HEEL-STRIKING IS THE WORST WAY TO RUN

via Dr. Nicholas Romanov and PoseTech

With various running styles available these days, it is now common to hear forefoot, ball of foot, midfoot (still can't digest this one sincemidfoot is actually the arch of the foot and it's not possible to land on it, but hey, I guess such mental imagery can help some?) or flatfoot striking recommended over the heel striking style. So, today, let's talk about what we can safely call "the worst way to run" - heel striking style.

Before we go any further, let's state what the problem with heelstriking is. Majority of runners are heelstrikers and running is associated with injures more than any other sport. It is considered dangerous because of the jarring impact it has on the body....if you heelstrike. It is also inefficient, since landing heel first while running, actually produces a braking effect....and here I was thinking that you want to run? Then why are you acting like you're trying to stop with every step you take?

Majority of runners have never learned to run because everybody can put their shoes on and out the door they go... Whatever training a few underwent was never technique oriented. Running was never accepted or assumed to be a technique sport.

Heelstriking is wrong and is not good for you no matter how you twist it. Plus there is no scientific research to back it up. Just because some elite runners are heelstrikers doesn't mean anything. They are human just like you and nobody taught them any better. Have you thought about how many world records could've been shattered, if heelstriking wasn't an issue?

First, let's see why is this referred to as the "natural" way to run. What exactly does "natural" mean? From dictionary.com one can get the following:

1. existing in or formed by nature (opposed to artificial): a natural bridge.
2. based on the state of things in nature; constituted by nature: Growth is a natural process.
3. of or pertaining to nature or the universe: natural beauty.

Now let's get a la naturale... take your shoes off and run... 99.9% of people will immediately run on any other part of their foot, but the heel. If you're a member of the 0.01% group insisting on "heel first" approach while doing it barefoot, then I'd like to see what you have to say after, say, mile 10... don't forget to pick up a first aid kit to clean up your bloody tortured heels. The fact is, human heel is not meant to bear such beating.

There is nothing natural about heel striking way of running, as a matter of fact heel striking alone is responsible for countless seriously injured runners - pro, amateur, everyone. I bet you anything that every runner you know is or was injured.

Interestingly, there is not a single scientific study that states that heel striking is good or bad for you. Strangely enough, all the scientific studies carried out on running were at best simply descriptive with collected data, but nothing definitive was ever pronounced. That is until recently.

The only scientific proof that exists in the world of running today belongs to the Pose Method of Running. Done by the top level members of the "running community" such as Timothy Noakes, the author of "Lore of Running" and a famed exercise physiologist and others, the study showed that runners' that use the pose method experience 50% less impact on the knees. In a later article in Runner's World, T. Noakes also stated that no other running style can offer that. He simply said: "Nothing else does it."

50% less impact on the knees compared to heel striking and midfoot striking. That fact alone should prompt you to question your heelstriking ways and re-think your flatfooting or midfooting.

Heelstrikers have a whole list of running related injuries, maybe it should be said "bad-running related injuries" such as:

• Heel pain
• Shin splints
• Achilles Tendonitis
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Various knee pains
• ITB
• Stress Fractures of shin bones and even femur bone (especially women)
• Lower back pain

Constant impact on the heel bone produces numerous implications that like a domino effect spread through the entire body and before you know it there are pains and aches that don't seem to be related to running, but they are. Take for example back pain. Did it ever occur to you that if you experience back pain and you're a heelstriking runner that your back pain could be eliminated by simply running better?

It is a fact that you can eliminate at least half of your current running related issues by simply learning to run better. Countless runners have already done so. The best thing is to learn the Pose Method® Running since it offers the most benefits compared to any other running style. And if anyone wants to argue that heel striking is the way to go, then please produce a list of definite and solid benefits and a scientific proof of such. Until then...

Article by Dr. Nicholas Romanov
Composed by L. Romanov

Germs at the Gym?

The Lexington Herald Leader published a story today titled "Germs at the Gym". The following recommendations are from a flyer we have available for our members and guests.

Germs, bugs & bacteria:

Protecting yourself from germs, bugs, and bacteria — which might be just about anywhere — may seem daunting, but these common-sense precautions can help reduce your risk while at Lexington Athletic Club.

What you can do to reduce your risk:

Wash your hands.
Careful hand washing remains your best defense against germs. Scrub hands briskly for at least 15 seconds, then dry them with a paper towel and use another towel to turn off the faucet. Wash your hands before and after working out and after using the bathroom.

Use instant hand sanitizers.

Take advantage of the alcohol-based instant hand sanitizers available in the workout areas and in the group exercise studios.

Keep personal items personal.

Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, razors and clothing.

Use a towel.

Towels can serve as a barrier between you and shared equipment. However, use one side face down on all of the equipment, keeping the clean side face up for direct contact.

Keep up with your towel.

Keep your towel with you at all times. If you suspect someone may have inadvertently used your towel, return it to the front desk, wash your hands and pick-up a clean towel.

Wipe off equipment.

Wipe off equipment before and after using it. We have several cleaning stations throughout the Club that are stocked with rags and disinfectant.

Keep cuts and wounds covered.

Keep cuts and abrasions clean and covered with bandages until they heal.

Skin-to-skin contact.

Germs and bacteria are frequently transmitted by direct skin-to-skin contact. Good hygiene and covering open wounds can help prevent infections.

Wash your workout gear.

Wash your gym and athletic clothes after each wearing. Keep your gym bag clean too.

Shower after each workout.

Showering after you workout and changing into clean clothes is part of good personal hygiene. When showering, consider using shower shoes or flip-flops. After showering, make sure you are using a clean towel, not your dirty workout towel.

What you can do to reduce your risk to others:

Cover your wound.

Keep wounds that are draining or that have pus, covered with clean, dry bandages. The pus from infected sores often contains infectious bacteria, and keeping wounds covered will help keep the bacteria from spreading.

Use cleaning spray.

We have several cleaning stations throughout the Club that are stocked with rags and disinfectant. Use provided disinfectant to clean shared equipment before and after each use.

Skip your workout.

Do not workout when you are sick or when you may have an infected cut or abrasion.

What we do to help reduce your risk:

Diligent Cleaning.

We frequently clean and disinfect all surfaces throughout the facility.

Complimentary towel service.

Towels can serve as a barrier between you and shared equipment. Take advantage of our towels or you can choose to bring your own.

Towel laundering.

Our towels are washed with bleach and a strong detergent in 140º water and are dried in very hot gas dryers.

Instant hand sanitizers.

We have instant hand sanitizers mounted in our workout areas and in our group exercise studios.

Cleaning Stations.

We have cleaning stations in our workout areas stocked with cleaning rags and disinfectant spray.

Four Focused Swim Workouts

By Erika Lilley, CSCS
For Active.com

When you find yourself heading to the aquatics center on a regular basis without a plan, it's time to refocus and establish your purpose for swim training. Otherwise, you'll see minimal results and soon get bored of staring at that black line at the bottom of your lane as you do the same sets over and over again.

Use your warmup to stretch out your legs and pull.

If you have never been a competitive swimmer or don't belong to an organized Master's program, you may not know how to put together a workout that is more than just "jump in and swim for 30 minutes."

Below are four solid, fundamental workouts that offer some variety and purpose, not to mention some "fun" to your training program. Each workout is designed with a specific theme: technique, sprint, distance and interval training. You are free to alter them as you wish--make them longer or shorter--depending on your training schedule. However, each offers a solid template for the percentage you should allot to each Main Set, so adjust your total yardage accordingly.

You can also adjust the intervals to your ability level (1:30, 1:25, 1:20) for each workout in the main set--especially when performing The Quickie workout. Try to keep each set descending: that is, do each 50, 100 or 200 faster than the first one you performed, so your final one is the fastest.

Perform at least two of these workouts a week and not only will you will be looking forward to your trips to the pool, you will turn yourself into a better overall swimmer.

Tech To It (Technique/Drill Workout)

Warmup: 400 IM Drill
Main Set:

• 16 x 50--Alternate free/stroke drill (choice*) by 50
• 400 Kick (200 with board, 200 without)
• 400 Pull (200 Freestyle, 200 Stroke*)
• 5 x 100 Kick (choose swim or stroke, descending)
• 5 x 100 Pull (choose swim or stroke, descending)

Cool Down: 300 Freestyle
Total Yards: 3300

*Your choice of three strokes: butterfly, backstroke or breastroke. Try NOT to do freestyle when offered the choice. This will only make you a better swimmer.

