How is this for some weight bearing exercises for osteoporosis week...
These people weigh 69kg (151.8 pounds) and they are lifting over 300 pounds over their head! Take note of their flexibility and of course their power and speed. It is the movement that is important for the general public not the weight. I teach my clients/patients to perform scaled versions of these movement because of their therapeutic benefits. The benefits include strength, power, speed, flexibility, coordination, accuracy, and balance. Do these lifts, gain these elements of fitness.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
What Are Tabata Sprints? | Mark's Daily Apple
What Are Tabata Sprints? | Mark's Daily Apple
As you probably already know, we’re big on sprinting around here for a number of reasons. First of all, sprints most closely emulate the type of activity Grok would have performed. You know – slowly stalking and hunting an animal for hours at a time (the constant, steady movement I prescribe) only to erupt with an intense burst of speed for the final kill (the sprint). Then he’d have to lug the thing back to camp (deadlifts, squats, and other high-intensity weight bearing training). Sprints are great because they are exactly the type of movement that man has been making for hundreds of thousands of years. Why mess with a good thing? Second, modern science has confirmed that Grok’s mode of exercise is actually the most efficient and effective. The chronic cardio crowd still has plenty of sway (as evidenced by the post-New-Year’s-eve legions of overweight joggers shambling down the streets with pained looks on their faces), but it’s getting difficult to ignore facts. We now know that...
Continue reading here.
As you probably already know, we’re big on sprinting around here for a number of reasons. First of all, sprints most closely emulate the type of activity Grok would have performed. You know – slowly stalking and hunting an animal for hours at a time (the constant, steady movement I prescribe) only to erupt with an intense burst of speed for the final kill (the sprint). Then he’d have to lug the thing back to camp (deadlifts, squats, and other high-intensity weight bearing training). Sprints are great because they are exactly the type of movement that man has been making for hundreds of thousands of years. Why mess with a good thing? Second, modern science has confirmed that Grok’s mode of exercise is actually the most efficient and effective. The chronic cardio crowd still has plenty of sway (as evidenced by the post-New-Year’s-eve legions of overweight joggers shambling down the streets with pained looks on their faces), but it’s getting difficult to ignore facts. We now know that...
Continue reading here.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Social Media Explosion!
Hello to all of my fellow blog followers.
We are jumping on the Google Places, Yelp, Twitter, and Facebook bandwagon. Yes, many different forms of social media in order to get connected, or stay connected to people in our network. Of course this is to help increase our business as well.
Google Places (Review us!)
Yelp - Health First Wellness Center (Review us!)
Twitter -Health1stSchaumburg (Follow us!)
Facebook-Health First Wellness Center (Like us!)
We are jumping on the Google Places, Yelp, Twitter, and Facebook bandwagon. Yes, many different forms of social media in order to get connected, or stay connected to people in our network. Of course this is to help increase our business as well.
Google Places (Review us!)
Yelp - Health First Wellness Center (Review us!)
Twitter -Health1stSchaumburg (Follow us!)
Facebook-Health First Wellness Center (Like us!)
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Forgotten Variable in the Work-Life Balance Equation: You
Are you suffering from work-life balance issues? Has your job overtaken your life? Do you find yourself working evenings, perhaps even weekends, to keep your head above the water at work? Are you struggling to find quality time with your family and friends?
If so, the challenge may not be the job or balance as much as knowing what quality really means to you: what matters, why it matters, and what your role is in producing what you truly seek.
As someone who consults regularly to organizations large and small, I can readily see the challenges you may be facing as you try to keep the job going while still maintaining a healthy personal or family life. However, the work-life balance question is one that has at least two faces to it, one obvious, the other not so obvious. Continue reading here.
If so, the challenge may not be the job or balance as much as knowing what quality really means to you: what matters, why it matters, and what your role is in producing what you truly seek.
As someone who consults regularly to organizations large and small, I can readily see the challenges you may be facing as you try to keep the job going while still maintaining a healthy personal or family life. However, the work-life balance question is one that has at least two faces to it, one obvious, the other not so obvious. Continue reading here.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Should You Eat like a Caveman?
Should You Eat like a Caveman?
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2044343,00.html#ixzz1FMXen169
Most New Year's resolutions have an awfully short shelf life. By the end of January, folks who swore they would lose weight and shape up may already be back on the Krispy Kremes. But that's not entirely our fault, claims Arthur De Vany, a former economics professor at the University of California, Irvine. In his new book, The New Evolution Diet, De Vany argues if we really want to get fit, we should follow the lead of our ancient ancestors, Paleolithic humans who lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers some 40,000 years ago.
For more than 25 years, De Vany has been an advocate of what he calls "evolutionary fitness": a regimen of low-carb eating and interval- or cross-training workouts (with periodic fasting) aimed at controlling insulin. But he has also become the grandfather of the growing Paleo movement, a health philosophy built around the belief that modern life — dating from the advent of agriculture 10,000 years ago — is simply alien to our genes.......
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2044343,00.html#ixzz1FMXuqdDX
The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, he said:
“Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;
the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;
he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
“Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;
the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;
he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Don't Just Sit There! --How bathroom posture affects your health.
Don't Just Sit There!
How bathroom posture affects your health.
By Daniel Lametti
Posted Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010, at 10:17 AM ET
Shortly before Christmas in 1978, the leader of the free world came down with a severe case of hemor! rhoids. The pain was so bad that President Carter had to take a day of f from work. A few weeks later, Time Magazine asked a proctologist named Michael Freilich to explain the president's ailment. "We were not meant to sit on toilets," he said, "we were meant to squat in the field." He's probably right.
Michael Freilich isn't the first doctor to suggest that sitting on toilets—a recent phenomenon, stemming from the invention of the flush toilet in 1591—might be unhealthy. By the 1960s and '70s, the idea was relatively commonplace. Architect Alexander Kira argued in his 1966 book The Bathroom that human physiology is better suited to the squat. According to Bockus's Gastroenterology, a standard medical text from 1964, "the ideal posture for defecation is the squatting position, with the thighs fixed upon the abdomen."
Modern-day squat evangelists make money off the claim that a "more natural" posture wards off all sorts of health problems, from Crohn's disease to colon cancer. Inventor Jonathan Isbit runs a modest online business selling Nature's Platform—a homemade, $150 device that fits over toilets to make them more lik! e holes in the ground.* (He also posted the Bockus quote above to the Wikipedia entry on defecation.) Other entrepreneurs peddle similar products, like the In-Lieu, the Lillipad, the Evaco toilet converter, and, for those who don't like explaining their squat platform to house guests, a $688 Singaporean toilet that lets users switch among different squatting and sitting postures, from the "East Asian squat" to the "aft sit."* (Confused? Watch the video.)
That may sound like a bunch of Internet quackery, but there's now some e! mpirical evidence for the claim that defecation posture affects your body. The more extreme assertions about squatting—that it prevents cancer, for example—remain untested. But when it comes to hemorrhoids—a painful swelling of the veins in the anal canal that affects half of all Americans—new research suggests that you may want to get your butt off the toilet.
Before we dive into the data, let's review the mechanics of going to the bathroom. People can control their defecation, to some extent, by contracting or releasing the anal sphincter. But that muscle can't maintain continence on its own. The body also relies on a bend between the rectum—where feces builds up—and the anus—where feces comes out. When we're standing up, the extent of this bend, called the anorectal angle, is about 90 degrees, which puts upward pressure on the rectum and keeps feces inside. In a squatti! ng posture, the bend straightens out, like a kink ringed out of a gard en hose, and defecation becomes easier.
