat right.  Engage in a little properly programmed exercise each week.  Be a boon to society instead of a drag.  Wanna take a walk on the sporting wild side?  Sure, go for it — just know that there are going to be some trade-offs where your health is concerned, so tread carefully.  What could be more basic, or more easily taught to an elementary-aged kid?  Of course the devil is in the details.  Give this idea to government, and the next thing you know we’re back to dealing with food pyramids, jogging, and Pepsi sponsorships.

But back to the here-and-now: on an individual level, every trainee ought to begin goal setting (or reassessment) by identifying where they want to fall on this graph.  Me?  I push the B-point envelope for the most part, sometimes taking the plunge, for brief periods, into C-land.  I’m a little older (and debatably wiser?) now, so camp-out, I don’t, in the land of C.  Been there, done that, and got a few traumatized body parts as mementos of the fun  Brief forays, though?  Yeah, I just can’t help my stupid self sometimes.  And so it goes…

In follow-on posts I’ll discuss how I see time investment and protocol selection fitting into this overall picture.  As you might guess, teasing-out increases in upper-end performance requires an inordinate time investment relative to that required to bring one from 0 to 80% of potential peak.  Wanna push the performance envelope?  The first thing you have to ask yourself is this: are you willing to devote the exponential increase in time and effort required to eek-out those final few percentile points?  The next question is, are you willing to play fast and loose with your health?  I’m not here to judge, and I certainly appreciate the focus, dedication, and balls-out intensity of the competitive athlete.  I just think that potential C-land dwellers ought to go in with eyes wide open.

In health,

Keith

Be the first to like this post.

View the original article here

A Fighters Diet

If you are a fighter who is looking to cut weight, increase your performance, feel healthier and stronger, or you're just an average joe who wants to get leaner, This diet is for you! This diet comes from years of working with combat athletes!

Check it out!

Lifestyle Diet Plan

One of the top and realistic program on internet. Lifestyle diet plan helps its users lose 2 to 4 pounds every week, without hard dieting.

Check it out!

Vitamin D: 7 things you should know....

http://www.fitness-health-wellness.com/nutrition/supplements/articles/vitamin-d-7-things-you-should-know

What Keeps You Motivated? Motivation, motivation, motivation. It is one of the most thrown around words in our society when it comes to almo

http://www.fitness-health-wellness.com/lifestyle-management/behavioral-strategies/articles/what-keeps-you-motivated

The Benefit of Less-Extreme Views

True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body; the two are united

~ Alexander von Humboldt

George Church (Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School) argues, in this Big Think piece, that the age-old divide between science and religion is solvable. “We can bring them together,” he says, “but it requires less extreme views, or what would benefit from less extreme views.”

And it’s my belief that the same idea holds true for Physical Culture’s role in taming the beast that is the American healthcare crisis.

As it currently stands, there is no credible entity that acts as a non-dogmatic, “non-partisan”  clearing house, of sorts, in which the various tools and techniques of Physical Culture can be explored in relation to the seeker’s desired outcome (along the health-performance continuum) — especially for those who’s desire it is to use a Paleo-like diet, coupled with resistance exercise, as a tools for achieving superior overall health.  My hope is that this summer’s Ancestral Health Symposium (and the symposium’s parent organization, the Ancestral Health Society) will become just that entity.  I am at the same time thrilled — and humbled! — to be one of the presenters at the symposium, where I will discuss resistance training’s role in achieving optimum health, the difference between “superior health” and “superior performance”, and the emergence of the Physical Culturalist (i.e., the new breed of personal trainer) and his role as “swim coach” as opposed to the healthcare professional’s role as “lifeguard”.  Hat tip to Greg Glassman, of CrossFit, for that fine analogy.  As medicine’s role in this new paradigm must change, so must the Physical Culturalist’s.

Of Autoregulation and overtraining

TTP reader Jeff Erno asks the following (via Facebook), in reference to EETV, episode 6:

Really enjoyed the episode, thanks for recording. The auto regulation stuff sounds interesting. Is there somewhere I can go to read more about it? Also, my experience is with HIT the last 2+ years and if I only workout once per week I have steadily gained week over week. At twice a week I can have what can look like a stall or retrogression. Do you think it is possible that my situation is more common and most people don’t know it since they never tried backing off? Curious what your take is. Love the episodes, please keep then coming.