The Quickie (Sprint Workout)

Warmup: 500 Freestyle
Main Set:

• 8 x 50--Slow/medium pace (1 minute interval)
• 8 x 50--Medium/fast (1 minute interval)
• 8 x 100--Freestyle (descending)
• 8 x 100--75 fast, rest 10 seconds, then 25 sprint
• 8 x 50--25 medium, rest 10 seconds, 25 sprint (1:10 interval)

Cool Down: 300 Freestyle
Total Yards: 3200

Go Long (Distance Workout)

Warmup: 200 Freestyle (Stretch it out. Warm up your legs and your pull.)
Main Set:

10 x 400

• First five 400's are freestyle (descending).
• The last five 400's alternate between pull and kick per 400. (Kick with board and fins. For pull, use a pull-buoy and paddles.)

Cool Down: 300 Freestyle
Total Yards: 4500

Break It Up (Interval Workout)

Warmup: 5 x 200 (50 drill, 100 swim, 50 drill)
Main Set:

3 x 400
• First 400: 100 build, 200 fast, 100 medium
• Second 400: 100 slow, 50 fast, 50 slow, 50 fast, 100 slow
• Third 400: 200 build, 100 fast, 100 slow

2 x 200
• First 200: Pull (100 stroke, 100 freestyle)
• Second 200: Kick (100 stroke, 100 freestyle)

Cool Down: 400 Freestyle
Total Yards: 3000

Erika Lilley is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist working as a fitness coach at Results Fitness in Southern California. She competes in triathlon and will be going to the world championships in 2008. Check out her blog atwww.erikalilley.blogspot.com.

How Much Protein is Required to Build Muscle?

via Fitness Spotlight

The Truth on How Much Protein You Really Need Per Day to Build Muscle

How much protein do you REALLY need per day to build muscle? Chances are that you may be actually overeating. But how much is enough to help maintain and build muscle? Is there a limit per meal that the body can use? Lets get started with 2 more recent studies that currently have many high protein eating bodybuilding communities panicking…..

Six healthy young men reported to the laboratory on 5 separate occasions to perform an intense bout of leg-based resistance exercise. After exercise, participants consumed, in a randomized order, drinks containing 0, 5, 10, 20, or 40g whole egg protein. Protein synthesis and whole-body leucine oxidation were measured over 4 h after exercise by a primed constant infusion of leucine.

APS increased in a dose-dependent manner and also reached a plateau at 20g ingested protein. Leucine oxidation was significantly increased after 20 and 40g protein were ingested.

Ingestion of 20 g intact protein is sufficient to maximally stimulate MPS and APS after resistance exercise. Phosphorylation of candidate signaling proteins was not enhanced with any dose of protein ingested, which suggested that the stimulation of MPS after resistance exercise may be related to amino acid availability. Finally, dietary protein consumed after exercise in excess of the rate at which it can be incorporated into tissue protein stimulates irreversible oxidation.

Source: Ingested protein dose response of muscle and albumin synthesis after resistance exercise in young men

and here’s another one

This study sought to compare changes in muscle protein synthesis and anabolic efficiency in response to a single moderate serving (113 g; 220 kcal; 30 g protein) or large serving (340 g; 660 kcal; 90 g protein) of 90% lean beef.

Mixed muscle fractional synthesis rate was calculated during a 3-hour postabsorptive period and for 5 hours after meal ingestion. A 113-g serving of lean beef increased muscle protein synthesis by approximately 50% in both young and older volunteers. Despite a threefold increase in protein and energy content, there was no further increase in protein synthesis after ingestion of 340 g lean beef in either age group. Ingestion of more than 30 g protein in a single meal does not further enhance the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis in young and elderly.

Source: A Moderate Serving of High-Quality Protein Maximally Stimulates Skeletal Muscle Protein Synthesis in Young and Elderly Subjects; Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 109, Issue 9, Pages 1582-1586

So according to the research above we are seeing that muscle protein synthesis maxes out after a meal at 20-30 grams and anything in over will actually not help stimulate more muscle protein synthesis, but rather just increase excess oxidation (burn for energy).

More Protein Does Not Mean More Muscle

While protein is of course essential to building up muscle, that doesn’t necessarily mean that just eating more and more guarantees bigger muscles. So how much do we really need in the first place? Well here’s some numbers for you:

• The RDA (recommended dietary allowance) for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight of adults (or roughly 0.36 grams per lb of body weight). Or I have also seen advised that women need at least 46 grams of protein per day, and men need at least 56 grams of protein per day (to avoid deficiency).

• NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) recommends that for active people ,endurance and strength training, a higher intake is advised at around 0.4-0.6 per lb of bodyweight (and up to 0.8g/lb bw for full time athletes).

*Note that most of these “body weights” for calculating protein are more based on “ideal” (or even “fat free”) weight.

These are interesting numbers and much lower than what you may hear out there. You can see that with more activity, then the recommended amount of protein will increase. What is also important to remember that the overall calorie intake is also increasing with activity level. So in essence, while the amount of protein may increase the % of protein per daily calories may actually be the same (or less). Just something to keep in mind, as calories also matter.

Intermittent Fasting and Protein Intake

Well if you look at the info above where only 20-30grams of protein are absorbed per meal, then what about many of us IF’ers who eat less number of but larger meals?Are we going to lose all our muscle when we fast and only eat 2-3x a day? Of course by now many who IF already know that is not true.

But it does call into question about “needing” 5-6 meals of 20-30grams of protein to maximize muscle protein synthesis. As much as every supplement company would love us all to believe that we need a 20gram whey protein shake every 2-3 hours (and fuel more supplement sales), in fact maybe the body works better when presented a randomized/stressed environment and not some set equally divided schedule day in and out.

Here’s a little outtake from Dr Eades on his blog comments (#2 to be precise) about protein turnover and IF that is very enlightening:

I don’t think IF would affect muscle mass much at all. If you go without food for a long period of time, say, several days, your metabolic system goes after your muscle mass to convert the protein stored there into the glucose you need to keep your blood glucose normal. This doesn’t happen in the short term. All the protein structures in the body draw from and add to the amino acid pool. When muscle breaks down the individual amino acids go into the pool from where they’re harvested by the system that converts them to glucose. When new muscle is made, the amino acids used to construct the muscle protein are drawn from the amino acid pool. One of the contributors to the AA pool is enzymes that are no longer needed and junk proteins that the body is cleansing from the cells. When one is fasting, one of the group of enzymes not really needed is the group of digestive enzymes that would otherwise be employed in digesting food. These enzymes break down and their amino acids enter the AA pool where the muscle can pick them up as needed. Also, during an IF, the body goes into ketosis. I posted a few months back on how ketosis stimulates the process of cellular cleansing by removing junk proteins from the cells. The amino acids from these proteins also enter the AA pool where they can be recycled by the muscle mass. So, even though new protein isn’t coming into the body minute by minute from the diet, there is plenty of substrate there in the AA pool to last until the next meal, which is, at most, only 24 hours away.

So by the looks of it, actually not eating all day long may help increase you ability to build more muscle on less dietary protein. By using IF and allowing the body to recycle old junk proteins (remember autophagy?) as well as enzymes, the demand for amino acids through diet could be less.

Protein Pulsing for Better Anabolic Responses?

Here’s another interesting outlook on how the body is actually able to use proteins in a larger meal vs several spread out ones.

After a controlled period, 15 elderly women (mean age: 68 y) were fed for 14 d either a pulse diet (n = 7), providing 80% of the daily protein intake at 1200, or a spread diet (n = 8), in which the same daily protein intake was spread over 4 meals. Both diets provided 1.7 g protein•kg fat-free mass (FFM). Protein accretion and daily protein turnover were determined by using the nitrogen balance method and the end product method (ammonia and urea) after an oral dose of glycine. Nitrogen balance was more positive with the pulsethan with the spread diet. Protein turnover rates were also higher with the pulse than with the spread diet, mainly because of higher protein synthesis in the pulse group than in the spread group.

Source: Protein pulse feeding improves protein retention in elderly women; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 69, No. 6, 1202-1208, June 1999

My favorite big meal of protein usually involves lots of juicy steak....what's yours?

So in this group it seems that when eating a “protein pulsing” style of having 80% of daily protein in one meal (and 20% later on), it actuallyincreased nitrogen balance, protein turnover and protein synthesis…when compared to the equally spread out diet. In short…they became moreanabolically responsive (for the muscle building nerds).

But to be fair, the same study was done on younger (mid 20s) women too, and this time the results were even between the pulse and spread diet. While there was no increases in the nitrogen balance or protein turnover/synthesis for the younger group, there was also no disadvantage from the pulsing pattern.

