Month: November 2010

Back from DC, Rested & Ready

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I had a great time in the DC/NoVA area this past week.  (Though the traffic there was bad enough to cause a desperate sort of insanity that simply doesn’t exist here–unless you’re caught up coming back from the slopes I suppose.)  I laid off the weights but got in a couple of runs including an excellent track workout with a former client.  We went 2×800, 3×200, and 2×100.  Running at sea level was nice and wearing the Vibrams on a track was incredible.  Can’t wait for further track workouts in those things.

New Eating Pattern

I also finished Marty Gallagher’s Purposeful Primitive and it’s given me some good ideas to play with.  I’m going to take some ideas from the Warrior Diet and change up my eating just a bit.  I’ll focus my eating on one large main meal in the evening, instead of consuming several small equal-sized meals throughout the day.  I may have some fruit in the morning, a salad with protein for lunch, then post-workout I’ll consume a protein/carb drink, and for dinner, it’ll be a massive bunch of clean food: raw vegetables, more fruit, protein and plenty of healthy fats.  I want to get stronger and get lean, so I don’t plan on cutting calories, but I’ll consume them in a different pattern.  This is similar to changing up a workout.  This method of eating is actually ideally suited to holiday feasting.   I won’t go into all the hows and whys of the Warrior Diet but I’ll just say it’s an interesting concept and I’m curious to see what happens.  I’m not following the Warrior Diet to the T but I’m adapting the general ideas.

New Workout

I’m on a quest to deadlift 500 lbs. at some point in the next few months.  I also want to be fully prepared to ski and I want to keep some portion of a running base in place for more spring running.  I’m doing a 4-week block.  I’ll build in intensity for three weeks then back off the fourth week.  I’ll lift three days and probably run twice.  Sprint work on the track will be my main running workout.  One day of skiing may replace a run day or lifting.  It should look something like this:

  • Day 1: 3 working sets of 3-6 reps; add weight each week
    • barbell clean & jerkbarbell high pulls
    • barbell deadlift or kettlebell swings
    • Romanian deadlift
    • one-arm dumbbell row
  • Day 2: mid-distance run or rest
  • Day 3: Sprints in the morning then lift later in the day
    • Sprints: I’ll start with 1x800m, 2x400m, 2x200m, 4x100m
    • Lifting: 4 working sets of 3-6 reps; add weight once I complete 4×6 sets; execute lifts in different order each workout
      • bench press
      • back squat
      • pull-ups
      • hanging knee ups
  • Day 4: off
  • Day 5: 5-8 working sets or 1-3 reps
    • Deadlift HEAVY: I’ll work up to heavy single sets using 90% or more of my max
    • Hanging knee ups

I may need to play around with the sprint day.  I want to be fresh and soreness free for sprints.  I won’t run them all out.  I’ll treat the sprints like my lifts in that I won’t max out every workout but I’ll still work at a high intensity.

Other Info

Post-workout nutrition will be vital.  I’ll drink a big protein drink made with organic whole milk and I’ll probably eat an orange or banana.  We’ll see what happens.  I’m also using creatine daily.  Z-Health joint mobility and nerve glides are indispensable daily tools for feeling and moving my best.  My old running injuries are 99% gone.  Finally, I’ve been making use of my health club’s hot tub after workouts and I’m loving it!

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Recovery Strategies, Heat Acclimation Training for Cyclists, Healthy Lifestyle vs. Genetics

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We’ve got three useful articles to point out.  One deals with recovery strategies for runners, specifically why damage is a good thing.  (I imagine this information will apply to other types of athletes–cyclists, swimmers, weightlifters/bodybuilders for instance).  Another article discusses research into how training in the heat can increase cycling performance in both hot and cool conditions.  Finally, research suggests a healthy lifestyle can affect cardiovascular health more than genetics.