And here’s my answer — expanded a bit, from my original Facebook response:

I’ve written about Autoregulation a few times in Theory to Practice, Jeff — see, especially, this post — and actually the subject is in our EETV bucketlist of topics to cover in more detail.  As well (and as I alluded to in this post), I’ll be talking more about the tenants of Autoregulation and it’s practical applications at the Orlando 21 Convention this summer — so stay tuned for that!

As for the second question: a regression/stall at 2x/week is certainly not unheard of *if you are engaged in the same “type” of workout (rep tempo, exercise selection, rep/TUL scheme, etc…), workout to workout*  This is one reason why I shift things up in a conjugate-like fashion, both in my own workouts and in those of my clients.  You simply have to give the body a reason to overcompensate, otherwise, homeostasis will rule the day.  I really don’t want to get into a flame war over what I consider to be the (substantial) drawbacks of single-set-to-failure routines for performance enhancement, but let’s just say that it’s my humble opinion that these routines just don’t give the body much (or enough) stimulus to have to fight against.  Why should the body continue to adapt when it is not up against novel angles, cadences, tempos, volumes, intensities, etc.?  Ask any strength and conditioning coach what happens to 40 times when all you have your athletes do for speed/conditioning work is to run repeat 40's — they digress — and not insubstantially, either.  This is similar to the problem you’re running up against here.

I really wish you could have been in Wimberley, Texas this weekend, at the home of Ken O’Neill, where Dr. Frank Wyatt spoke to us of “the Body Chaotic”, pushing physiological threshold limits, the nature of physiological fatigue/failure, and what it takes to force the body to overcompensate.  I’ll just say this: the early stages of training are relatively easy going, as just about any stimulus will force the body to overcompensate.  The longer one stays in the game, however, the harder it becomes to push up to and beyond the fatigue threshold required to elicit an overcompensation response.  In laymen’s terms, it’s friggin’ hard work.  It’s painful, even.  It requires a mental toughness that most trainees are simply not prepared for, or willing to offer-up, in exchange for results.

Now I’m by all means not an advocate of training unintelligently or in a shotgun, willy-nilly manner.  I do believe, though that doggedness, intensity, and the ability to repeatedly push beyond the brain’s “shut ‘er down” response are crucial for achieving optimal gains (note: striving for optimal health is another issue — related, but certainly not the same).  I do believe, as well, that the body’s ability to recover (another topic discussed by Dr. Wyatt) can be “trained” as well via periodic forays into an overtrained state.  Chronic overtraining ought to be avoided, of course; acute bouts though are, in my opinion, necessary if one’s quest is enhanced performance.  Remember, performance enhancement (which includes the chase for hypertrophy) is an emergent phenomena — akin to the study cloud formation, weather patterns even — not a more easily described, step-by-step process, akin to the operations of a clock, say.

If at all possible, get your hands on Brad Schoenfel’d study “The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training” (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, Vol 24, #10; Oct 2010).  The chase for hypertrophy and/or realizing one’s ultimate genetic potential is not nearly as easy as simply tracking linear load/TUL progressions in a handful of exercises.

Workouts?  Oh yeah, you know it!  Here we go -

Tuesday, 5/31/11

(A1) Dips: bw/10; 45/10; 55/6; 90/4, 5; 45/11

(A2) ARX neutral-grip pull-down: HR/3, 3, 3

Thursday, 6/2/11

(A1) BTN push-press: 135/10; 155/6; 185/5, 7 (slight spot); 155/6

(A2) chins: bw/12; 45/7; 65/6, 6, bw/whoops!

(A3) RLC: bw/10, each of 4 rounds

then, 2 rounds of :
(B1) ARX negative only chin x 2

(B2) ARX negative only overhead press x 2

Saturday, 6/4

Sprints!  Bars!  Ropes!

Tuesday, 6/7
GVT volume work, 10 rounds

(A1) high bar squats: 165/10

(A2) seated DB clean & press: 40/10

Prior fixie riding made 10 rounds of squats a real bi-atch for sure!