Lesson to be learned, eating protein in a pulsing style/larger meal (although through the studies up top would go against it) does not decrease the anabolic factors associated with muscle gain. In fact, as we get older and our anabolic sensitivities/responses start to decline (all downhill from 30 after all!), it may be more vital to use such strategies to help keep us more responsive (as the study for protein pulsing was initially done to try and help elderly people from losing muscle with age).

But Post Workout Protein Makes More Muscle … Right?

While eating protein is part of the building blocks for making more muscle, it is important to know that your body works in the long term and not minute by minute. With that in mind, how about the importance of the post workout shake (as we hear that eating right after a workout increases protein synthesis)? But that “microscience” ignores the overall bigger picture on whole body recovery that has us building muscle long after the “post workout” window. Here’s a study to help show that point:

Twenty healthy men were studied in the evening after consuming a standardized diet throughout the day. Subjects participated in a 2-h exercise session during which beverages containing both carbohydrate and a protein hydrolysate (C+P) or water only (W) were ingested.

During exercise, whole-body and muscle protein synthesis rates increased by 29 and 48% with protein and carbohydrate coingestion.

During subsequent overnight recovery, whole-body protein synthesis was 19% greater in the C+P group than in the W group. However, mean muscle protein synthesis rates during 9 h of overnight recovery did not differ between groups.

We conclude that, even in a fed state, protein and carbohydrate supplementation stimulates muscle protein synthesis during exercise. Ingestion of protein with carbohydrate during and immediately after exercise improves whole-body protein synthesis but does not further augment muscle protein synthesis rates during 9 h of subsequent overnight recovery.
Source: Coingestion of Carbohydrate and Protein Hydrolysate Stimulates Muscle Protein Synthesis during Exercise in Young Men, with No Further Increase during Subsequent Overnight Recovery; Journal of Nutrition, doi:10.3945/jn.108.092924

Confused? Well I’m going to let my buddy Brad Pilon and author of the new ebook “How Much Protein” answer that one:

What you are looking at is two different measurements of protein synthesis in the human body. “Whole body protein synthesis” is a measurement of the protein synthesis happening in your entire body. This includes things like your liver, heart, lungs, brain GI Track and your muscles. This measurement does not tell you WHICH part of your body the protein synthesis is happening in, just that it is happening. “Muscle protein synthesis” is specifically measuring the amount of protein synthesis that is happening IN your skeletal muscle.

So from the example you posted above, it is obvious that the post workout protein shake increased whole body protein synthesis, but did not increase skeletal muscle protein synthesis. Most likely this means that the extra protein increased protein synthesis in your liver and gastrointestinal tract, but had no measurable effect on your muscles.

So if the point of taking protein before, during, and after your workouts is to build muscle, then the research you quotes seems to say that there would be no additional muscle building effect.

You can skip all the money you spend on protein shakes/powder and just eat enough protein with real foods, as you don't need as much as you think you do.

When you have the right kind of recovery and still eat enough during the day, it seems the “hype” about the post workout window goes away. Honestly unless you are a hard training athlete who needs immediate glycogen replenishment to train again the next day, trying to intake protein (with carbs) during or right after a workout is not necessary.

If people are going to insist on something around workouts, then I would say only a small intake of BCAAs PRE-workout would be most the average person would need. Whether you eat or not immediately after a workout can be up to you, but I wouldn’t base it on some extra muscle building theory.

Higher Protein and Weight Loss

The other part of the equation when it comes to why you eat protein, is about your goals and how many calories you are intaking. Many people use the higher protein intakes when they are looking to lean out and minimize muscle loss. Protein being a harder macronutrient to convert to fat (than carbs or fat), makes it an easy choice to eat more of while keeping carbs/fat low.

Protein will also help you to feel fuller and less likely to overeat on any other macronutrient (fat/carbs). So even if you are intaking more than enough protein to maintain muscle, you are really doing it from another strategy that may include just trying to avoid excess calories and lean out.

Wrapping Up

• The amount of protein that you REALLY need to build muscle is lower than you think, but you still have to get in enough calories from some place.

• Most people using higher protein based diets are usually trying to lose weight and maintain muscle (by limiting calories from excess fat and carbs). As remember, calories matter when you are trying to lose weight.

• If your intake of carbs or fats is higher, then your need for protein (as a calorie source only) decreases. Also diets higher in carbs/fats tend to have more nitrogen sparing effect. The issue being making sure you are eating healthy (especially carbs) and not overdo it, as it could easily be stored as fat. This is why many just go the higher protein way, because of an easier route for body composition and they say “well I have to eat something…mine as well be more meat!”.

• The more active you are, the more protein you probably should intake. Most average active people only need about 0.6g/lb of lean body weight. On the high end I would say only need to go 0.8-1.0g/lb bw, but that does not guarantee extra muscle especially when you can up calories from fat/carbs.

• Using IF (intermittent fasting) is not going to make your muscle waste away, but will in fact actually utilize more internal sources for AA (amino acids) such as unused enzymes and junk proteins.

• Skip the protein shakes and eat real foods….as the additional vitamins, minerals, and essential fats also play a role in building more muscle (and burning fat too). This is also an advantage to knowing you need less protein than originally believed…because you canfocus on quality of the source (pastured eggs, grass fed meats) rather than quantity. Which leads to more natural vitamins, minerals and essential fats (including less Omega 6s, more Omega 3s and even some others like CLA proven to help burn fat/build muscle).

• Unless you are needing immediate muscle glycogen replenishment for the next day of training (athletes), you don’t need that immediate post workout shake/meal.

• Bodybuilders telling you to eat 300+ grams protein a day and train 5x a week…..are only getting results due to the best genetics (much higher than average protein synthesis capabilities) the world has to offer…or a little help from anabolic hormones (steroids) to increase protein synthesis with that higher protein intake (and frequent workout schedule). The average person could not do much with that strategy (except just burnout).

• Seems that whether you eat in 2-3 bigger meals (and/or pulse 1 large meal), or 6 smaller meals…..it won’t matter for muscle building. In the long run, the results are the sameas long as the total amount of protein is kept constant.

So there you go. Did it make you rethink how much protein you really need? I wish someone had this talk with me when I was around 16 because I could have saved $1000s over the next 10+ years from not buying all sorts of protein powders/shakes/bars. When it comes to muscle building, having enough protein matters of course….but the amount is smaller than most would think (especially when you can get enough calories in from carbs/fats and have adequate training + recovery).

More reading: If you want more studies to understand how much protein you really need, then I highly recommend Brad Pilon’s How Much Protein ebook, as it is one of the best straight forward and scientifically (and not bodybuilding hyped) based reads on protein out there.

Lexington: How Not to Get the Swine Flu

8 tips via Mark's Daily Apple

Swine flu. Even the hype surrounding it is pandemic. It’s made headlines in every major newspaper and magazine. The CDC has a new press release every half hour. TV talking heads and radio pundits furrow their brows and express extreme consternation as they tell us to start “bracing for the worst.” President Obama has asked for another billion-and–a-half dollars (that we don’t have) to fend off this impending menace. Frightened school boards are halting classes everywhere until they are given a better action plan. Cruises are cancelled, trips are postponed, pigs are slaughtered, nations are blamed. It’s crazy.

I’m sorry. At this point, I’m not buying it.

I am not convinced that Swine flu H1N1 is any different from just about every other strain of flu we experience every year. Hong Kong flu, every Asian variety of the past two decades, duck flu, other bird flu, you name it. We know the CDC trades in hyperbole, but, hey, “we’re from the government and we’re here to help you.” On the other hand, in the past few hours there seems to be some consensus from clear-thinkers emerging that this swine flu might not be so fatal as strains that caused some prior pandemics. Too little too late?

In fact, there are viruses (and bacteria and fungi and parasites and…) around us all the time. So why don’t we all get sick all the time? Why do so many people get sick and die during epidemics? Every year in the US there are 50,000,000 cases of flu (all types) and 36,000 deaths. If everyone is exposed at some level (and I guarantee you, everyone is exposed) then why doesn’t everyone get sick? And if 50,000,000 get the flu, why don’t 50,000,000 die? It all comes down to the health of your immune system and the strength of your organ reserve. Of course, the Primal lifestyle guarantees both. In the vast majority of cases, people that die of the flu have extremely weakened immune systems and/or experience organ failure indirectly related to the flu (kidneys fail, heart fails, liver fails, etc). But what does that mean for you and me? If you have a healthy immune system and are otherwise in good shape, there’s a strong likelihood that routine exposure to swine (or any) flu will be handled by your immune system without you even noticing. Or maybe you’ll feel weird for a day or two and then you’ll shake it. And even if you should get sick, in 99.99% of cases you have nothing to fear from any form of flu except maybe the loss of a few days pay and a few days of feeling crappy. But only if your immune system is in good order.

