Power Food

Last week I came across a list of top foods to eat. Keep in mind that this list was compiled by a dietitian who works with the Olympic teams. On her list of top foods was bagels. Bagels are not a super food. Can you hunt or pick a bagel? Probably not. Is a bagel a natural food? No. If we compare the nutrional value of 100 calories of spinach with 100 calories of bagel there is obviously no comparison. The spinach will provide more fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and antioxidants than the bagel. The bagel will actually steal nutrition from your body since grains have been known to leach onto valuable minerals such as calcium and zinc in your body. It is scary how much misinformation is out there. The majority of the popular information about health and nutrition today is wrong and it is scary.

Workout of the Day
1 rep max backsquat
1 rep max deadlift
1 rep max shoulder press

Workout of the Day
20 steps walking lunge
5 1 arm shoulder press
5 pullups
20 min max rounds

Carbs and Cancer

I saw a study this week that shows that rates of esohpogeal cancer are correlated to an increase in carbohydrate intake. The study stated that Americans now consume on average over 100 more grams of carbs per day than they used to. I have been talking about this for a while now. Excess carb intake leads to the deadly quartet of upper body obesity, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and high blood pressure. As seen in this study high levels of insulin also lead to cancer. A couple of years ago one I did a ton of research into cancer and the main thing I learned was that sugar feeds cancer. It is very hard for cancer to grow without sugar. So make sure that you are getting the majority of your carbs from vegetables, 6 servings per day.

Workout of the Day
30 sec on/ 1 min off
wallball
pullups
burpee
db swing
jumprope
4 rounds

Workout of the Day
barbell thruster
sumo high pull
rowing machine
box jump
30 sec work/30 sec rest
5 rounds
1 min between rounds

Genes

We all have genes that can be either expressed or not expressed. For example, someone could have a gene for cancer and than gene can either be turned on or remain off. What causes these genes to turn on and off? Your lifestyle is the biggest factor in how your genes are expressed. Things such as your diet, exercise, sleep, and stress all play a factor in determining which genes are turned on or off. Your lifestyle influences your hormones which in turn send signals to your genes. Thus, by manipulating your hormones into the proper balance you can help to send the proper signals to your genes.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine
DB Complexes

Workout of the Day
15 sec squats
15 sec rest
15 sec squat+ pushups
15 sec rest
15 sec squat + pushups + db swings
rest 1 min
repeat for 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min

Artificial Sweeteners

Many people are addicted to artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are very addictive because they are sweeter than sugar. Even though these sweeteners are calorie free they are still not good for us. These sweeteners are really just chemicals that our body must detoxify. For more info on how sweeteners effect your body composition check out this article
Do Artificial Sweeteners Inhibit Fat Loss by Mark Diaz the owner of Physiqology.

Body Composition Routine
2 x Tabata wallball, db snatch R hand, db snatch L hand, db high pull

Record Everything

One of the best things you can do to change your physique is keep a workout and food journal. In your journal you should record all of the aspects of your workout such as which exercises you did, how much weight you used, the tempo of the lift, how much rest you took, how long the workout took, and how the workout felt for you. When you record your workouts it is easy to tell if you are making progress. You should also record your food, sleep, and any supplements or medications you take in your journal. Remember, when you are writing in your journal that more details are better because when you look back a couple of weeks or months you won't remember that day. Many people are surprised when they go back through their food journals and realize that they are not eating as well as they thought they were. Recording your food, sleep, and supplements is also valuable because when your results do come you can look back and see exactly what created the results. It is hard to tell if you are making progress if you don't know where you started and a journal is a great way to track your progress.

Workout of the Day
40 sec on/ 20 sec off
air squat
push press
sumo high pull
pullups
rowing machine
3 rounds
rest 1 min between rounds

Your Teeth

The health of your teeth is a very good indicator of heart disease. To most people this means that they should take good care of their teeth by brushing and flossing on a consistent basis. This is important but it is more important to look at the underlying cause of what is ruining your teeth. Sugar rots your teeth. Just this evidence should be enough to convince most people that sugar is not good for us. If you eat something and your teeth fall out then it is probably not good for you. Many people also have dental problems from eating too many grains because they contain acids that are hard on the teeth. Hyperinsulinemia(too much sugar) results in the deadly quartet of diabetes, upper body obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure. So of course there is going to be a relationship between your teeth rotting and heart disease. For some reason many people have failed to make this connection.

Workout of the Day
30 sec on/ 30 sec off
box jump
row
slamball
waiters walk
5 rounds

Exercise Prescriptions

Just like food exercise is also a prescription. The proper forms of exercise can create adaptations in the body that will provide better health and body composition. For example, if someone has pain in their lower back, the proper prescription of exercises will help to reduce the pain in their back. Another example, is for people with hormonal imbalances. If someone has a cortisol imbalance that causes them to store weight in their abdominal region then the worst thing they can do is over train and do excess cardiovascular work. These forms of exercise will only make the situation worse. If the proper forms of exercise are prescribed then the hormones will re balance themselves, assuming that the diet is in line. Just remember that the food we put in our mouths and the exercise that we perform are drugs. They have very powerful effects on our health and body composition.