Proponents of squatting argue that conventional toilets produce an anorectal angle that's ill-suited for defecation. By squatting, they say, we can achieve "complete evacuation" of the colon, ridding our bowels of disease-causing toxins. But there's no reason to think that getting into a squat will make defecation more complete, nor that most people are sickened by their colons. If squatting does provide a health benefit, just as Michael Freilich stated in Time, it comes in the form of hemorrhoid prevention.
Hemorrhoids may be brought on by pregnancy, obesity, and receiving anal sex. But the main cause is straining during bowel movement. Straining increases the pressure in your abdomen, causing the veins that line your anus to swell. In hemorrhoi! d patients, those veins stay swollen and sometimes bleed. In theory, squatting might stave off hemorrhoids by making defecation easier, reducing the need to strain and decreasing abdominal pressure.
An Israeli doctor named Dov Sikirov tested this idea for a 2003 study published in Digestive Diseases and Sciences. He had several dozen patients defecate in each of three positions: sitting on a 16-inch-high toilet, sitting on a 12-inch-high toilet, and squatting over a plastic container. He asked his subjects to record how long each bowel movement took and rate the effort required on a four-point scale ranging from effortless to difficult. Sikirov found that, when squatting, subjects averaged a mere 51 seconds to move their bowels, versus 130 seconds when sitting on a high toilet. And as they moved from a sit to a squat, subjects were more likely to rate the experience as easier! .
Then last year, a group of Japanese doctors extended Sikirov' s findings by looking at what happens inside the body while people squat and sit. For a study published in the medical journal Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms, six subjects had their rectums filled with a contrast solution and then released the fluid from a squatting or a sitting position while being filmed with X-ray video. Image analysis showed that the anorectal angle increased from 100 degrees to 126 degrees as the subjects moved from a sit to a squat. The researchers also recorded abdominal pressure, and found that the subjects were straining less when they squatted.
Of course, it's one thing to show that squatting streamlines defecation and reduces hemorrhoid risk. It's another to actually move your bowels while you squat. But how hard could it be? For most of human history—several hundred thousand years—we've squatted. Today, 1.2 billion people s! quat because they simply don't have a toilet, while many, many more in Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Europe use toilets designed specifically for squatting. And for 28 years—from his junior year at Yale in 1970 to the moment when he completed the first Nature's Platform prototype in 1998—Jonathan Isbit "perched," as he put it, squatting on the rim of toilet seats. So I decided to try it—each morning for a week, following a bowl of corn flakes and a cup of coffee.
Besides tipping over, there's little danger in squatting over a modern sit toilet. Both American Standard and Kohler say that floor-mounted toilets are designed to hold at least 1,000 pounds. (Still, neither company recommends perching.) The American Society for Engineers requires that wall-mounted toilets hold 500 pounds. But squatting on your toile t seat is not for everybody. Even when I was holding onto a towel rack, the situation felt precarious. A bedpan or a plastic container would have been easier, but I didn't have the former and the latter seemed gross. So I forged ahead, pushing through the week—or, as it turned out, not pushing: Bowel movements just seem to happen in a squat. My 10-minute routine dropped to a minute, two at the most, and within a few days my knees stopped complaining.
Although the week is now over, I'll probably squat again. At the very least, I gained an hour over seven days. It seems doubtful, though, that squatting, even if it helps hemorrhoids, will become the next back-to-nature craze—the new barefoot running shoe or caveman diet. Sit toilets, in the short term at lea! st, are more comfortable than the squat toilets you might find in Europe. In fact, since Jimmy Carter's bout of hemorrhoids sit toilets have actually grown in height, pushing the anorectal angle in the wrong direction. Standard models, 14 inches from floor to rim, now compete with "comfort height" toilets that tower more than 17 inches of the floor. Americans, now fatter than ever, are having trouble standing up from a sit, never mind a squat.
Like Slate on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
Correction, Aug. 27, 2010: This article originally misspelled the first name of Jonathan Isbit. (Return to the corrected senten! ce.)
Correction, Sept . 13, 2010: The original sentence described the $688 toilet as being Japanese. (Return to the corrected sentence.)
Daniel Lametti is a scientist and writer who lives in Brooklyn.
Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/
How bathroom posture affects your health.
By Daniel Lametti
Posted Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010, at 10:17 AM ET
Shortly before Christmas in 1978, the leader of the free world came down with a severe case of hemor! rhoids. The pain was so bad that President Carter had to take a day of f from work. A few weeks later, Time Magazine asked a proctologist named Michael Freilich to explain the president's ailment. "We were not meant to sit on toilets," he said, "we were meant to squat in the field." He's probably right.Michael Freilich isn't the first doctor to suggest that sitting on toilets—a recent phenomenon, stemming from the invention of the flush toilet in 1591—might be unhealthy. By the 1960s and '70s, the idea was relatively commonplace. Architect Alexander Kira argued in his 1966 book The Bathroom that human physiology is better suited to the squat. According to Bockus's Gastroenterology, a standard medical text from 1964, "the ideal posture for defecation is the squatting position, with the thighs fixed upon the abdomen."
Modern-day squat evangelists make money off the claim that a "more natural" posture wards off all sorts of health problems, from Crohn's disease to colon cancer. Inventor Jonathan Isbit runs a modest online business selling Nature's Platform—a homemade, $150 device that fits over toilets to make them more lik! e holes in the ground.* (He also posted the Bockus quote above to the Wikipedia entry on defecation.) Other entrepreneurs peddle similar products, like the In-Lieu, the Lillipad, the Evaco toilet converter, and, for those who don't like explaining their squat platform to house guests, a $688 Singaporean toilet that lets users switch among different squatting and sitting postures, from the "East Asian squat" to the "aft sit."* (Confused? Watch the video.)
That may sound like a bunch of Internet quackery, but there's now some e! mpirical evidence for the claim that defecation posture affects your body. The more extreme assertions about squatting—that it prevents cancer, for example—remain untested. But when it comes to hemorrhoids—a painful swelling of the veins in the anal canal that affects half of all Americans—new research suggests that you may want to get your butt off the toilet.
Before we dive into the data, let's review the mechanics of going to the bathroom. People can control their defecation, to some extent, by contracting or releasing the anal sphincter. But that muscle can't maintain continence on its own. The body also relies on a bend between the rectum—where feces builds up—and the anus—where feces comes out. When we're standing up, the extent of this bend, called the anorectal angle, is about 90 degrees, which puts upward pressure on the rectum and keeps feces inside. In a squatti! ng posture, the bend straightens out, like a kink ringed out of a gard en hose, and defecation becomes easier.
Proponents of squatting argue that conventional toilets produce an anorectal angle that's ill-suited for defecation. By squatting, they say, we can achieve "complete evacuation" of the colon, ridding our bowels of disease-causing toxins. But there's no reason to think that getting into a squat will make defecation more complete, nor that most people are sickened by their colons. If squatting does provide a health benefit, just as Michael Freilich stated in Time, it comes in the form of hemorrhoid prevention.
Hemorrhoids may be brought on by pregnancy, obesity, and receiving anal sex. But the main cause is straining during bowel movement. Straining increases the pressure in your abdomen, causing the veins that line your anus to swell. In hemorrhoi! d patients, those veins stay swollen and sometimes bleed. In theory, squatting might stave off hemorrhoids by making defecation easier, reducing the need to strain and decreasing abdominal pressure.