Wednesday, 6/8

(A1) ARX close-grip bench: HR/3, 3, 3

(A2) dips: BW/15, 15, 15

(A3) T-Bar row: 125/10; 200/10; 245/8, 8 (Autoreg)

Friday, 6/10

(A1) Powermax 360 Tabata intervals (30 seconds on, 15 seconds off), 8 different movements.

(B1) long, fast, fixie ride

(C1) ARX RDL: HR x 3; 3 sets

Sunday, 6/12

Sprints and jumps

Be the first to like this post.

View the original article here

Top 10 Running Shoes for 2011.... Before we get on with the list know that I’ve combined all types of shoes; for fast runners, those who over pronate

http://www.fitness-health-wellness.com/fitness-products/fitness-apparel/articles/top-10-running-shoes-2011

http://www.fitness-health-wellness.com/lifestyle-management/weight-loss-and-lifestyle-management/articles/i-need-some-sleep-0

http://www.fitness-health-wellness.com/lifestyle-management/weight-loss-and-lifestyle-management/articles/i-need-some-sleep-0

Efficient Exercise’s Project Transformation — the Preliminary Results

Error in deserializing body of reply message for operation 'Translate'. The maximum string content length quota (8192) has been exceeded while reading XML data. This quota may be increased by changing the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader. Line 1, position 9169.

Okay, so it’s not the best picture, to be sure – I thought I could wash-out the glare, but alas… Anyway, here’s Madame Benoit’s rather erudite quote:

“I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with variation.”

Not to beat a dead horse, but again — it is my opinion that the parallels between the culinary arts and the pursuit of optimum Physical Culture are uncanny.  Substitute ”program” or “methodology” for recipe, “trainee” or “coach” for cook and you’ll see what I mean.  No dogma here, just results.  This much I know to be true: on-going success in the n=1 pursuit of fine Physical Culture comes down to the ability to pick just the right ingredient, at just the right time.  It’s not at all rocket science really, but it does require a certain degree of devotion, dedication to the craft.  Just as in fine writing, though, one must know the rules inside and out before those same rules can be broken in order to produce an elegantly-honed piece.  We’ve all endured writing that is technically perfect…yet, colorless; lifeless, even.  Consider such writing as the equivalent of linear periodization in resistance training.  And then, every once in a while, we’re lucky enough to come across something breath-taking, like this:

“Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains. You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow. They smelled of moss in your hand. Polished and muscular and torsional. On their backs were vermiculate patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery.”

That’s the last paragraph of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road; and that, my friends, is a true work of art.  Cormac’s writing has a way of inducing epileptic fits among grammar Marms, and yet, what a vivid, sensual picture he paints.   McCarthy undoubtedly knows the rules of grammar just as well as any technician, and yet he’ll trample those same rules in an instant in order to produce a desired result — in this example, a last paragraph that is nothing less than brilliant.

And speaking of bending the rules to produce results, remember back in January of this year when I spoke of the launch of Efficient Exercise’s Project Transformation?  In this “project”, we at Efficient Exercise offered some 20-odd “everyday Joes” (and Josephenes!) 10 weeks of free training and dietary counseling, with the intent being to show that anyone can achieve and maintain a fantastic level of health and well-being with a minimum investment of both time and dietary intervention — or, another way of putting it, with a minimum of “headache, heartache and hassle”! Training consisted of two, 30-minute, CZT/ARX -based workouts per week, with “dietary counseling” consisting of  little more than the equivalent of  ”hey, follow more-or-less a Paleo diet, and here’s Robb Wolf’s and Dr. Kurt Harris’ web sites“.

I jest here about the diet…but only slightly.  Actually we did offer the dietary counseling/intervention services of Austin’s Merritt Wellness Center for those who had a rough, initial “shaking the carb Jones” transition, or for those who we thought might be struggling with proper nutrient absorption, or other such issues.  The main take-away here is that these people were largely left to their own devices, other than the 2x 30-minutes per week that they saw us for their workouts, and the virtual support network created by our Facebook page.  A health and wellness program that is anything but a fad, mostly self-directed and administered, and that is sustainable for a lifetime.  No involvement from the medical establishment, no insurance hassles, nor dealings with the poly-pharma industry.  No sales pitch or endorsement from a celebrity talking head.  Surely something that simple can’t work, right?