So what can you do to bolster your immune system and make sure you fend off any attack – swine-related or otherwise?

1. Avoid Sugar

Sugar is a powerful immune suppressor. One dose of a big dessert or a bag of gumdrops scarfed at a movie can be enough to temporarily weaken the immune system and open the door to infection. That’s especially true if you’ve been eating Primally and clean for a while. Unfortunately, most Americans are susceptible because a lifestyle of sugar intake can result in perpetual immune suppression, the effects of which not only make them sitting ducks for the flu, but can also exacerbate heart disease and cancer.

2. Avoid Stress

Chronic cortisol (the major stress hormone) release is another powerful immune suppressor. As tough as times are, it behooves you to get a handle on stress and do whatever you can to mitigate it, whether it’s through meditation, yoga, prayer, biofeedback or just taking a few minutes each day to chill. People get sick when they are stressed out not from the stress itself, but from the fact that exposure to any virus or bacteria overwhelms their frail immune system.

3. Avoid Overly Stressful Workouts

Again, few things can suppress the immune system as quickly as chronic cardio or a singleexcessive weekend warrior workout (usually anything under 45 minutes is fine). I can pinpoint from my marathon days those exact individual workouts in which I knew immediately that I had gone too far or dug too deep. Invariably I came down with some URTI within a few days – not because I was newly exposed, but because I was vulnerable to anything and everything that was always floating in the air, on a doorknob or in a handshake.

4. Cut the Grains

This would normally be part of the first item “avoid sugar”, since grains tend to be converted to glucose pretty rapidly. But beyond their glucose load, grains (especially whole grains) and their glutens, lectins and phytates may have a collective immune altering or immune-suppressing effect in some (and I suspect most) people.

5. Avoid Stupid Exposure Mistakes

In many cases a mild exposure, like being in the same room with a flu “victim”, is enough to stimulate a healthy immune system to react in a way that further reduces the likelihood you’ll come down with your own case. On the other hand, shaking the hand of someone with the flu who just coughed or sneezed into it might put you over the edge if you then wipe you nose or rub your eyes (eyes are a very vulnerable entry point). I’m not the biggest fan of hand cleaners, but if you think you just got slimed, wash a decent hand soap just to be sure. No need to go OCD in this regard. I would never wear a mask on a plane, for instance, but I’m not telling you not to if you sit next to a cougher/sneezer.

6. Do Get Some Sunshine

The immune system requires vitamin D to function optimally and sunlight is the best way to ensure you get enough D (a vitamin D supplement won’t hurt either). Winter is cold and flu season not just because we are inside sharing our sputum, but because we spend less time getting sunshine and vitamin D.

7. Exercise Appropriately

If you follow the PB, you’ll know that getting a fair amount of low-level aerobic activity and a few focused strength sessions each week will have an immune-boosting effect.

8. Eat Good Fats and Avoid Bad Fats

Omega 3s, mono-unsaturates and even most saturated fats will support healthy immune systems. On the other hand, any intake of trans and hydrogenated/partially hydrogenatedfats will compromise immunity, as will excessive intake of the Omega 6 fats found in many vegetable oils.

The swine flu is nothing new. Whether you get sick or not is entirely up to you. To paraphase George W. Bush “Flu me once, shame on — shame on you. Flu me — you can’t get flued again” Take responsibility for your own health and, fer cryin’ out loud, don’t be flued by the hype.

Further Reading:

Dear Mark: Should I Get a Flu Shot?

Achieve Your Health Goals by “Getting Real”

9 Natural Cold and Flu Remedies (plus one)

Does Cardio Interfere with Strength Training? How 'bout "no."

via Begin2Dig

A question that strength trainees ask at some point:
doesn't endurance (cardio) training interfere with strength training?

Great Question: Initially, starting in 1980 with Hickson, continuing through the 90's, as described in this super review by Andrew Burne, the answer was pretty much "yes."

Even more recent literature still seems to show that there is some interference effect, depending on volume/intensity of the types of training. More recently (2006) there has been a super article that says, ok, based on the findings that more consistently than not show an impact on explosive resistance training, let's consider what themolecular mechanisms are that may be involved to better tune training.

There's a couple new studies, however, lead by Davis [1][2] that revisits this issue of assumed "interference." These studies are interesting on their own, but are particularly useful for reviewing the key ideas around when and how interference happens, if it happens, and why keeping that VO2max KB work in with the strength program is a Good Thing - though there's some other mixes that may have awesome results, too.

Davis is the researcher who in Jan 2008 showed that the effect on delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) can be mitigated by doing some cardio between sets (consider accelerated fast and loose) rather than just resting. He and his group seem to be applying similar protocols to strength training. That is, in the first Davis study, he had a group do serial concurrent exercise protocols (CE = strength and endurance) and what he defines as "integrated." Serial means that the group did their resistance training, then they did their aerobic stuff. The participants rested between sets of their lifts. Pretty standard prescription.
In the "integrated" version, participants did their aerobic work *during* their lifts, effectively between sets. Their heart rates were significantly higher across the complete period of their resistance trainng than their serial colleagues. This is not standard. How many times have you heard "leave your cardio till after your workout; you'll tire yourself out and won't be able to lift"

Here's the kicker: the results. First, the cool thing is we're talking well conditioned participants, not newbies (what i don't know is if they're new to resistance though), but second, the results will surprise you: the mean lower body strength of the serial group went up 17.2%. Not bad at all. The mean lower body strength of the integrated group, however, went up 23.3%. Intriguingly, gains in UPPER body strength were higher in the Serial group than the integrated. As for Endurance, both groups made big improvements; the integrated made more. As for body composition, not surprisingly perhaps, the integrated group was significantly better: 3.3% for integrated, vs 1.8% for serial.

The main take away, according to the authors, is that when compared to single mode training for strength, the concurrent exercise, both serial and integrated, made as good or better gains than single mode. So take that, interference ideas. Also, that by going "integrated" the gains across every marker (but upper body strength), were better in integrated practice.

A cool thing also shown is that there seems to be considerable benefit to strength by adding a Range of Motion cool down, rather than just strength work alone (if you don't have ROM work, consider some zhealth (overview of Z)).

The overview of interference by the authors:

• Many studies have postulated that training frequency is a variable as to whether or not interference occurs. There's nothing conclusive: "Evidence for the training frequency hypothesis is therefore suggestive but equivocal."
• Poor (untrained) physical condition of participants in studies has also been suggested as a factor for interference (or not) "Most studies cited here that report interference from CE used untrained or sedentary subjects, whereas most studies cited here that report absence of interference or synergy used well-trained subjects. Studies reporting absence of interference or synergy in medium- to high-frequency concurrent training protocols invariably used well-conditioned subjects" Most of these studies looked at effects on endurance athletes, it seems, not the other way around, and that's where the money is for most strength athletes like hard style kettlebellers.
• The usual hypothesis that timing of aerobic vs resistance work is a key factor, eg aerobics before, after or during resistance, isn't well established either. "The few studies that have evaluated exercise timing and sequence during concurrent training therefore suggest a possible effect, but its nature and prerequisites are unclear."

The authors suggest that their study adds credence to the hypotheses that more benefit accrues to the better trained athlete when adding endurance to strength work rather than strength work alone, and that frequency and sequencing of training are factors.

Ok, i'll go along with the study showed that there were benefits of adding vigorous cardio (and ROM cool down) to strength. Great. It's also pretty clear that keeping your heart rate up (not resting between sets) is also a benefit to strength. This approach well supports and advances what Pavel's written about not sitting down between sets but keeping your heart up (see Enter The Kettlebell (review) as an example with its discussion of what to do between sets), though the rationale there was not particularly because it *improved* strength gains or reduced DOMS (as far as i recall, anyway).

What i don't quite see tested, and so not supported in the article is the critical issue of frequency. The authors claim that their work is "consistent" with other research on frequency. Which? the work that has shown that negative impacts with more days a week vs fewer days a week? or work that showed even low doses were troubling? The authors picked a nice middle-of-the-road protocol of 3 days a week for training and ONLY three days a week and got nice results.

We do know, that for whatever the myriad of factors, total density of training is a factor in any training plan, balancing recovery and effort, as Kenneth Jay keeps telling me, more an art than a strict science. It's not hard to believe, therefore, that tagging on additional effort to an already loaded program, could have a negative impact, whether resistance or cardio.

So why might the "integrated" approach be a goodie? Davis et al don't know. They have a really neat hypothesis, though, related to their earlier work on "cardioaccleration" and DOMS (remember, they found doing cardio between sets reduced DOMS).