When Damage Is A Good Thing

Steve Magness is a Washington, D.C. area runner and exercise scientist who writes a blog called the Science of Running.  Recently he’s written a piece for Running Times called When Damage is a Good Thing.  Magness does a good job of explaining the training adaptation cycle:

“We improve from training by putting our body through stress that it normally does not encounter. When the body encounters these stressors, whether it is a decrease in oxygen, increase in lactate or low glycogen stores, it responds by increasing our ability to deal with the stressors, thereby improving our running performance. The stress, recover and adapt cycle is the foundation of training.”

Most important to the article though is the discussion of how recovery methods such as anti-inflammatories, ice baths, and antioxidants may impede the adaptations we’re looking for.  Magness states:

“All of this scientific theory and research sounds good, but what does it mean practically?  It doesn’t mean that antioxidants, ice baths, Advil or taking a Gatorade while running is necessarily bad. It means using those items at the wrong time or after the wrong workout could negate some of those hard-earned training adaptations. The key is to understand when it’s beneficial to use those methods and when to avoid them.”

Read the whole article to understand the strategy Magness recommends.  It’s certainly an issue worth pondering if you’re a serious athlete–endurance athlete or otherwise.

Heat Conditioning for Cyclists

Science Daily gives us an article titled Exercising in the Heat May Improve Athletic Performance in Cool and Hot Conditions.  Researchers at the University of Oregon studied two groups of cyclists: one group underwent heat acclimation while training and the other group worked out in a cool environment.  What did the researchers learn?

The study found performance increases of approximately 7 percent after 10 heat acclimation exposures. “In terms of competitive cycling, 7 percent is a really big increase and could mean that cyclists could use this approach to improve their performance in cooler weather conditions,” said researcher Santiago Lorenzo.

Healthy Lifestyle Wins Out Over Genetics

The final article,  Healthy Lifestyle Has Bigger Impact on Cardiovascular Health Than Genetics, also comes from Science Daily.  There are two big points from this article which discusses two studies.

  • To stay healthy in older age,  five key healthy behaviors should be adopted while young.  Those behaviors are: not smoking, low or no alcohol intake, weight control, physical activity and a healthy diet.
  • One of the studies states, “only a small proportion of cardiovascular health is passed from parent to child; instead, it appears that the majority of cardiovascular health is due to lifestyle and healthy behaviors.”  Thus we see that poor genetics is sort of a straw man when it comes to determining our health.  It’s our own behavior that’s far more important.
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News: Food Addiction, Exercise and Colds, Rocker Shoes

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Here are a few of the points on the scale that are used to determine if you have a food addiction. Does any of this sound familiar? If it does, you may be an “industrial food addict.”

Food Addiction

We’ve got several interesting fitness-related things in the news recently.  First, from the Huffington Post comes Food Addiction: Could it Explain Why 79 Percent of Americans Are Obese?  Here the food industry and its products are compared to the tobacco industry and their products.  Turns out our junk food is skillfully crafted and manipulated by the food industry to make it highly palatable possibly to the point of being addictive.  Key to the discussion is the following information from the article:

Researchers from Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity validated a “food addiction” scale.(i) Here are a few of the points on the scale that are used to determine if you have a food addiction. Does any of this sound familiar? If it does, you may be an “industrial food addict.”

I find that when I start eating certain foods, I end up eating much more than I had planned. Not eating certain types of food or cutting down on certain types of food is something I worry about.

  1. I spend a lot of time feeling sluggish or lethargic from overeating.
  2. There have been times when I consumed certain foods so often or in such large quantities that I spent time dealing with negative feelings from overeating instead of working, spending time with my family or friends, or engaging in other important activities or recreational activities that I enjoy.
  3. I kept consuming the same types of food or the same amount of food even though I was having emotional and/or physical problems.
  4. Over time, I have found that I need to eat more and more to get the feeling I want, such as reduced negative emotions or increased pleasure.
  5. I have had withdrawal symptoms when I cut down or stopped eating certain foods, including physical symptoms, agitation, or anxiety. (Please do not include withdrawal symptoms caused by cutting down on caffeinated beverages such as soda pop, coffee, tea, energy drinks, etc.)
  6. My behavior with respect to food and eating causes significant distress.
  7. I experience significant problems in my ability to function effectively (daily routine, job/school, social activities, family activities, health difficulties) because of food and eating.