An Israeli doctor named Dov Sikirov tested this idea for a 2003 study published in Digestive Diseases and Sciences. He had several dozen patients defecate in each of three positions: sitting on a 16-inch-high toilet, sitting on a 12-inch-high toilet, and squatting over a plastic container. He asked his subjects to record how long each bowel movement took and rate the effort required on a four-point scale ranging from effortless to difficult. Sikirov found that, when squatting, subjects averaged a mere 51 seconds to move their bowels, versus 130 seconds when sitting on a high toilet. And as they moved from a sit to a squat, subjects were more likely to rate the experience as easier! .
Then last year, a group of Japanese doctors extended Sikirov' s findings by looking at what happens inside the body while people squat and sit. For a study published in the medical journal Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms, six subjects had their rectums filled with a contrast solution and then released the fluid from a squatting or a sitting position while being filmed with X-ray video. Image analysis showed that the anorectal angle increased from 100 degrees to 126 degrees as the subjects moved from a sit to a squat. The researchers also recorded abdominal pressure, and found that the subjects were straining less when they squatted.
Of course, it's one thing to show that squatting streamlines defecation and reduces hemorrhoid risk. It's another to actually move your bowels while you squat. But how hard could it be? For most of human history—several hundred thousand years—we've squatted. Today, 1.2 billion people s! quat because they simply don't have a toilet, while many, many more in Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Europe use toilets designed specifically for squatting. And for 28 years—from his junior year at Yale in 1970 to the moment when he completed the first Nature's Platform prototype in 1998—Jonathan Isbit "perched," as he put it, squatting on the rim of toilet seats. So I decided to try it—each morning for a week, following a bowl of corn flakes and a cup of coffee.
Besides tipping over, there's little danger in squatting over a modern sit toilet. Both American Standard and Kohler say that floor-mounted toilets are designed to hold at least 1,000 pounds. (Still, neither company recommends perching.) The American Society for Engineers requires that wall-mounted toilets hold 500 pounds. But squatting on your toile t seat is not for everybody. Even when I was holding onto a towel rack, the situation felt precarious. A bedpan or a plastic container would have been easier, but I didn't have the former and the latter seemed gross. So I forged ahead, pushing through the week—or, as it turned out, not pushing: Bowel movements just seem to happen in a squat. My 10-minute routine dropped to a minute, two at the most, and within a few days my knees stopped complaining.
Although the week is now over, I'll probably squat again. At the very least, I gained an hour over seven days. It seems doubtful, though, that squatting, even if it helps hemorrhoids, will become the next back-to-nature craze—the new barefoot running shoe or caveman diet. Sit toilets, in the short term at lea! st, are more comfortable than the squat toilets you might find in Europe. In fact, since Jimmy Carter's bout of hemorrhoids sit toilets have actually grown in height, pushing the anorectal angle in the wrong direction. Standard models, 14 inches from floor to rim, now compete with "comfort height" toilets that tower more than 17 inches of the floor. Americans, now fatter than ever, are having trouble standing up from a sit, never mind a squat.
Like Slate on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
Correction, Aug. 27, 2010: This article originally misspelled the first name of Jonathan Isbit. (Return to the corrected senten! ce.)
Correction, Sept . 13, 2010: The original sentence described the $688 toilet as being Japanese. (Return to the corrected sentence.)
Daniel Lametti is a scientist and writer who lives in Brooklyn.
Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/
© 2010 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Is Sugar Toxic?
Is Sugar Toxic?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?_r=1&=&pagewanted=all
Sugar: The Bitter Truth<---You Tube video
Please watch this and learn something instead of watching trash tv!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?_r=1&=&pagewanted=all
Sugar: The Bitter Truth<---You Tube video
Please watch this and learn something instead of watching trash tv!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
CrossFit Games Sectional 11.3 (4.10.11)
CrossFit Sectional Workout 11.3
5 min (as many rounds as possible)
165# clean and jerk
16 rounds
Friday, April 1, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Gorillas Going Green
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo are adjusting gorilla diets in an effort to understand and treat cardiac issues in the animals.
Look what happens when the gorillas are allowed to eat their natural diet! Now if we just can end this low-fat, high carbohydrate experiment in which we are the guinea pigs and get on with a proper omnivorous diet we should end up a lot better for it!
http://hunter-gatherer.com/blog/health-problems-disappear-when-captive-gorillas-fed-wild-diet
Friday, March 25, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
RKC Snatch Test 1 3 13 11
The goal is 100 reps within 5 minutes. This is 24kg (~53#). My first attempt.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Reverse Magazine: Woman Are Wrong About Fat Loss and Fitness
Reverse Magazine: Woman Are Wrong About Fat Loss and Fitness: " The Dirty Dozen Mistakes Women Make The female population has tremendous leverage in the marketplace. Anyone in advertisin..."
Army's new fitness tests add taste of battlefield
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_army_new_fitness_test
FORT JACKSON, S.C. – Sit-ups don't make a soldier, the Army has decided. So its 30-year-old fitness requirements are getting a battlefield-inspired makeover.
Soon every soldier will have to run on a balance beam with two 30-pound canisters of ammunition, drag a sled weighted with 180 pounds of sandbags and vault over obstacles while carrying a rifle. Those were just some of the tests the Army unveiled Tuesday as it moves toward making its physical training look more like combat.
Right now soldiers have to complete sit-ups, push-ups and a two-mile run twice a year within times that vary by age and gender. Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, the general in charge of the Army's initial military training, said he has been working to change that test for years.
Hertling said the current test "does not adequately measure components of strength, endurance, or mobility," or predict how well a soldier would do under fire.
A new annual "combat readiness" test includes running 400 meters — about a quarter of a mile — with a rifle, moving through an obstacle course in full combat gear, and crawling and vaulting over obstacles while aiming a rifle. Soldiers also will have to run on a balance beam while carrying 30-pound ammo boxes and do an agility sprint around a course field of cones.
Soldiers also will have to drag sleds weighted with sandbags to test their ability to pull a fallen comrade from the battlefield. The combat test might be given before deployments as well as annually, but that has not been decided.
The Army will keep elements of its old assessment in a "physical readiness" test, which adds such things as a 60-yard shuttle run and a standing long jump to one minute of push-ups and a 1.5-mile timed run. This might be given every six months, said Frank Palkoska, head of the Army's Fitness School at Fort Jackson.
Hertling said trials of the new program are starting this month at eight bases and the plan could be adopted Army-wide after reviews later this year.
Soldiers who ran the proposed "combat readiness" portion of the test Tuesday told reporters the exercises were tough, even for combat veterans.
Wearing a battle helmet and carrying a rifle, Staff Sgt. Timothy Shoenfelt teetered as he trod the balance beam, holding ammo tins in each hand. His pace slowed a bit as he dragged the green sled behind him, then held his M-4 steady as he strode sideways through the "point-move-aim" portion of the test.
"My quads are on fire!" the 31-year-old from Indiana, Pa., said afterward. "It really made me breathe hard and challenged a lot of muscle groups."
Wheeled vehicle mechanic and Sgt. 1st Class Cornelius Trammell, 33, of Eufaula, Ala., said it will be important for all soldiers to go through tests, even if their jobs are behind desks. He laughed when reporters commented on his sweaty face.
"You never know when you might need it, whether you are in the infantry or if you're a mechanic," said Trammell, who's been deployed three times.