[T]he time course of DOMS reduction and elimination in both men and women trained in the integrated CE protocol is similar to the known time course of skeletal muscle angiogenesis, which may increase muscle perfusion during resistance exercise in the integrated CE group. The same mechanism could account for the apparent synergy of strength and endurance training in the integrated CE group. DOMS signifies contraction-induced muscle damage and consequent reduced capacity to generate muscular power for up to 72 hours (60), implying reduced responsiveness to strength training even in low-frequency (2 days per week) training protocols, whereas enhanced muscle perfusion increases muscle performance by up to 20% (44). The elimination of DOMS and consequent faster muscle recovery combined with enhanced muscle perfusion in the integrated CE protocol could therefore increase training adaptations compared with the serial CE protocol, as found in the present study, perhaps through the mechanism of enhanced postactivation potentiation of muscle responses to resistance exercises (11,12).

In other words, their integrated approach is reducing DOMS which means faster recovery, which means accelerated growth/performance.

When the DOMS article first came out, colleagues said they wouldn't want to sacrifice performance just to reduce DOMS - in other words the cardio during resistance would take away from the effort they could put in - they hypothesized. This latest study shows the reverse seems to be the case.

What does this CE result mean for our training?

Enhanced training adaptations from integrated CE, combined with the potentially related elimination of DOMS (15) and consequent faster muscle recovery (21), therefore have the potential to improve training and clinical outcomes in exercise programs at all levels.

It's worth looking at the article for exactly what intensity is being described in the CE protocol. Saying that, one of the big takeaways from the study is that, if the frequency is right (don't overdo your training. duh), and if you're already well conditioned, intense cardio + resistance are better for strength than strength work alone. If you want to take these benefits further, and enhance recovery, there's an opportunity to "integrate" resistance and "vigorous" / intense cardio.

So for folks who have been mixing up or integrating strength and intense cardio already (see the end of the Cardio/VO2Max article for examples of such protocols), this research just seems to add more support for the value of the approach for strength. What this result means for the rest of us? Well balanced CE programs are better for strength than strength training alone.

How to Maintain Muscle While Losing Weight

via Mark's Daily Apple

“Losing weight” is insufficient terminology. It’s too vague, too unspecific. When a person sets out to lose weight, just what are they trying to lose? Bone density? Muscle mass? Organ weight? Of course not – they’re generally looking to lose adipose tissue. People want to burn body fat, and they want to do it without negatively impacting the more beneficial sources of (corporeal)gravitas. Simply put, you want to lose fat, not muscle. The only problem is that the popular methods for shedding weight often result in excessive (but really, any amount is excessive) muscle loss, too. I’m talking, of course, about precisely the practices I rail against in the Primal Blueprint – Chronic Cardio, ultra low-cal/low-fat ascetic dieting, and other trappings of Conventional Fitness Wisdom. Granted, adhering to any, individually or in concert, will probably help you lose weight, but a ton of it will come from your lean mass (not to mention bones and organs). That said, if you’re going for skinny-fatchic or the waiflike, undernourished look, feel free to run fifteen miles a day and live off canned tuna and rice cakes. The scale will drop, and you won’t be weighed down by that pesky musculature any longer.

But you don’t want that (do you?). You want a strong, lean body. You want to maintain your agility, your power, your strength, and your agreeable appearance. You want to burn fat while maintaining (or even building upon) your existing muscle. Heck, if you’re mostly interested in burning fat, you need the muscle. Muscle is a hungry, wasteful thing. It craves protein andfat to run effectively, along with a bit of glycogen every now and then to fuel up. Next to the organs and the brain, your muscle mass is one of the biggest consumers of energy in the body, and the more you have, the better your fat loss. It’s a delicious cycle – the right kind of exercise spares muscle and burns fat, and more muscle with reduced body fat allows you to do the right kind of exercise.

To make sure you’re losing the right kind of weight, you have to chart your progress. It’s a little more complicated than just watching your total weight, though. In fact, you don’t even really need the scale anymore. Well, you can keep it around, but don’t get too comfortable; your meetings will be fleeting and infrequent from here on out. Spend a little quality time alone, if you must. Get your fill of each other, because you’re going to be using an entirely different set of barometers to monitor your weight loss: eyes, ears, belts, and weights.

Eyes

Check yourself out. Don’t hover in front of the mirror, though. Strip down to the bare essentials and take full body snapshots, making sure to space them out every few days. A lot of people tend to obsess over minor daily fluctuations, but you’re not going to see a whole lot of visual differences that quickly. Five days, six days, or definitely a week, however, can be enough time to notice a difference in a direct comparison. Look out for misshapen lumps, sagging chests, flabby underarms – all signs that you’re losing muscle and maintaining fat.

Ears

If you’re doing it right, you should be getting noticed. Whether it’s a significant other, a co-worker, or friends, people will compliment you. Heed their words. When people say, “You’ve lost weight!” (and they’re not your grandmother clicking her tongue in disapproval) and, “You look stronger and healthier!” it means you’re on the right track. Take it as a sign.

Belts

Losing fat and maintaining muscle means dropping pants sizes. Using an extra notch on the belt is good. Having to buy an entirely new belt is better. Using a hole punch to create new holes because you can’t afford a new belt is pretty bad – but at least you’re still losing fat.

Weights

The best way to ensure you’re maintaining muscle mass is to chart your progress in the weight room. Muscle loss is accompanied by a reduction in strength, so if you find yourself failing to hit the marks you used to destroy with ease, you’re probably eating muscle. It’s a bad sign if you’re dropping weight and doing fewer pull-ups than before.

(You can also use body fat testing to get actual numbers, but I’m a big fan of the above methods. How you feel, look, and lift is going to be enough of a marker for most people.)

Okay, those are a few ways to monitor your progress (or lack thereof), but what about actually doing it? What should we be eating, and how should we be exercising? Short answer: follow the PB way. Eating a high-fat, moderate protein, low-carb diet is pretty crucial in our everyday life, and it’s no different now. Minimizing our insulin load while filling up on fats, meat, and veggies is just as important. Likewise, lifting heavy things and running really fast every once in awhile are keys to promoting fat mobilization and muscle maintenance. You could even just check out the last post I did on building muscle and for the most part all that stuff will apply, too.

But there are a few specifics that bear repeating, and a few areas where today’s advice differs slightly from that of the previous muscle-building post.

Intermittent Fasting

IF is perhaps your greatest tool when losing weight and maintaining muscle. It increases insulin sensitivity (good for mobilizing adipose tissue), promotes the secretion of growth hormone (a muscle sparing, fat burning hormone), and reduces body fat. What’s not to love? It’s almost like the human body’s response to IF was designed specifically for our current predicament. Hmm, I wonder if Grok ever found himself in a situation where food was scarce and muscle mass was precious… For extra benefits, exercise in a fasted state and wait at least an hour before you eat something.

Avoid Excess Chronic Cardio

I know, I know, those words probably still sound like sacrilege to a few of you, but it’s true that constant, Chronic Cardio is catabolic – it retards muscle growth, interrupts protein synthesis, and can even reduce existing muscle mass. Too much exercise (especially highly stressful long distance steady state stuff) releases cortisol, a vitally important “flight-or-flight” hormone that can be incredibly damaging in unnaturally large amounts. In Grok’s day, cortisol would have kicked in when he needed it to jog his senses and get him focused on surviving a momentary threat; nowadays, we’re pelted with stress from all angles, and our body doesn’t differentiate between artificial stress (like work, traffic, or money) and “real” threats. Chronic Cardio is just another unnaturally stressful situation we subject ourselves to, and cortisol is happy to help – except all that help packs on the pounds and eats away at our muscles.

Make Sure You Sprint

Besides, sprinting (or really, any exercise that stimulates lactate production) is a great way to increase growth hormone production and burn body fat while maintaining fast twitch musculature. GH, fasting, sprinting, fat mobilization… it all seems to fit together, huh?

Lift Heavy Things

You fail to move it, you’ll lose it. You can’t forget about lifting, whether it’s with a heavy barbell or your own weight. Resistance training increases bone density, which is an important factor in healthy body weight, and it (obviously) also increases (or maintains, depending on your diet/intensity) muscle mass. Oh, and I probably don’t even have to say it, but heavy lifting (especially compound exercises like squats and deadlifts) also stimulates growth hormone production.

Don’t Go Overboard on the Food

You’re not trying to pack on weight – even if it’s muscle – so there’s no need to stuff yourself. When you’re not fasting, just eat normally. Eat your fill, and stop when you want. Just keep those carbohydrates low, no more than 50g or so for most people, and don’t obsess over calorie counting (in either direction). Focus on saturated and monounsaturated fats (with some fish oil to supplement) and take in about a gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass.