Workout of the Day
Body composition routine
db complexes
Make sure to bring your food journals today.

Food is a Drug

Food is a drug. The food that we eat has a very powerful effect on the way we look and feel. When the right types and amounts of foods are prescribed the results can be dramatic. When the wrong foods are eaten the results can also be dramatic. If you don't believe that food is a drug then try this little experiment. Completely cut all forms of sugar out of your diet(since sugar is just as addictive as cocaine or heroin) for two weeks. When the two weeks is over have a day in which you eat as much sugar as you want and then note the way you feel. When most people try this they will feel horrible when they reintroduce sugar into their diet. They will really notice the effect that sugar has on them.

Workout of the Day
5 min wallball
5 min pushups
5 min ring rows
5 min box jumps
Food journals are now going to be required so make sure that you bring it to your training session.

A New Body

Can we really reverse the disease process? There is an interesting piece of information from Paul Bragg. Paul Bragg was Jack Lalanne's mentor on nutrition. On Paul's website he states that every three months we get an entirely new bloodstream, every 11 months every cell in your body has renewed itself, and every three years we get an entirely new bone structure. So in essence we can have an entirely new body in 3 years. Often times we have people come into our facility who have conditions such as high blood pressure, high blood sugars, and cholesterol problems. Since these are problems are in the blood stream these conditions are often treatable with 3 months of proper diet and exercise. Many people are faced with the option of taking drugs for the rest of their lives when the easier safer option is to just eat better for three months. When it comes to osteoporosis and bone density it takes a little longer but the right lifestyle for a couple of years of can restore your bone health. If you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia look back at the last three years of your life and consider how your diet and exercise routine over that time has influenced your bones. It is amazing to think that you can have a completely new body in such a short amount of time. The trick is to get started today and be consistent.

Workout of the Day
Body composition routine
Tabata moutain climbers/thruster
2 rounds with 1 min rest

Intensity

The one thing that most people lack in their workouts is intensity. Intensity is what produces results. Short intense workouts drive hormones and hormones are the key to changing your body. If you look at the typical workout that you see most people perform in a commercial gym you will see the use of light weights and slow tempo aerobics. These activities are not going to provide you with results. There are several ways to increase the intensity of your workouts. You can manipulate the exercises, the amount of weight, the number of repetitions, the tempo of the lift, the number of sets, and the rest period. All of these variables influence the results that are created from the workout. The goal of every workout should be to perform a new best. Every time you reach a new best you are adding intensity to your workouts.

Workout of the Day
5 rep db swing
10 pushups
15 squats
20 min max rounds

How Important is Nutrition

I was reading the IF Life blog yesterday and I came across something interesting. He stated that your most important piece of exercise equipment is your fork. The majority of the results that you get in terms of changes in body composition come from your nutrition. The greatest workout will not produce much results if you undo it with your eating . I often say that eating is 90% of your results and I really believe this. If you really want to get results you have got to eat well, and if you want to eat well one of your main goals should be to educate yourself in the area of nutrition.
They say if you give a man a fish he eats for a day but if you teach him to fish he can eat for a lifetime. Educate yourself by reading and asking questions so that you know not only what to eat but why you are eating it. I am not a big fan of giving people diet plans because they often have no idea why they are eating these foods. I prefer to teach people the basic principles of good nutrition and let them develop their own meal plans based on these principles. Once you understand the basic principles of good nutrition it is easy to put together meals.

Workout of the Day
40 sec work/1 min rest
Burpee
Moutain climber
Jump rope
Row
4 rounds

Workouts While Traveling

Just because you are traveling doesn't mean you can't get a good workout. Most people run into the same problem as they do with the eating when they are traveling, they get out of their routine. There are plenty of options for workouts when you travel. The best option is to find a local gym and go there. This is what I did on our trip this last weekend. There was a gym about a half mile from our hotel. For $10 I was able to get a good workout with all of the equipment I needed. If you cannot find a gym or do not want to pay for the day pass there are still plenty of things that you can do. Pushups, squats, lunges, sprints, burpees, and mountain climbers can all be done anywhere without any equipment. Another option if you are traveling by car is to bring some dumbbells with you. There are plenty of things you can do with a set of dumbbells and your own body weight. For those of you going to the beach this summer, try doing a workout in the sand. Burpees and sprints in the sand will give you a great workout.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine
10 min db snatch

What to Eat on the Road

When you are traveling it can be very hard to continue eating well. For many people the fact that they are getting out of their routine throws them off. This last weekend Tricia and I went Delaware to attend a wedding. When we arrived at our hotel the first thing we did was go to a grocery store and pick up a few things. If your hotel room has a fridge then it is not too hard to stock up on healthy foods. Since we were not able to cook while in the hotel we picked up things that didn't require any preparation. So what did we buy? Precooked chicken, celery, blueberries, and almonds. For about $20 were we able to have healthy foods on hand. This not only saves money since eating out is expensive but is also a much healthier alternative to eating in restaurants all day.