The tests will be given to all soldiers and officers, including Army Reserves and National Guard, even those recalled soldiers who are now over 60, officials said. Specific gender and age standards are still being worked out, Palkoska said.
The shift follows other Army efforts to overhaul training, improve diets and help older soldiers keep fit. Hertling said the Army is trying to better prepare soldiers for the 40 to 70 pounds of weapons and body armor many of them need to carry in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"Soldiers like to be challenged. This will definitely challenge them," Hertling said.
The Army also is hoping to reduce injuries — both in the field and from repetitive exercises.
"This is about training smarter, not just training more," Hertling said.
Staff Sgt. Danica Foster, 28, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who pumped through a shuttle run and did push-ups for the "physical readiness" section, said the new tests will require soldiers to work on their upper body strength.
Female soldiers will have to work to get them done, she said.
"I honestly believe, though, that if I can do this, anybody can," she said with a laugh.
Besides Fort Jackson, the program will be tested at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Lewis, Wash.; and at the Army's military academy at West Point.
FORT JACKSON, S.C. – Sit-ups don't make a soldier, the Army has decided. So its 30-year-old fitness requirements are getting a battlefield-inspired makeover.
Soon every soldier will have to run on a balance beam with two 30-pound canisters of ammunition, drag a sled weighted with 180 pounds of sandbags and vault over obstacles while carrying a rifle. Those were just some of the tests the Army unveiled Tuesday as it moves toward making its physical training look more like combat.
Right now soldiers have to complete sit-ups, push-ups and a two-mile run twice a year within times that vary by age and gender. Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, the general in charge of the Army's initial military training, said he has been working to change that test for years.
Hertling said the current test "does not adequately measure components of strength, endurance, or mobility," or predict how well a soldier would do under fire.
A new annual "combat readiness" test includes running 400 meters — about a quarter of a mile — with a rifle, moving through an obstacle course in full combat gear, and crawling and vaulting over obstacles while aiming a rifle. Soldiers also will have to run on a balance beam while carrying 30-pound ammo boxes and do an agility sprint around a course field of cones.
Soldiers also will have to drag sleds weighted with sandbags to test their ability to pull a fallen comrade from the battlefield. The combat test might be given before deployments as well as annually, but that has not been decided.
The Army will keep elements of its old assessment in a "physical readiness" test, which adds such things as a 60-yard shuttle run and a standing long jump to one minute of push-ups and a 1.5-mile timed run. This might be given every six months, said Frank Palkoska, head of the Army's Fitness School at Fort Jackson.
Hertling said trials of the new program are starting this month at eight bases and the plan could be adopted Army-wide after reviews later this year.
Soldiers who ran the proposed "combat readiness" portion of the test Tuesday told reporters the exercises were tough, even for combat veterans.
Wearing a battle helmet and carrying a rifle, Staff Sgt. Timothy Shoenfelt teetered as he trod the balance beam, holding ammo tins in each hand. His pace slowed a bit as he dragged the green sled behind him, then held his M-4 steady as he strode sideways through the "point-move-aim" portion of the test.
"My quads are on fire!" the 31-year-old from Indiana, Pa., said afterward. "It really made me breathe hard and challenged a lot of muscle groups."
Wheeled vehicle mechanic and Sgt. 1st Class Cornelius Trammell, 33, of Eufaula, Ala., said it will be important for all soldiers to go through tests, even if their jobs are behind desks. He laughed when reporters commented on his sweaty face.
"You never know when you might need it, whether you are in the infantry or if you're a mechanic," said Trammell, who's been deployed three times.
The tests will be given to all soldiers and officers, including Army Reserves and National Guard, even those recalled soldiers who are now over 60, officials said. Specific gender and age standards are still being worked out, Palkoska said.
The shift follows other Army efforts to overhaul training, improve diets and help older soldiers keep fit. Hertling said the Army is trying to better prepare soldiers for the 40 to 70 pounds of weapons and body armor many of them need to carry in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"Soldiers like to be challenged. This will definitely challenge them," Hertling said.
The Army also is hoping to reduce injuries — both in the field and from repetitive exercises.
"This is about training smarter, not just training more," Hertling said.
Staff Sgt. Danica Foster, 28, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who pumped through a shuttle run and did push-ups for the "physical readiness" section, said the new tests will require soldiers to work on their upper body strength.
Female soldiers will have to work to get them done, she said.
"I honestly believe, though, that if I can do this, anybody can," she said with a laugh.
Besides Fort Jackson, the program will be tested at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Lewis, Wash.; and at the Army's military academy at West Point.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Press Release-Highest Rates of Physical Inactivity
CDC-Reports on Physical Inactivity
"Areas where residents are most likely to be active in their free time are the West Coast, Colorado, Minnesota and parts of the Northeast."
"States where residents are the least likely to be physically active during leisure time are Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee. In those states, physical inactivity rates are 29.2 percent or greater for more than 70 percent of the counties."
"Physical activity is crucial to managing diabetes and reducing serious complications of the disease,"
Interactive map: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(you can break it down by state and county to see how your area)
County Level Estimates of Leisure-Time Physical Inactivity — U.S. Maps
2008 Age-Adjusted Estimates of the Percentage of Adults† Who Are Physically Inactive
Available online at: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/DDTSTRS/default.aspx. Retrieved 2/18/2011.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
"Weightlifting can be helpful for obese kids" and “Hey, That’s Exercise!” (Actually, It Might Not Be.)
In-Your-Face Fitness: Weightlifting can be helpful for obese kids - latimes.com
I love how this article brings weightlifting into the light for obese kids. It not only benefits obese children, but adults too!
“Hey, That’s Exercise!” (Actually, It Might Not Be.)
Here is an article that discusses what you may think is exercise, but actually isn't. Yes, moving is something over nothing, but picking up heavy things is just better!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Stick figure Heros!
This first sheet is a compilation of exercises that will help you move from a sedentary state to leading a more active lifestyle. These exercises will promote balance, flexibility, coordination, and an emphasis on core strength.
This second set of exercises are the basics of strength training. The majority of these exercises can be performed with or without weights. Holding your spine in a neutral position, in each of these movements is essential, especially when adding weight to the movement.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Saline solution vs. Drugs
Our office often has pharmaceutical sales representatives stop in to see the other doctors in hopes they would prescribe their drugs over a competitors. So the sales rep tells me he used to represent allergy medicine and,
"The allergy doctor said, 'If I recommend my patients use a neti pot for their allergy problems, I wouldn't have a job."
A simple cleansing of the nasal passages with a saline solution mixture is much easier and cheaper than spending time and money at the doctor on pills and sprays that don't work as good as salt water!
There are many forms of self-treatment for a variety of conditions. Some conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stress, back pain, and shoulder problems can actually be treated without the use of medicine or surgery.
Self treatment does take some effort. Do something for yourself!
"The allergy doctor said, 'If I recommend my patients use a neti pot for their allergy problems, I wouldn't have a job."
A simple cleansing of the nasal passages with a saline solution mixture is much easier and cheaper than spending time and money at the doctor on pills and sprays that don't work as good as salt water!
There are many forms of self-treatment for a variety of conditions. Some conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stress, back pain, and shoulder problems can actually be treated without the use of medicine or surgery.