Well, let’s just see about that.

So, after 10 short weeks, how did it go?  Just take a gander, if you will, at these results:

No gloss-over here, no top-performer bias, just the plain, raw, non-manipulated data.  Everybody’s data.

Limitations?  Sure.  I wish we’d done preliminary and follow-up blood work.  I wish that we had access to a more accurate method of measuring body composition (we used the impedance method; access to a university’s water tank/scale would have been nice).  But hey, we’re a gym/fitness studio, not a university lab.  Our aim was to show a trend, not measure absolutes, and in that, I believe we succeeded.

But the key points remain: this is a simple, realistic and sustainable program with a huge return-on-investment — not just in the measurable health and well-being parameters, but in the intangible measures — happiness, self-esteem, productivity.  Our intent here was not to produce better athletes, but better everyday citizens.  Citizens who will not become yet another drain on our country’s limited healthcare resources.  Citizens who can continue, into an advanced age, to contribute to the nation’s GDP, rather than become yet another statistical drain upon that same measure.  And, yeah (and here comes my “woo-woo” side) — citizens who can contribute to the overall “good vibe” of their communities.  Healthy, fit people are happy, courteous, empathetic, loving and caring people.  It is no coincidence that Austin is, at the same time, the epicenter of Physical Culture, and a city renoun for it’s tremendously good vibe.

But hey, enough of me yammering on about this, let’s consider a couple of actual participant testimonials:

So, can the nation’s health care crisis be tamed, one citizen at a time?  You bet it can.  One hour per week.  Some rudimentary dietary changes.  A huge return on a very small investment.  Vibrant health is within everyone’s grasp, even the most time-crunched of individuals.

Okay, and now for a few workouts from last week:

Tuesday, 3/29/11

(A1) blast strap flyes: 15, 15, 15

(A2) blast strap tri extensions: 10, 10, 10

(A3) CZT/ARX chest press: HR/3, 3, 3

I’m a big fan of pairing blast strap work with the CZT/ARX.  This little sequence here produced a total upper-body beat-down in a very short period of time.

(B1) OHS: 95/10, 12, 15 (box at 2 holes showing).  Shoulders were friggin’ shot to hell at this point, so this movement, as it was programmed in this sequence, was done more of an upper-body finisher, with the added benefit of providing a good lower-body dynamic stretch.

Wednesday, 3/30/11

(A1) Nautilus lateral raise: 150/10, 10, 9

(A2) XC seated military: (0 offset)/10, 7+, 7+

Thursday, 3/31/11

Ahh, goin’ a little old-school here, with a nice pulls progression!

(A1) power cleans (high catch): 135/10, 165/5, 185/3, 205/2

(B1) high pulls: (to at least belly-button height — higher, if possible), 225/5, 245/3, 275/3

(C1) BOR: 275/6, 295/3

(D1) straight leg DL: 295/6, 315/7

(E1) deadlift: 365/3, 415/2, 435/2

Friday, 4/1/11

(A1) high bar Oly squat: 135/15; 225/12, 12, 12, 12

(A2) XC bi curl: (+20)/12; (+30)/12; (+40)/12, 12, 12

The properly performed high-bar Oly squat is a thing of technical beauty.  Here, Russian world Oly lift champion (many times over) Anatoli Piserenko demonstrates a bit of “performance art” perfection.  Wow…

So it’s been a ‘coon’s age since I’ve done high-bar Oly squats myself; a radically different move, of course, from the power-oriented variety.  I performed these barefooted, which adds a tad bit to the level of difficulty in the movement.  What added to the difficulty level even moreso, however, was the fact that I performed these following a good deal of fixie huckin’.  Any form of squatting, though, following a spell of hard saddle time, is always an adventure  :)  Seriously though — if you’re looking to push top-end weight in this movement, kids, wear your Oly shoes!  Do as I say, not as I do!

In health,

Keith

View the original article here