Workout of the Day
5 min walking lunge
5 min power clean
5 min pushpress
5 min pullups
Rest 3 min between exercises

Friday June 6, 2008

No Classes Today

Workout of the Day
15 pushups
30 squats
Perform as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.

Record your number of rounds on the blog.
Make sure to use full range of motion on all pushups and squats

Make Up Your Mind

No Class tonight at 6pm
No classes on Friday
I will post the workout for tomorrow. You will be able to do the workout anywhere. Please post your results on the blog


Last night I was watching So You Think You Can Dance. I like to watch how strong and athletic a lot of the dancers are. There was a girl last night that tried out for the show who had been cut the year before. After she was cut she decided to get into shape. The next day when she got home from the auditions she began to start her weight loss program. In the last year she has lost 50 pounds. When she was asked about her weight loss I really liked what she had to say.
She said that she was not happy with who she was and was ready to change her life. She made a decision to get healthier and started the next day. There are two common problems that I run into as a trainer. The first problem is that many people are not in a place mentally where they are ready to change their habits and sacrifice for a long term goal and the second problem ( which is probably the most prevalent) is procrastination. I get people all the time that tell me about how they are going to start working out or eat better next week or next month and I know it is never going to happen. The girl on the show took action. I saw a good quote the other day that stated "Success likes speed." In other words take action towards your goals right away. Do not wait for tomorrow to eat better or to start working out. This girl knew that she wanted to change and made it happen the very next day. Change starts in your mind but all of the intentions in the world will never accomplish anything if you don't take action.


Workout of the Day
1 min wallball, db swing, box jump, pushpress, pullups
Transition from one exercise to the next without resting
3 rounds rest 1 min between rounds

Rich working on his overhead squats

There will be no group class on Thursday night at 6pm. There will also be no group classes this Friday. I will post workouts for the day that can be done anywhere. If you would like you can post your results on the blog.

What determines how much rest you should take in between sets. If your goal is to lose body fat then the best protocol is to take 1 min or less of rest between sets. Weight lifting performed with short rest causes a large amount of growth hormone to be released due to the high amounts of lactic acid that are released. When fat loss is your goal you should make an effort to trigger a release of growth hormone because it is the best way to help you get leaner.

Workout of the Day

45 sec work/1 min rest

Wallball

farmers walk

mountain climber

jumprope

5 rounds

Activity

How important is it to be active? In some studies that I have seen activity levels explain the majority of weight gain. There is a concept today called G-Flux that has been made poplular by John Berardi. Berardi is one of the top names in nutrition these days. The basic principle of G-Flux is that it is healthier to function at a higher activity level. When your activity level is high it is possible to create a caloric deficit without having to restrict calories. For example, it is better to burn 2500 calories a day and eat 2200 than it is to burn 2000 calories and eat 1700. Both situations produce a caloric deficit of 300 calories but the higher caloric total will probably produce results faster. By enabling yourself to eat more calories you will give your body more nutrition or building blocks to work with, assuming that you are eating the right kinds of foods. There are many people that say that we are made to function at very high activity levels and that the appetite regulates itself when your activity levels are higher. There are also some other benefits that I see from having a high activity level. The biggest benefit that I see is a faster turnover of cells in your body. All of our cells turnover or get replaced. Think of the dead skin that falls of in order for new skin to come in. The faster that these cells turnover means the faster that you are going to get over illnesses and injuries. A faster turnover also changes your body faster if you are eating right and exercising because it creates healthier cells at a faster rate.

Workout of the Day
Body composition routine
4 sets of 2 min burpee
1 min rest between sets

Syndrome X

The IDD crew working on their overhead squats


A couple of years ago I actually spent some time selling insurance. When you sell insurance you have to quickly learn which medical conditions cause people to be uninsurable. If someone had previously had cancer they could often get insurance if enough time had passed. If a person had diabetes or heart disease or many other conditions they could often get insurance at a higher rate. However, there was one combination that automatically made people uninsurable and that was the combination of diabetes and heart disease. As soon as someone told me that they had this deadly combination I knew that there was nothing that I could do for them. Diabetes and heart disease are part of what is referred to as the Deadly Quartet (upper body obesity, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, and diabetes). This condition is also called Syndrome X or Metabolic Syndrome. Syndrome X is the result of chronic levels of elevated insulin. So why would the insurance companies not take a chance on insuring people with this condition. Because they know that the odds of them making money off of these people are not good. This condition is related mostly to diet and specifically insulin control. Syndrome X is prevalent in today's society because the typical Western diet produced very high levels of insulin which cause this terrible condition. If you want to avoid this condition you must seriously consider what you are putting into your mouth.

Workout of the Day
Max rep thruster
Max rep pullups
5 rounds
Transition from the thrusters to the pullups without resting
rest 3 min between rounds