Again, you’d be pretty safe just following the normal Primal eating and exercise plans, getting plenty of rest, minimizing stress, and fasting once in awhile, but I figured a quick and dirty guide with a few clarifications would help ensure you achieve fat loss without sacrificing muscle mass. It’s just too bad that most of the mainstream assumes muscle loss accompanies weight loss – if they even consider it. Let’s hope a few outsiders stumble upon this and realize weight loss doesn’t have to be a compromise.

Lexington Athletic Club: Are You More Active Than Grandma?

Are You More Active Than Grandma?

by Joe Kita

via Core Performance

This is amazing, sobering, embarrassing. I’ve finished triathlons, ridden centuries, run marathons and am even a newly certified yoga instructor, but according to this little device I’ve been wearing on my hip for the past week, I am, gulp, sedentary.

To determine how active I am outside of the 60 to 90 minutes of exercise I generally get daily, I’ve been wearing a pedometer. That’s the small change I’m making this month. And since my job as a writer is executed from a soft chair in front of a home computer, my daily step totals have been woeful: 3750, 2430, 3100. On some mornings I log only 300 to 400 steps, largely commuting to and from the coffeepot. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, taking less than 5,000 steps per day classifies you as sedentary. (That’s sedentary as in ground sloth or your in-laws on Thanksgiving Day at 7 o’clock.)

In case you’re thinking I’m needlessly concerned—after all, I am exercising daily—keep in mind that the 7 to 10 total hours of time I’m working out during the week amounts to just 5 percent of the total hours in that week. So 95 percent of the time I am essentially doing nothing or very little. I am sedentary.

“I don’t care what you’re doing during the 5 percent of the time you’re working out,” says Alwyn Cosgrove, a renowned fitness expert and the owner of Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California, “when you look at the big picture that’s a very small investment.”

Thanks, Alwyn.

In a moment of despair, I head to the local sporting goods store, buy a bag-full of pedometers and start attaching them to all sorts of things. But it turns out that my wife, who’s a registered nurse, logs nearly 8,000 steps in a single 8-hour shift. The 10-year-old boy across the street totals a stultifying 32,000 steps in just two days, leading me to ask his mom how much sugar she’s giving him. My 75-year-old mother, who I’ve been warring with lately to exercise more, somehow accumulates 5,000 daily steps shuffling around her duplex—a finding that triggers a barrage of “I told you so’s” equal to anything Dick Cheney will mount if we ever suffer another terrorist attack. Finally, with no solace apparently to be found, I pin one to the collar of my loyal Jack Russell, Guinness. Surely she won’t embarrass me. And true to her breed, she dislodges the pedometer during a leap for a tennis ball and crushes it beneath her paw. Good dog.

The crucial question, of course, is whether what I achieve during my official exercise time is offset by my lack of movement the rest of the day. Even though I’m healthy and lean, would I be better off somehow if I stopped exiling my workouts to a separate corner of life and instead incorporated them more fully in it? Is it more beneficial to exercise or just be more active?

“These are tough questions, and there are no easy answers,” says Cosgrove. “As our lives become increasingly more sedentary, we have to define fitness for ourselves. The best definition I ever heard was that fitness is the ability to meet the demands of your life with a small buffer left over for emergencies. If you fulfill that definition, then you’re fit regardless of how fast you can run or how much you can bench press.

“Training has become increasingly more intense as people have gotten less active in their daily lives and society has become almost completely automated,” Cosgrove continues. “And some of the workouts people are doing now are leaving them so exhausted and sore that they can’t do anything the rest of the day. Those workouts are making them more sedentary, which doesn’t make any sense. To be truly fit, we need to get some balance back in our lives and maybe that just means moving more.”

But how do you make that transition if, like me, you’re an exercise junkie—if the hour or so that you’ve carved out from your day for movement is satisfying but suddenly perhaps not as effective?

I’ll discuss the specifics of doing that next blog. But for now, I need to get up and take a walk.

Lexington Fitness: LEG BLASTER

via Mountain Athlete

LAC 25th Anniversary Sale: Only 3 Days Left!!

Join NOW and the rest of the year is FREE!

LAC: Lexington Athletic Club turns 25!

Lexington Athletic Club's 25th Anniversary Sale going on NOW! Join now and pay nothing until 2010! That's more than 3 months free!

Unbelievable Pull-up Footage

Bar-Barians!

Lexington Athletic Club: Time Magazine gets it wrong!

Hey, Time, 'Exercise won't make you thin'? What were you thinking?

via LA Times

Fitness and health experts say Time magazine got it wrong this week with its cover story, "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin." The story argues that even though more people than ever are exercising, obesity rates are still rising. Moreover, the article posits that exercise backfires as a weight-loss tool because people become hungrier and end up eating more. The rationale goes something like this: "I walked three miles today so I'll reward myself with a blueberry muffin." The three-mile walk burned off 239 calories, but the muffin added 420.

Further, the story argues, humans evolved to hoard calories. Once you gain a certain amount of weight, your body tries to protect that fat storage. Indeed, this theory is widely supported and does explain in part why efforts to lose weight, either by diet, exercise or both often fail.

However, most research suggests that exercise and dieting are both important for weight loss and that exercise is critical for weight maintenance. It's difficult, but not impossible. Research not cited by the Time article shows that people who have maintained a significant weight loss over a sustained period of time largely rely on exercise to do so. This effort, studies suggest, can eventually retrain the body to respond appropriately to food and activity. Moreover, these people also carefully watch what they eat. In other words, they know that eating a blueberry muffin after their workout will undermine their goals. This evidence was detailed in a 2008 story in the Los Angeles Times' special Health section on weight loss.

The American College of Sports Medicine released a statement Friday saying it takes "strong exception" to the Time story's conclusions. "[P]hysical activity is one of the most important behavioral factors in enhancing weight loss maintenance and improving long-term weight loss outcomes," said John Jakicic, who chairs the ACSM's committee on obesity prevention.

One expert quoted in the Time piece, Dr. Timothy Church, said his professional opinions were misrepresented, according to the ACSM statement. Church noted that weight maintenance is different than weight loss. Virtually all people who lose weight and keep it off are exercising to maintain weight, he said.

Another ACSM member, Dr. Janet Rankin, said: "A practical response to the claim that exercise makes you eat more and gain weight is to look around. If this were the case, wouldn't those who regularly exercise be the fattest? Obviously, that isn't the case."

The story doesn't say exercise is bad. Indeed, exercise has been shown to convey many health benefits. It just won't help you lose weight, the author, John Cloud, states. But he seems to be suggesting that promoting exercise is some type of public health conspiracy. "Public-health officials have been reluctant to downplay exercise because those who are more physically active are, overall, healthier," he said.

-- Shari Roan

Lexington Diet: The Paleo Diet

For about 2.6 million years, our species evolved as hunter-gatherers eating lean meat, fish, and fresh fruits and vegetables. This type of diet is commonly called the Paleolithic or Paleo Diet, and it accounts for almost all (99 percent) of human history.

About 10,000 years ago, the Agricultural Revolution resulted in a deluge of dairy, grain, fatty meat, salt and sugar (and many unpronounceable artificial additives) that our ancestors never ate. Human physiology couldn't adapt so quickly to such immense change, but that doesn't mean we can't simulate a natural diet that will improve the way we feel, work, and perform athletically.

The Paleo Diet is a way of eating in the modern age that best mimics the nutrition of our evolutionary and genetic heritage - an ancestral, Paleolithic diet. For millions of years our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate combinations of lean meats, seafoods, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. But today in America, more than 70% of our dietary calories come from foods that our Paleolithic (Stone Age) ancestors rarely if ever ate ... and that modern humans are not genetically adapted to eat. The result is epidemic levels of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, arthritis, acne, gastrointestinal disease, and more.

via The Paleo Diet

The Twenty Pull-ups Challenge

The training program consists of six weeks (eight weeks if you can't do at least 3 pull-ups in the initial test). Every week has three work-outs. You should rest for one day after each training day. For example you can decide to work out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

If you fail to do enough pull-ups for the current work-out, step back one day. This doesn't mean anything. Six weeks is short time for a training program. Take your time and don't give up! You will be able to do 20 pull-ups sooner than you may think.

Get the rest HERE

How to Kick the Treadmill-Gripping Habit

From Lorra Garrick, CPT, for About.com

Holding onto the rails while walking or running on the treadmill is a bad habit that reduces the good effects of your workout. Some people think walking on a treadmill is

akin to balancing one foot on a log in the water. Thus, the idea of taking their hands off the machine is unthinkable. I’ve had people with many situations, including Meniere’s disease (a balance disorder), obesity, and advanced age, release their hands. Not one of them fell.