Self treatment does take some effort. Do something for yourself!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
No More Crunches? Abs-olutely! | ThePostGame
No More Crunches? Abs-olutely! | ThePostGame
If you have trained with me, you may have noticed the minimal or zero amount of sit-ups or crunches we do. The bulk of my strength training revolves around spinal bracing using your abs and back to protect the spine from unwanted movement while the greater muscles of the hips are used to produce movement as in squats, lunges, and deadlifts. Even when pressing weight overhead, or doing push up, the spine needs to be braced and rigid.
Of course, maintaining a flexible spine is important. Having a flexible spine will keep you feeling youthful. The combination of strength and flexibility is amazing! Move when you want to move, and brace when you want to or need to brace.
Here is a perfectly healthy isometric hold that demonstrates spinal flexibility and bracing simultaneously.
This is Katie.
This is my pregnant sister, Dana.
If you have trained with me, you may have noticed the minimal or zero amount of sit-ups or crunches we do. The bulk of my strength training revolves around spinal bracing using your abs and back to protect the spine from unwanted movement while the greater muscles of the hips are used to produce movement as in squats, lunges, and deadlifts. Even when pressing weight overhead, or doing push up, the spine needs to be braced and rigid.
Of course, maintaining a flexible spine is important. Having a flexible spine will keep you feeling youthful. The combination of strength and flexibility is amazing! Move when you want to move, and brace when you want to or need to brace.
Here is a perfectly healthy isometric hold that demonstrates spinal flexibility and bracing simultaneously.
This is Katie.
This is my pregnant sister, Dana.
Daily diet soda tied to higher risk for stroke, heart attack
Daily diet soda tied to higher risk for stroke, heart attack
61 percent higher risk of vascular events for those who drank diet soda each day, study finds
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41479869/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/
It may not be the diet soda per se, and the study group was relatively (small 2500) and only for 9 years, but are you going to wait another 9+ years to find out the probable bad news before you stop drinking colored chemical water? Just reduce it, or get over it and drink water!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Baby Carrots
"Most of those cute little "baby carrots" you pack in your child's lunch box and snack on at work are not really babies at all, but rather cut down from full-grown carrots that are rejected for size and deformities. Baby-cut carrots are not as nutritious as whole carrots. Much of a carrot's nutritional value is in it's skin and the area adjacent to it, and that part is peeled away on a baby-cut carrot. And since baby-cut carrots are completely peeled, they are then soaked in a chlorine solution to kill bacteria and help preserve them. This is standard even for organic baby-cut carrots. To get the most nutrition from your carrots and avoid harmful chemicals used in processing, read labels closely and look for true organic baby carrots-these grown and harvested as babies-not baby-cuts."
-Mary Janes Farm Magazine, Feb-Mar 2011
Eating any carrot is better than not eating any carrot (or vegetable) at all. If you are not eating vegetables, start today and continue to eat them every day.
-Mary Janes Farm Magazine, Feb-Mar 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
16 Cardinal Rules for Snow Shovelling
16 Cardinal Rules for Snow Shovelling
I am a little late to post this, but regardless, take a look at this article. It seems all pretty common sense, but maybe you didn't know these things about shoveling.
I can't say I agree entirely with this:
B. Keep your back straight as you move from the squat position to the upright position.
C. Use your shoulder muscles as much as possible.
D. Hold the snow shovel as close to your upper body as possible.
E. Keep one hand close to the shovel blade for better leverage.
F. Don't twist your upper body as you throw snow.
Mine recommendations is this:
A. Use your hips and core as much as possible - push snow when you can and keep your core (back and stomach) tight as your use your legs to lift when you can't push it.
B. Keep your back straight (neutral) as your move from the bent (at hips and knees) position to the upright position.
C. Use your hips and core as much as possible as these will fatigue much less quickly than your shoulders.
D. Hold the snow shovel as close to your hips as possible.
E. Keep one hand in the middle of the stick for better leverage.
F. Keep your core tight as your pivot your feet as your throw snow.
I came across this. This is a good example:
I can't say I agree entirely with this:
6. Maintain proper posture:
A. Use your leg muscles as much as possible - push snow when you can and use your legs to lift when you can't push it.B. Keep your back straight as you move from the squat position to the upright position.
C. Use your shoulder muscles as much as possible.
D. Hold the snow shovel as close to your upper body as possible.
E. Keep one hand close to the shovel blade for better leverage.
F. Don't twist your upper body as you throw snow.
Mine recommendations is this:
A. Use your hips and core as much as possible - push snow when you can and keep your core (back and stomach) tight as your use your legs to lift when you can't push it.
B. Keep your back straight (neutral) as your move from the bent (at hips and knees) position to the upright position.
C. Use your hips and core as much as possible as these will fatigue much less quickly than your shoulders.
D. Hold the snow shovel as close to your hips as possible.
E. Keep one hand in the middle of the stick for better leverage.
F. Keep your core tight as your pivot your feet as your throw snow.
I came across this. This is a good example:
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Food for Thought
Here is a glimpse of the food I traditionally eat. It primarily consists of meat, eggs, vegetables and sweet potatoes.
strengthspecialist@gmail.com
strengthspecialist@gmail.com
Monday, January 31, 2011
Simple Healthy Eating
Many people ask if I discuss nutrition. I do.
I recommend eating meat and vegetables and drinking water. If I were a caveman, or a man of the paleolithic era, I would hunt for food, and gather a variety of edible plants. This method of eating is absolutely the best way to eat.
Take into consideration the mass production of chicken and beef. Livestock are often fed one type of grain, that is cheap and encourages rapid growth. Companies would prefer this because the cost of feeding the animals is less, and they get bigger faster so they could sell more, more quickly. The nutrient quality fed to the animals is low and as a result, the quality of the meat is low.
Similar to livestock, what you eat determines whether you are an animal (human) that gets bigger faster and are composed of high quality nutrients or just a low quality, fast fed, product of the food industry. You are not pent up in cage or yard, and you do have to opportunity to choose what to eat, it only makes sense for you to choose a variety of foods with high nutrient density.
Paradoxical caveman with fast food tray.
'Big Mistake'
In conclusion, stop eating like caged chickens...get off the abundance of grains and get some variety in your diet.
I recommend eating meat and vegetables and drinking water. If I were a caveman, or a man of the paleolithic era, I would hunt for food, and gather a variety of edible plants. This method of eating is absolutely the best way to eat.Take into consideration the mass production of chicken and beef. Livestock are often fed one type of grain, that is cheap and encourages rapid growth. Companies would prefer this because the cost of feeding the animals is less, and they get bigger faster so they could sell more, more quickly. The nutrient quality fed to the animals is low and as a result, the quality of the meat is low.
Similar to livestock, what you eat determines whether you are an animal (human) that gets bigger faster and are composed of high quality nutrients or just a low quality, fast fed, product of the food industry. You are not pent up in cage or yard, and you do have to opportunity to choose what to eat, it only makes sense for you to choose a variety of foods with high nutrient density.
Paradoxical caveman with fast food tray.
'Big Mistake'
In conclusion, stop eating like caged chickens...get off the abundance of grains and get some variety in your diet.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Massage Spam
Feeling the winter blah?
If you are cash paying patient, or just know someone that needs a massage (ahem..ahem..Valentine's Day is coming up) get your special someone a massage package! (buy 3 get 1 free!) Crystal is nearly all booked up, so schedule today!
Those of your who are hitting the weights, getting your buff on these winter months, remember that recovery is 50% of the fitness battle. Couple your Health First Wellness Center personal training with a massage..it just feels good and allows you to work harder sooner.