Based on these criteria and others, many of us, including most obese children, are “addicted” to industrial food.

Here are some of the scientific findings confirming that food can, indeed, be addictive(ii):

  1. Sugar stimulates the brain’s reward centers through the neurotransmitter dopamine, exactly like other addictive drugs.
    Brain imagining (PET scans) shows that high-sugar and high-fat foods work just like heroin, opium, or morphine in the brain.(iii)    Brain imaging (PET scans) shows that obese people and drug addicts have lower numbers of dopamine receptors, making them more likely to crave things that boost dopamine.
  2. Foods high in fat and sweets stimulate the release of the body’s own opioids (chemicals like morphine) in the brain.
  3. Drugs we use to block the brain’s receptors for heroin and morphine (naltrexone) also reduce the consumption and preference for sweet, high-fat foods in both normal weight and obese binge eaters.
  4. People (and rats) develop a tolerance to sugar — they need more and more of the substance to satisfy themselves — just like they do for drugs of abuse like alcohol or heroin.
  5. Obese individuals continue to eat large amounts of unhealthy foods despite severe social and personal negative consequences, just like addicts or alcoholics.
  6. Animals and humans experience “withdrawal” when suddenly cut off from sugar, just like addicts detoxifying from drugs.
  7. Just like drugs, after an initial period of “enjoyment” of the food, the user no longer consumes them to get high but to feel normal.

Exercise & the Common Cold

“The most powerful weapon someone has during cold season “is to go out on a near-daily basis, and put in at least a 30-minute brisk walk.”
– Dr. David Nieman, director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Appalachian State University in North Carolina,

It’s always nice to see research that backs up something that we think is true.  In this case, researchers at Appalachian St. University have evidence that exercise is possibly the best way to avoid colds.  Read more in Regular Workouts Ward Off the Common Cold from MSNBC.  The results of this study are in line with other studies discussed in the article.

There are all sorts of products out there such as Airborne, echinacea and zinc losenges that claim to shorten or prevent colds.  The evidence on that stuff is spotty.  The evidence on exercise and its preventative powers is far more solid.  Exercise!

Rocker Shoes

An article from MSNBC, Do those funky shoes really promote fitness? discusses rocker or toning shoes, the increasingly popular shoes with a curved bottom.  The claim by these shoe manufactures (Sketchers, Reebok, MBT) is that wearers will burn more calories when they walk around in these things.

A study by the American Council on Exercise suggests that these shoes do nothing of the sort.  (Hard to believe?  A magic shoe actually doesn’t lead to weight loss??)  Participants walked all of five minutes on a treadmill while researchers monitored their heart rate, oxygen consumption and muscle usage (abdominals, butt, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves).  (I don’t know that five minutes is an adequate amount of time in these things.  Seems like participants should be monitored over the course of days or weeks).  The article goes on to discuss the possible injurious effects of wearing these weird shoes as well as a a lawsuit brought by a woman who didn’t lose any weight wearing them. On the topic of the biomechanics and rocker shoes, this article by Denver-area chiropractor and gait specialist Dr. Ivo Waerlop, goes into deep detail as to why these shoes are a bad idea.

I see these shoes as the latest fitness fad pushed on people who are hoping and praying for a fitness magic bullet.  (I love the fact that people are looking at their shoes and thinking about their calories!  How about looking at your food???)  This type of thing comes up frequently and the results of such stuff rarely lives up to the hype.  I’ll be interested to see what happens to medium- and long-term wearers of these shoes.  I think they’ll a) be disappointed in the weight they don’t lose and, b) possibly beset by chronic pain.  If nothing else, they’ll be embarrassed that they ever put on those big clunky Frankenstein clodhoppers.

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Thoughts on Getting Stronger

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Get Strong!