Treadmill Rails Don’t Need to Be Used

Many treadmill-grippers are young, not overweight, and have no medical ailments. Thus, it’s safe to assume that most people hold on for no other reason than because the rails and front bar are there. The presence of the bar and rails puts the idea into walkers’ heads that they’ll topple over if they don’t hold on. Letting go never dawns on them.

The rails are there for liability purposes, maximum profit, and to hold onto when you turn around to see who’s behind you. The front bar is for checking heart rate.

Slow Down the Treadmill

It’s always funny how people who tell me they’ll “fall off” have the tread going at 3.5 or 4 mph. However, many people I’ve spoken to never needed to slow down before letting go. All they needed was my suggestion to slow down the speed. On the other hand, many people indeed have the machine’s settings too high for their abilities.

Treadmill Walking with Zero Incline

If you don’t think you have a balance problem, simply let go at the speed you normally use. You’ll instantly feel many more muscles working. Keep straight and focus on posture. If you’re “scared” to let go, then first reduce speed. Go down to 2 mph, if you must. If you’re challenged, set it even slower. Cruise at 1 mph if this is what it takes to acclimate your body to real walking.

If you feel self-conscious about being seen walking this slowly, then do realize that this doesn’t look half as silly as holding on at a faster speed. Your body will adjust to this new stimulus very quickly.

If you prefer no incline, do short speed-walking intervals alternating with slower walking. Or, stay at one challenging pace for sustained periods. If you can’t let go because your eyes are pasted to the TV or a magazine, then give up the TV or magazine.

Treadmill Incline

People set the incline too high for the speed, or the speed too fast for the incline. Thus, they have no choice but to hold on. If releasing your hands is too difficult, regardless of your fitness level or age, then lower the settings. Many people believe that in order to get a sizzling cardio workout, they must keep the speed at least 3.5 or 4 mph for incline walking. At a high incline, this is unrealistic as a sustained pace.

Think of your last uphill hike outdoors. You were probably climbing at only 2 or 2.5 mph. Even 3 mph outdoors can be difficult. Set the tread at a pace similar to that of your outdoor hikes. Be realistic. I’ve seen people on the treadmill (no hands) get smoked out just by walking only 2.5 mph at 15% for only 10 minutes.

Treadmill Interval Training

1. High Incline - Level Recovery: Walk a high incline for a few minutes (hands off), then go level for two minutes to recover. Alternate tough, high inclines with easy, low inclines at a fixed speed for 30 minutes. Do not keep the incline high and simply hold on for your easy intervals. Instead, lower the angle and keep your hands off. For fitness results, you must mimic reality.

2. High Incline, Vary Speed: Maintain a 15% grade, but vary the speed. For instance, alternating one-minute intervals between 4 mph and 2 mph. Don’t think 2 mph is too slow; you may still be wheezing after only one minute at this recovery interval, especially as time progresses into the routine.

3. High Intensity Interval Training: If you’re in great shape, set your training intervals at a grueling intensity (6 mph at 15%). It’s OK for a training interval to last only 15 to 30 seconds. Your one- or two-minute recovery intervals can be a 3 mph, flat-level walk or a 2.5 mph, 15% walk.

4. Steady Pace: If you don’t prefer intervals, then walk or jog sustained at an incline low enough to permit releasing your hands, but high enough to charge up your heart rate. Raise the incline one percent every week or two.

5. Experiment: Experiment with different grades, speeds and interval times for varying degrees of intensity. If you initially feel dizzy or unsteady, it’s because you’re used to using your arms as anchors. Stick it out and you’ll soon be walking like a Marine or running like the wind. If your lower back aches while using the incline, it’s because those muscles are working for the first time.

LAC Fitness: Dwight Howard bench press

Lexington Running: Run/walk method for Marathons

Better Running Through Walking

By TARA PARKER-POPE via NYT

I am more couch potato than runner. But not long ago, I decided to get myself into shape to run in the New York City Marathon, on Nov. 1, just 152 days from now. (Not that I’m counting.)

To train for my first marathon, I’m using the “run-walk” method, popularized by the distance coach Jeff Galloway, a member of the 1972 Olympic team. When I mentioned this to a colleague who runs, she snickered — a common reaction among purists.

But after interviewing several people who have used the method, I’m convinced that those of us run-walking the marathon will have the last laugh.

Contrary to what you might think, the technique doesn’t mean walking when you’re tired; it means taking brief walk breaks when you’re not.

Depending on one’s fitness level, a walk-break runner might run for a minute and walk for a minute, whether on a 5-mile training run or the 26.2-mile course on race day. A more experienced runner might incorporate a one-minute walk break for every mile of running.

Taking these breaks makes marathon training less grueling and reduces the risk of injury, Mr. Galloway says, because it gives the muscles regular recovery time during a long run. Walk breaks are a way for older, less fit and overweight people to take part in a sport that would otherwise be off limits. But most surprising are the stories from veteran runners who say run-walk training has helped them post faster race times than ever.

One of them is Tim Deegan of Jacksonville, Fla., who had run 25 marathons when his wife, Donna Deegan, a popular local newscaster and cancer survivor, began organizing a marathon to raise money for breast cancer research. When Mr. Galloway volunteered to help with the race, Ms. Deegan asked her husband to take part in run-walk training to show support.

“The only reason I did this is because I love my wife,” said Mr. Deegan, 49. “To say I was a skeptic is to put it very nicely.”

But to his surprise, he began to enjoy running more, and he found that his body recovered more quickly from long runs. His times had been slowing — to about 3 hours 45 minutes, 15 minutes shy of qualifying for the Boston Marathon — but as he ran-walked his way through the Jacksonville Marathon, “I started thinking I might have a chance to qualify for Boston again.”

He did, posting a time of 3:28.

Nadine Rihani of Nashville ran her first marathon at age 61, taking walk breaks. Her running friends urged her to adopt more traditional training, and she was eventually sidelined by back and hip pain. So she resumed run-walk training, and in April, at age 70, she finished first in her age group in the Country Music Marathon, coming in at 6:05.

“My friends who were ‘serious’ runners said, ‘You don’t need to do those walk breaks,’ ” she said. “I found out the hard way I really did.”

Read the rest HERE

Lexington Fitness: Paleo/Primal Exercise

Lexington Fitness: Why You Got Fat

Lexington Fitness: Big "Fat" Lies

Lexington Fitness: Go Primal/Paleo!

Great video!

Lexington Fitness: No Excuses

via Mark's Daily Apple

Today, We Shoot Down Excuses



When it comes to eating and exercising, people are quick to produce an excuse – any excuse – explaining why they can’t do it. Coming up with excuses may be pretty easy, but I find shooting them down to be even easier.

I don’t have enough time to workout.
If you’ve got 15 minutes you’ve got enough time.

I don’t know where to start.
You do now:

The 10 Primal Blueprint Laws
The Definitive Guide to the Primal Blueprint Eating Plan
The Definitive Guide to Grains
The Definitive Guide to Fats
The Best of 2008

I can’t afford healthy foods.
Sure you can. Organ meat is cheap and incredibly nutritious. Or try the Depression Diet. Heck, even organics are affordable, if you know how to do it. Even healthy cuts of meat can be had on a budget: grass fed meat options, thrift cuts. If you’re the ambitious type, save money on quality meat by buying wholesale. And here are some more tips for good measure.

I hate working out.
Don’t think working out has to mean jogging on a treadmill for miles and miles. Stop with the chronic cardio and start tricking yourself into working out.

Read the rest HERE.

Ropes Gone Wild at LAC

Those new ropes laying around LAC aren't just for double dutch...

Watch how Art of Strength uses them...

LAC Member featured in Kentucky Kernel

Being barbell Barbie: Former cheerleader builds body and tears down stereotype

Way to go Siouxsie Gisselberg!

David Madden wins the LAC bracket contest!

Final Standings
1. David Madden 131
2. Kyle Oroku 130
3. Jillian Dove 129
4. Steve Hellman 125
5. Robert Price 124

Congratulations David! Fame and fortune are now yours!

2009 March Madness

Standings as of 3/23

1. Ed Schaub 56 points*
2. David Madden 51 points
2. Kristin Bullock 51 points
3. Dustin Ramirez 50 points
5. 3 tied with 49

*look out, Ed won it last year!