Those of you who are content with the sluggish, drab, post-holiday rut, you are lying to yourself and you don't know what it's like to actually feel good!
Famed Victorian physician Dr. Dowse, remarked in 1887: “The mind, which before massage is in a perturbed, restless, vacillating, and even despondent state, becomes calm, quiet, peaceful, and subdued after massage. In fact, the wearied and worried mind has been converted into a mind restful, placid, and refreshed.
Rejuvenate your body!
You need a massage.
Those of you who are content with the sluggish, drab, post-holiday rut, you are lying to yourself and you don't know what it's like to actually feel good!
Famed Victorian physician Dr. Dowse, remarked in 1887: “The mind, which before massage is in a perturbed, restless, vacillating, and even despondent state, becomes calm, quiet, peaceful, and subdued after massage. In fact, the wearied and worried mind has been converted into a mind restful, placid, and refreshed.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Egg-cellent!
How to make hard-boiled eggs:
Egg Nutrients
Eggs are a naturally nutrient-dense food, which means they have a high proportion of nutrients to calories. One large egg has 70 calories and provides 13 essential nutrients in varying amounts. Eggs are an excellent source of choline and a good source of the highest quality protein and riboflavin. Many of the egg’s incredible nutrients are found in the egg yolk, including choline, folate, lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin D. The yolk also includes healthy monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats and almost half of the high-quality protein found in eggs.
Protein/Weight Management
One egg provides 6 grams of protein, or 12% of the Recommended Daily Value. Eggs provide the highest quality protein found in any food because they provide all of the essential amino acids our bodies need in a near-perfect pattern. While many people think the egg white has all the protein, the yolk actually provides nearly half of it.
The high-quality protein in eggs helps you to feel full longer and stay energized, which contributes to maintaining a healthy weight. In fact, research* shows that eggs eaten at the start of the day can reduce daily calorie intake, prevent snacking between meals and keep you satisfied on those busy days when mealtime is delayed.
Muscle Strength, Repair & Preservation
Research indicates that high-quality protein may help active adults build muscle strength and middle-aged and aging adults prevent muscle loss. Consuming eggs following exercise is a great way to get the most benefits from exercise by encouraging muscle tissue repair and growth.
This information is from: http://www.incredibleegg.org/
Egg Nutrients
Eggs are a naturally nutrient-dense food, which means they have a high proportion of nutrients to calories. One large egg has 70 calories and provides 13 essential nutrients in varying amounts. Eggs are an excellent source of choline and a good source of the highest quality protein and riboflavin. Many of the egg’s incredible nutrients are found in the egg yolk, including choline, folate, lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin D. The yolk also includes healthy monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats and almost half of the high-quality protein found in eggs.
Protein/Weight Management
One egg provides 6 grams of protein, or 12% of the Recommended Daily Value. Eggs provide the highest quality protein found in any food because they provide all of the essential amino acids our bodies need in a near-perfect pattern. While many people think the egg white has all the protein, the yolk actually provides nearly half of it.
The high-quality protein in eggs helps you to feel full longer and stay energized, which contributes to maintaining a healthy weight. In fact, research* shows that eggs eaten at the start of the day can reduce daily calorie intake, prevent snacking between meals and keep you satisfied on those busy days when mealtime is delayed.
Muscle Strength, Repair & Preservation
Research indicates that high-quality protein may help active adults build muscle strength and middle-aged and aging adults prevent muscle loss. Consuming eggs following exercise is a great way to get the most benefits from exercise by encouraging muscle tissue repair and growth.
An Egg a Day? Yes – in fact, studies demonstrate that healthy adults can enjoy one or two eggs a day without increasing their risk for heart disease:
· A 2007 study of 9,500 people reported in Medical Science Monitor showed that eating one or two eggs a day did not increase the risk of heart disease or stroke among healthy adults. The study noted that eating eggs may actually be associated with a decrease in blood pressure.2
· A review of more than 25 studies that appeared in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2000 showed that eating an egg a day isn’t associated with increased risk of heart disease in healthy men and women, even after taking into account other aspects of their diet that may increase the risk for heart disease.3
· A six-week study conducted by researchers at the Yale Prevention Research Center in 2005 showed that adding two eggs a day to a healthful diet did not significantly increase blood cholesterol levels in young or middle-aged men and women with normal or even moderately elevated blood cholesterol levels.4
· A 1999 Harvard University study that collected data from more than 100,000 men and women found no significant difference in heart disease risk between healthy adults who ate less than one egg a week and those who ate more than one egg a day, and that eating up to one egg a day is unlikely to have a significant overall impact on the risk of heart disease or stroke.5
· A study presented at the Experimental Biology conference in 2007 showed that egg consumption contributed less than 1 percent of the risk for heart disease when other adjustable risk factors were taken into account. The researchers concluded that wide-sweeping recommendations to limit egg consumption may be misguided, particularly when eggs’ nutritional contributions are considered.6
· In 2006, Nutrition Bulletin published a review of scientific studies from the past 30 years showing that eating eggs daily does not have a significant impact on blood cholesterol or heart disease risk. The authors noted several benefits of egg consumption – including the high-quality protein
The Good Egg
Research Snapshot 2
What the Numbers Reveal:
Studies have looked at the affect of egg consumption on blood cholesterol levels and have found a small impact. This is important because newer research has identified the LDL:HDL ratio (“good” cholesterol to “bad” cholesterol) and the Total: HDL ratio (the sum of all cholesterol components to “good” cholesterol) to be better indicators of heart disease risk than either indicator alone. eggs provide – and argued that consumption of one to two eggs a day should be actively encouraged as part of a calorie-restricted weight-loss plan.7
· A 2008 study from Surrey University published in the European Journal of Nutrition provides evidence that increasing dietary cholesterol intake by eating two eggs a day does not increase total plasma cholesterol when accompanied by moderate weight loss. The study authors concluded that cholesterol-rich foods should not be excluded from dietary advice for weight loss.8
· A review of over 30 studies published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2008 argues that the LDL:HDL ratio is a much better indicator of heart disease risk than either indicator alone because the ratio reflects the “two-way traffic” of cholesterol entering and leaving the blood system.9
· A research review, published in 2000 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, concluded that healthy adults can enjoy eggs without significantly impacting their heart disease risk. The authors, who reviewed 30 years of cholesterol research, found that dietary cholesterol has a relatively small affect on plasma total cholesterol and that egg consumption, specifically, has little relationship to high blood cholesterol or incidence of heart disease.10
· In 2005 researchers at the University of Connecticut found that healthy elderly adults who ate three eggs a day for one month did not experience an increase to their LDL:HDL ratio or to their Total:HDL ratio, which are two major indicators for heart disease risk.11
· The Journal of Nutrition published a study in 2008 that found that overweight men who eat eggs while on a carbohydrate-restricted diet have a significant increase in their HDL levels (the “good” cholesterol) compared to men who do not eat eggs.12 A 2008 study from the journal Ateriosclerosis, Thrombosis, Vascular Biology found low HDL is associated with poor memory and a decline in memory in middle-aged adults.13
· A 2008 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that a diet rich in choline and betaine is associated with lower concentrations of homocysteine, a marker of inflammation. High levels of homocysteine or inflammation have been associated with cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and dementia.14
References:
1 Klein CJ. The scientific evidence and approach taken to establish guidelines for cholesterol intake in Australia, Canada, The United Kingdom, and The United States. LSRO. 2006 www.lsro.org. Accessed November 2006. 2 Qureshi A, et al. Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke or cardiovascular diseases. Medical Science Monitor. 2007; 13(1): CR1-8.