I’m reading Marty Gallagher’s Purposeful Primitive right now and it’s fascinating.  If you’re a fitness professional or someone who’s dedicated to exercise, then I suggest you check it out.  It’s all real-life stories of Marty’s time in the trenches of big-time weightlifting.  He profiles various elite strong men such as Paul Anderson and Ed Coan, bodybuilders such as Bill Pearl and Dorian Yates, and other freakishly strong individuals.  Most interesting to me are their methods to getting stronger–and it’s all fairly simple: Lift Heavy & Use Perfect Technique. Barbells and dumbbells are the tools for the job. Lifting more is the task, not exhausting the muscle with 10-15 reps.


Go pick up something heavy!

Similar to Pavel Tsatsouline’s advice, lifting heavy for a very few reps–five and under–is the ideal way to get genuinely strong.  There should be one very high quality “top set.”  That is, there should be a few warm-up sets performed on the way to one all-out maximal effort set.  Stop a rep or two before failure.  The technique must be perfect.  Lifting heavy can be dangerous.  Going to out-and-out exhaustion is a good way to get injured.

This concept is in contrast to many of the popular gym classes in which participants lift very light weights for an endless number of reps.  This won’t make anyone stronger.  It may not necessarily be bad but it’s probably not the best use of your time if your goal is a) getting stronger or b) looking stronger.  Now, this strategy can turn bad if you lift to the point of utter fatigue and your technique fails.  From what I’ve seen of some of the “sculpting” classes and such, technique is not a prime concern of many instructors.  “A few more reps!” does seem to be the primary concern though.  But guess what, “a few more reps” won’t work any miracles for your physique, but if you’ve hit the failure point then those extra reps may well push you to the point of pain and possible injury.  That may mean no exercise for you for a while.

Very few exercises are needed to create more strength.  Squats, bench press, deadlift, overhead pressing, and various rows are essential.  Complicated pulley machines are useless except to sell gym memberships.  Plastic inflatable objects like BOSUs and Dyna Disks are junk that have more in common with kids pool toys than strength and muscle building implements.

Typical Gym Mindset

Whether we admit it or not, the main reason we’re in the gym is to look good–to look strong.  Physique building developed from the old-fashioned strongmen–those guys with the funny bathing suits, handlebar mustaches, and who could hoist hundreds of pounds overhead with one hand.  These guys were strong number one.  The impressive physiques were a nice byproduct of their ability to perform.  But most gym goers aren’t actually interested in being strong.  The cart has become far more important than the horse it seems.

It’s quite funny to observe our modern fitness center environment.  I often see people working really hard doing easy exercises!  Popular ineffective waste-of-time exercises include partial range pec deck flyes, hunched over triceps extensions, and the always famous 50 reps of 1/4 inch wiggle cruncheson an odd, overly technical crunch machine.

These complex machines actually make exercise easier.  Balance and precise control is eliminated from the process.  Most of these popular machine exercises are done while seated or lying down.  Sounds comfy right?  But why come to the gym for easy exercise?? These machines allow for half-hearted effort disguised as hard work.  Further, machine exercises tend to promote poor posture: forward head, hunched shoulders, tight hip flexors.  This is the opposite of tall and strong.  This is no way to achieve a strong physique!

Getting Strong is Fun.

My reading has caused me to rethink not only how I train myself but also how I train my clients.  For a while now I’ve scaled back on the number of exercises I’m using and I’m focusing on training in that strength zone of 3-5 reps–maybe up to 8 reps–and avoiding failure at the end.  Turns out lifting heavy objects does some cool stuff.  First, it’s quite safe.  Using perfect technique and working only to exertion but not exhaustion is the ideal way to avoid pain.  Ending the workout just when fatigue begins to set in means we avoid aggravating the nervous system.  Plus, knowing that you could’ve done just a few more reps means you’ll be raring to go at the next workout.

Further, picking up heavy objects does good things for our brain.  Again, whether we really want to admit it out loud, some part of what drives us into the gym is self-image and/or self-esteem.  We want to like ourselves more.  Be it through physique change or performance goals, we exercise to make ourselves proud.  So lifting heavy is a great way to feel a sense of accomplishment.  As the weeks go by and the poundage goes up, you can’t help but get excited!  And somewhere along the line you might accidentally create a better looking you.  What more can you ask for?

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