Kids and Choleterol

In the newspaper the other day there was an article about giving 8 year old kids cholesterol medicine. Western medicine is getting out of control. We are prescribing way too many drugs that throw off the bodies delicate balance. Cholesterol medicines are not good for us. When we take cholesterol medicine(statins) we are not allowing our bodies to regulate cholesterol on its own. Once you lose this ability it is very hard to get it back. So for kids who begin taking statins at the age of 8 they are going to be stuck on them for the rest of their lives. There is a much easier answer to this whole problem. Get Your Kids to Eat Better and Be Active. Remember that we get an entirely new bloodstream every three months. So rather than forcing a child to take cholesterol medicine for the rest of their lives doctors should be telling kids to make some lifestyle changes that will get them healthier. The trouble is that most of the physicians in this country don't understand what those lifestyle changes are and what really causes cholesterol problems(high blood sugars). This situation is very easily treated with the proper diet and exercise but most people would rather just take a pill.

Workout of the Day
30 sec work/ 1 min rest
mountain climbers
box jumps
rowing machine
waiters walk
jump rope
4 rounds

Workout of the Day
5 min set lunges, power clean, pushpress, pullups
3 min between exercises

Max Effort

The workout today will still be in the old location.

In our workouts we are going to start to utilize many more max effort days. These are days when the sole focus is on lifting heavy weights. When you lift heavy weights you will tap into the high threshold motor units. By teaching your body how to tap into these units you will become stronger. We have several motor units in our body that can be used to contract muscles. The body will use the minimum number of motor units necessary to move a weight. Therefore the the more resistance you can use the greater number of motor units utilized. High threshold motor units are only used to generate large amounts of force because they use up a lot of energy. So one benefit for those looking to get leaner is that these high threshold motor units consume more energy to produce force. Another benefit of this for people who are trying to get leaner is that you will teach your body to retain muscle as you are losing fat. This is very important because the amount of muscle that you have is one of the biggest factors in your metabolism.

Workout of the Day
7 x 3 Backsquat

Happy 4th

Happy 4th of July!

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

Trans Fat

I came across an interesting fact yesterday. It turns out that the consumption of trans fat increases your risk of diabetes. We have talked about what trans fat, which is found in many processed foods, does to your cells. Trans fats are fats that have been altered to prolong the shelf life of a food. It has been said that fats have no effect on blood sugars, insulin, and diabetes but trans fat is different. Trans fat degrades the health of our cell membranes and these membranes hold the receptors for insulin. When the health of the cell membrane is compromised it reduces the effectiveness of the the insulin receptors. This is turn leads to a body that does not respond well to insulin ( insulin resistance). Insulin resistance leads to diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, cholesterol problems, vision problems, nerve damage, acne, and accelerated aging. Insulin is said to be the aging hormone so one sure fire way to age yourself is by eating a diet of processed foods that contain a combination of sugars and trans fats. The sugars will elevate your insulin levels and the trans fats will cause your body to respond very poorly to insulin. This is a sure path towards insulin resistance and health problems.

Workout of the Day
10 db front squats
5 db pushpress
5 pullups
20 min max rounds

Cholesterol and Sugar

I often times talk about the affects of sugar on the body. Sugar does many things that cause disease processes and age us. One affect that sugar has that people don't realize is elevating your LDL cholesterol. The conventional knowledge and our doctors tell us that if we want to lower our cholesterol then we need to cut the fat and cholesterol out of our diet. This however is not the right approach when trying to correct your cholesterol. Sugar and high insulin levels are actually the main cause of cholesterol problems. Today's society is too quick to give pills when there is a problem. The problem with cholesterol medicines is that once you take them for a while you are stuck on them for the rest of your life because you shut down your bodies natural ability to make cholesterol on its own. Cholesterol is necessary for life and it is a shame that our society is so misinformed about how to bring cholesterol levels back in line when it is so simple to do through diet.

Workout of the Day
45 sec work/ 45 sec rest 4 rounds
burpee
farmers walk
rowing machine
slamball
ring row

Unilateral Training

Unilateral training is training only one side of the body at a time. An example of a unilateral exercise would be a lunge. Unilateral exercises do not allow you to use as much weight as bilateral exercises but they do serve a purpose. Unilateral exercises such as lunges and one arm shoulder presses are great for developing a balanced body. Many people come to our facility with imbalances such as one leg or arm that is stronger than the other. If only bilateral exercises are used then these imbalances can often be made worse. By utilizing exercises such as lunges we are able to create legs that are balanced and a balanced body is pain free.

Workout of the Day
10 step walking lunge + 5 pushpress
10 min max rounds
Rest 5 min
5 deadlifts + 5 pullups
10 min max rounds