3 Kritchevsky S and Kritchvesky D. Egg consumption and coronary heart disease: an epidemiological overview. J Am Coll Nutr. 2000; 19(5): 549S-555S.
4 Katz DL, et al. Egg consumption and endothelial function: a randomized controlled crossover trial. Int J Cardiol. 2005; 99:65-70.
5 Hu FB, et al. A prospective study of egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women. JAMA. 1999; 281:1387-94.
6 Tran NL, et al. Balancing and communicating risks and benefits associated with egg consumption – a relative risk study. Presented at Experimental Biology 2007, Washington, D.C.
7 Lee A and Griffin B. Dietary cholesterol, eggs and coronary heart disease risk in perspective. Nutrition Bulletin (British Nutrition Foundation). 2006; 31:21-27.
8 Harman Nicola L, Leeds, Anthony R, and Griffin, Bruce A. Increased dietary cholesterol does not increase plasma low density lipoprotein when accompanied by an energy-restricted diet and weight loss. European Journal of Nutrition.2008; 47:287-293
9 Fernandez ML and Webb D. The LDL to HDL Cholesterol Ratio as a Valuable Tool to Evaluate Coronary Heart Disease Risk. JACN (in press).
10 McNamara DJ. The impact of egg limitations on coronary heart disease risk: do the numbers add up? J Am Coll Nutr. 2000;19(5): 540S- 548S.
11 Greene CM, et al. Maintenance of the LDL cholesterol: HDL cholesterol ratio in an elderly population given a dietary cholesterol challenge. J Nutr. 2005; 135:2799-2804.
12 Mutungi G, et al. Dietary cholesterol from eggs increases plasma HDL cholesterol in overweight men consuming a carbohydrate restricted diet. J Nutr. 2008;138:272-276.
13 Sing-Manoux, et al. Low HDL Is a Risk Factor for Deficit and Decline in Memory in Midlife. The Whitehall II Study. Arterioscler, Thromb, Vasc, Biol. 2008; 28:1557-1563.
14 Detopoulou, Paraskevi et al. Dietary choline and betaine intakes in relation to concentrations of inflammatory markers in healthy adults: the ATTICA study. AJCN 2008; 87:424-430.
· A 2007 study of 9,500 people reported in Medical Science Monitor showed that eating one or two eggs a day did not increase the risk of heart disease or stroke among healthy adults. The study noted that eating eggs may actually be associated with a decrease in blood pressure.2
· A review of more than 25 studies that appeared in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2000 showed that eating an egg a day isn’t associated with increased risk of heart disease in healthy men and women, even after taking into account other aspects of their diet that may increase the risk for heart disease.3
· A six-week study conducted by researchers at the Yale Prevention Research Center in 2005 showed that adding two eggs a day to a healthful diet did not significantly increase blood cholesterol levels in young or middle-aged men and women with normal or even moderately elevated blood cholesterol levels.4
· A 1999 Harvard University study that collected data from more than 100,000 men and women found no significant difference in heart disease risk between healthy adults who ate less than one egg a week and those who ate more than one egg a day, and that eating up to one egg a day is unlikely to have a significant overall impact on the risk of heart disease or stroke.5
· A study presented at the Experimental Biology conference in 2007 showed that egg consumption contributed less than 1 percent of the risk for heart disease when other adjustable risk factors were taken into account. The researchers concluded that wide-sweeping recommendations to limit egg consumption may be misguided, particularly when eggs’ nutritional contributions are considered.6
· In 2006, Nutrition Bulletin published a review of scientific studies from the past 30 years showing that eating eggs daily does not have a significant impact on blood cholesterol or heart disease risk. The authors noted several benefits of egg consumption – including the high-quality protein
The Good Egg
Research Snapshot 2
What the Numbers Reveal:
Studies have looked at the affect of egg consumption on blood cholesterol levels and have found a small impact. This is important because newer research has identified the LDL:HDL ratio (“good” cholesterol to “bad” cholesterol) and the Total: HDL ratio (the sum of all cholesterol components to “good” cholesterol) to be better indicators of heart disease risk than either indicator alone. eggs provide – and argued that consumption of one to two eggs a day should be actively encouraged as part of a calorie-restricted weight-loss plan.7
· A 2008 study from Surrey University published in the European Journal of Nutrition provides evidence that increasing dietary cholesterol intake by eating two eggs a day does not increase total plasma cholesterol when accompanied by moderate weight loss. The study authors concluded that cholesterol-rich foods should not be excluded from dietary advice for weight loss.8
· A review of over 30 studies published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2008 argues that the LDL:HDL ratio is a much better indicator of heart disease risk than either indicator alone because the ratio reflects the “two-way traffic” of cholesterol entering and leaving the blood system.9
· A research review, published in 2000 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, concluded that healthy adults can enjoy eggs without significantly impacting their heart disease risk. The authors, who reviewed 30 years of cholesterol research, found that dietary cholesterol has a relatively small affect on plasma total cholesterol and that egg consumption, specifically, has little relationship to high blood cholesterol or incidence of heart disease.10
· In 2005 researchers at the University of Connecticut found that healthy elderly adults who ate three eggs a day for one month did not experience an increase to their LDL:HDL ratio or to their Total:HDL ratio, which are two major indicators for heart disease risk.11
· The Journal of Nutrition published a study in 2008 that found that overweight men who eat eggs while on a carbohydrate-restricted diet have a significant increase in their HDL levels (the “good” cholesterol) compared to men who do not eat eggs.12 A 2008 study from the journal Ateriosclerosis, Thrombosis, Vascular Biology found low HDL is associated with poor memory and a decline in memory in middle-aged adults.13
· A 2008 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that a diet rich in choline and betaine is associated with lower concentrations of homocysteine, a marker of inflammation. High levels of homocysteine or inflammation have been associated with cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and dementia.14
References:
1 Klein CJ. The scientific evidence and approach taken to establish guidelines for cholesterol intake in Australia, Canada, The United Kingdom, and The United States. LSRO. 2006 www.lsro.org. Accessed November 2006. 2 Qureshi A, et al. Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke or cardiovascular diseases. Medical Science Monitor. 2007; 13(1): CR1-8.
3 Kritchevsky S and Kritchvesky D. Egg consumption and coronary heart disease: an epidemiological overview. J Am Coll Nutr. 2000; 19(5): 549S-555S.
4 Katz DL, et al. Egg consumption and endothelial function: a randomized controlled crossover trial. Int J Cardiol. 2005; 99:65-70.
5 Hu FB, et al. A prospective study of egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women. JAMA. 1999; 281:1387-94.
6 Tran NL, et al. Balancing and communicating risks and benefits associated with egg consumption – a relative risk study. Presented at Experimental Biology 2007, Washington, D.C.
7 Lee A and Griffin B. Dietary cholesterol, eggs and coronary heart disease risk in perspective. Nutrition Bulletin (British Nutrition Foundation). 2006; 31:21-27.
8 Harman Nicola L, Leeds, Anthony R, and Griffin, Bruce A. Increased dietary cholesterol does not increase plasma low density lipoprotein when accompanied by an energy-restricted diet and weight loss. European Journal of Nutrition.2008; 47:287-293
9 Fernandez ML and Webb D. The LDL to HDL Cholesterol Ratio as a Valuable Tool to Evaluate Coronary Heart Disease Risk. JACN (in press).
10 McNamara DJ. The impact of egg limitations on coronary heart disease risk: do the numbers add up? J Am Coll Nutr. 2000;19(5): 540S- 548S.
11 Greene CM, et al. Maintenance of the LDL cholesterol: HDL cholesterol ratio in an elderly population given a dietary cholesterol challenge. J Nutr. 2005; 135:2799-2804.
12 Mutungi G, et al. Dietary cholesterol from eggs increases plasma HDL cholesterol in overweight men consuming a carbohydrate restricted diet. J Nutr. 2008;138:272-276.
13 Sing-Manoux, et al. Low HDL Is a Risk Factor for Deficit and Decline in Memory in Midlife. The Whitehall II Study. Arterioscler, Thromb, Vasc, Biol. 2008; 28:1557-1563.
14 Detopoulou, Paraskevi et al. Dietary choline and betaine intakes in relation to concentrations of inflammatory markers in healthy adults: the ATTICA study. AJCN 2008; 87:424-430.
This information is from: http://www.incredibleegg.org/
Friday, January 21, 2011
Learn from kids.
If you want to be better at something, you are going to have to work for it. Including being healthy and moving well.
Twelve Year Old Basketball Sensation - Watch more Funny Videos
Twelve Year Old Basketball Sensation - Watch more Funny Videos
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Nitty Gritty on Calorie Burn
Learning a little science will help you understand your body better and help you achieve your desired goals.
First learn our different types of muscle and their role:
We have three muscle types:
1. skeletal muscle
2. cardiac muscle
3. smooth muscle
Smooth muscle (digestive muscles and arteries) and cardiac muscle (heart pumping) are involuntary, meaning that we do not have think and concentrate to make these muscles move.
Skeletal muscle (muscles for movement) is controlled voluntarily, meaning that we have control over these muscle when we want use them.
Muscles perform four essential functions: They maintain body posture, stabilize joints, produce movement and generate heat we need to survive.
Second, learn about body heat.
Your body heats up when muscles contract. So when you move and exercise, when your heart pumps, and when we digest food, our bodies are using energy to produce heat. Sometimes we feel cold after eating, but that is just because blood is rushing to your gastrointestinal tract and away from your skin. ...And you are probably sitting there in a food coma after eating too much!
Working muscle produces heat in two ways:
Third, understand that it takes a lot of energy to move your body, to move food through your body, to pump blood to your organs, muscle, to and away from the skin and just keep you functioning. So where does all this energy come from? Energy comes from food we eat, and stored food (fat).
When you are trying to lose weight there are bunch of things you can do to use energy (burn calories/create heat).
Use your muscles!
Get your heart pumping to a greater degree than normal.
Use your skeletal muscles (which also gets your heart pumping)
Contrast baths (hot and cold contrasts, so your body has to heat up when cold and cool down when hot)
Now how do you get the smooth muscle to contract even when they are involuntary?
Eat more food! Eat more often in smaller quantities to keep the smooth muscle constantly working.
To lose weight you must use all three muscle types to burn large amounts of calories. This is how you do it:
Exercise: Strength train. Stress the muscles to a greater degree than they are used to. I am talking about the big muscles that cross many joints like the legs, core and arms (yes, total body strength training, not just your bi's and tri's)
Eat: Eat fiber, mostly plants (vegetables) for energy. Plants take a long time to grow, they take a long time to digest, they fill lots of space in your guts, they are low in calories, they require smooth muscle to move through your body, they are cheap, they look good, they taste good, and they are full of vitamins. Eat meat. You need some building materials for all that muscle you are breaking down lifting weights and sprinting. Eat fat. If you eat meat, you are probably are getting decent amount of fat. Fat gives you a full feeling, keeps you full, and tastes so good!
Get your heart pumping: Eating and exercising are both going to get your heart rate up. Exercise is definitely going to get your heart rate up higher than eating. 'Cardio' is fine, but high intensity strength training is going to keep your heart rate elevated even after you are through exercising.
Sample Breakfast:
-2-4 eggs with 2-4 cups green peppers, onion, zucchini, mushrooms (1 serving of protein source to ~1+ cup of vegetables)
-water
Sample snack:
protein shake
1/2 banana
Sample Lunch:
-3-6 oz. meat, 3-6 cups of vegetables
-water
Sample snack:
-carrots+hummus
-water
Sample Dinner:
-3-6 oz. lb meat, 3-6 cups of vegetables
-water
Sample Workouts:
1. 20 squats, 10 push ups (six rounds as fast as possible)
2. 8 lunges, 8 sit ups, 8 overhead presses (repeat for 20 minutes)
First learn our different types of muscle and their role:
We have three muscle types:
1. skeletal muscle
2. cardiac muscle
3. smooth muscle
Smooth muscle (digestive muscles and arteries) and cardiac muscle (heart pumping) are involuntary, meaning that we do not have think and concentrate to make these muscles move.
Skeletal muscle (muscles for movement) is controlled voluntarily, meaning that we have control over these muscle when we want use them.
Muscles perform four essential functions: They maintain body posture, stabilize joints, produce movement and generate heat we need to survive.
Second, learn about body heat.
Your body heats up when muscles contract. So when you move and exercise, when your heart pumps, and when we digest food, our bodies are using energy to produce heat. Sometimes we feel cold after eating, but that is just because blood is rushing to your gastrointestinal tract and away from your skin. ...And you are probably sitting there in a food coma after eating too much!
Working muscle produces heat in two ways:
- The chemical energy used in muscles contracting is not efficiently turned into mechanical energy. (It is about 20 to 25 percent efficient.) The excess energy is lost as heat.
- The various metabolic reactions (anaerobic, aerobic) also produce heat.
Third, understand that it takes a lot of energy to move your body, to move food through your body, to pump blood to your organs, muscle, to and away from the skin and just keep you functioning. So where does all this energy come from? Energy comes from food we eat, and stored food (fat).
When you are trying to lose weight there are bunch of things you can do to use energy (burn calories/create heat).
Use your muscles!
Get your heart pumping to a greater degree than normal.
Use your skeletal muscles (which also gets your heart pumping)
Contrast baths (hot and cold contrasts, so your body has to heat up when cold and cool down when hot)
Now how do you get the smooth muscle to contract even when they are involuntary?
Eat more food! Eat more often in smaller quantities to keep the smooth muscle constantly working.
To lose weight you must use all three muscle types to burn large amounts of calories. This is how you do it:
Get your heart pumping: Eating and exercising are both going to get your heart rate up. Exercise is definitely going to get your heart rate up higher than eating. 'Cardio' is fine, but high intensity strength training is going to keep your heart rate elevated even after you are through exercising.
Sample Breakfast:
-2-4 eggs with 2-4 cups green peppers, onion, zucchini, mushrooms (1 serving of protein source to ~1+ cup of vegetables)
-water
Sample snack:
protein shake
1/2 banana
Sample Lunch:
-3-6 oz. meat, 3-6 cups of vegetables
-water
Sample snack:
-carrots+hummus
-water
Sample Dinner:
-3-6 oz. lb meat, 3-6 cups of vegetables
-water
Sample Workouts:
1. 20 squats, 10 push ups (six rounds as fast as possible)
2. 8 lunges, 8 sit ups, 8 overhead presses (repeat for 20 minutes)
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