LAC March Madness Contest 2009

Standings as of 3/23

1. Ed Schaub 56 points
2. David Madden 51 points
2. Kristin Bullock 51 points
3. Dustin Ramirez 50 points
5. 3 tied with 49

Butter, Bacon, And Eggs: Real Foods Take On Fake Foods

via LifeSpotlight

A few days ago, I was served a quiche at work, but instead of being made with eggs, it was made with half eggs and half Egg Beaters. As the person that made it proclaimed, she “did everything she could to make it low-fat.” So I started thinking about all of the fake foods we use to replace real, wholesome foods. But before we get into that, let’s take a look at the length of time the foods I’m about to talk about have been in our diets.


The Food Timeline

Let’s look at an interesting site that I came across quite awhile back…The Food Timeline. Now, since we know that the foods that humans have been eating the longest are the very foods that we’re the best adapted for, this site could prove beneficial in helping sort through this mess.

So let’s note that butter existed nearly 5000 years before man-made margarine. While there’s no entry for bacon specifically, pork was domesticated around 9000 years ago, so I’m betting bacon followed within the next century or two. Unsurprisingly, turkey bacon isn’t on the timeline, but I’m betting it only came about in the last decade or two, three at most. Yet, we’re consistently told these new foods are better for us. Why?

Read the rest HERE

LAC March Madness Contest

Fame, Recognition, and Fabulous prizes await you! Turn your bracket in by 11pm on Wednesday! (it's free)

The Context of Calories

via Mark's Daily Apple

Many people think weight loss is simply about cutting calories. But context counts here, too. Calories do have context and that’s what I want to explore today. Is a calorie from fat the same as a calorie from protein or carbohydrate? Depends on the context. Does day-to-day calorie monitoring make any difference if your week-to-week weight and energy expenditure are dialed in? Maybe not.

Most people (even many scientists) believe that the body composition challenge is a relatively simple equation: to lose weight you must reduce calories (either eat less or burn more), to gain weight you must add calories, and to maintain weight you keep calories constant. Calories in over calories out.

The truth is, it’s more like a complex equation where you have to factor in many other very important variables: Do I want to lose weight or just body fat? Do I want to gain weight or just muscle? How much muscle do I want to put on and how fast? What is my personal genetic “range” or limit for body fat or muscle? These are all different contexts. And these are further affected by supply (types and quantity of foods as well as frequency of meals) and metabolic demand (your relative immediate need for either energy, repair, or building). In the short-term, they are rate-limited by hormones (insulin, glucagon, epinephrine, nor-epinephrine, cortisol etc). And in the long-term the range (or limits) of possible outcomes is determined by gene expression (5’8” ectomorphs simply can’t become 275-lb body-builders, but they can be well-proportioned 165-lb men or 135-lb women.). The context can also change day-to-day. That’s where you come in as the director.

Fat burning, glucose burning, ketone burning, glycogen storage, fat storage, gluconeogenesis, and protein turnover. All of these energy-related processes are going on simultaneously in each of us at all times. But the rate at which each of these processes happens is different in each of us and they can increase or decrease (sometimes dramatically) depending on the context of our present circumstances and our long term goals. All of these contexts utilize the same gene-based principles of energy metabolism – the biochemical machinery that we all share - but because they all involve different starting points as well as different goals or possible outcomes, they often require different action plans. We can alter the rate at which each of these metabolic processes happens simply by changing what and when we eat. We can change the context.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-context-of-calories/

The Definitive Guide to the Primal Eating Plan

via Mark's Daily Apple

I start with these four basic principles to guide my Primal Blueprint eating style:

1) 80% of your body composition will be determined by your diet. Yes, exercise is also important to health and to speed up fat-burning and muscle-building, but most of your results will come from how you eat. I’ll write more on this later, so just trust me on this one for now. Suffice to say, people who weigh a ton and exercise a ton, but eat a ton, still tend to weigh a ton. I think I’ll have that made into a t-shirt…

2) Lean Body Mass (LBM) is the key to life. I’ve said it many times on this site: lean mass (muscle and all the rest of you that is not fat) is directly correlated with longevity and excellent health. Rather than strive to “lose weight”, most people would be better off striving to lose only fat and to build or maintain muscle. Since other organs tend to function at a level that correlates to muscle mass, the more muscle you maintain throughout life, the more “organ reserve” you’ll have (i.e. the better the rest of you will work). Refer back to rule #1 and eat to build or maintain muscle.

3) Excess body fat is bad. Most human studies show that being significantly overweight increases your risk of nearly every disease (except osteoporosis - because ironically it responds to weight-bearing activities). Fat just doesn’t look that great either. See rule #1 and eat to keep body fat relatively low.

4) Excess insulin is bad. We’ve written about it here a lot. Chronic excess insulin may be even worse than excess sugar (and we know how bad that is). All animals produce insulin, but within any species, those that produce less insulin live longer than those who produce a lot. Eat to keep insulin low.

Here is how I use these principles to guide my individual macronutrient intake:

Read the rest here

Jedi Workout

LAC Member, Dan Case, Wins State Racquetball Tournament...

....for the fourth year in a row!

Four-Peat!

Stop being so tired, by Jack Lalane

The Simplest Muscle Building (and Fat Shredding) Workout Plan…and it Works!

via Life Spotlight Network

Ok, we all have been there….Burnout! Maybe it was trying to do some super complicated workout for weeks….maybe it was just going to the gym too often…or maybe it was just time for a change. We have all hit the wall, and it’s not pleasant. Once we lose that passion and excitement it’s time to reevaluate what we are doing…and take a new course of action.

Less is More

I’ve been working in gyms for so long that I can’t wait to get out of there some days. But what about my workout? Ahhh I’ll just do it tomorrow…and then that turns into the next day…or the next…or the next. When I’m excited about my workouts I stick with them…when I dread them, then good luck getting me to the gym. Long ago I got bored will all the typical pyramidal sets of 8-12 reps, chest day or all those other things you find in any magazine. Then I came across a system that looked and sounded so simple, that it couldn’t get old. To this day I still call it my simplest workout plan for those times I just want to go and push stuff around without thinking too much (which seems to be my regular workout nowadays).
The funny part is…that it can also get you great results for building muscle and burning fat! (as we all know the best way to burn fat is build muscle and get those fat releasing hormones like GH going….along with eating right of course). So now I present the easiest workout idea that I have enjoyed using over the years of trying almost every method out there.
Staley’s Escalated Density Training (EDT)

I first came across this concept long ago reading an article by Charles Staley about his EDT style of training and how he has had remarkable success with many big name clients in putting on muscle. Charles is very well known in the fitness community, and you will actually see more things that closely resemble an EDT style of training out nowadays. Why? Because it works and it is simple. What is EDT? Charles gives some good insight in this interview:

read the rest HERE

SCORE Clinic at LAC

Dr. Jeff Fortes is now seeing patients on Tuesday's and Thursday's at his new Lexington office located inside Lexington Athletic Club.

from his website:

Dr. Jeff Fortes, DC is a 2000 Graduate of Palmer West Chiropractic College. A California native, he practice 6 years in Folsom, California before relocating to Louisville. He specializes in Sports and Family Chiropractic. He is certified in Graston Technique and Active Release Technique.

Since moving to the Louisville area, Dr. Fortes has become The Provider of Graston Technique, Active Release Technique and Chiropractor for The University of Louisville Cardinals Athletics. In addition, he has also become the Chiropractor for The Louisville Fire Football Team in the AFL 2. This season, Dr. Fortes is also the Chiropractor for the Louisville Bats Baseball Team, a Triple A Team for The Cincinnati Reds. Also in 2008, Dr. Fortes will be the Chiropractor for the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, The Ryder Cup Experience and The Fight Master Cup held in Louisville.

His sports interest is to wakeboard, snowboard, golf, sport fishing and compete in triathlons. He finished his first IronMan in Coeur D’Alene 2004 and is training for the Louisville IM in 2008. He has 6 dogs and 6 cats and a 30 lb. Tortoise named Heidi. On his spare time, he likes to travel the world and eat at new restaurants.

Dr. Fortes has been a guest speaker on several Local and International television on Topics of Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Treatments

Licenses / Certifications /Skills / Awards:

• Certified Graston Technique Provider, Soft tissue specialist
• Certified Active Release Technique Provider
• Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician Candidate
• Independent Disability Evaluator for Worker’s Compensation
• Dr. Fortes has done 2 Chiropractic mission trips to Brazil, 2000 and 2001
• International Chiropractic Association Council Member on Fitness and Sports Health Science.
• Member of the California Chiropractic Association since 2000
• Member of the International Chiropractic Association since 2000
• Past President and Past Secretary for Kiwanis Club of Folsom, CA. Distinguished Service Award 2003-2004, Outstanding Achievement Award 2001-2002
• Former Secretary for Business Network International
• Chamber of Commerce Member of Folsom since 2000
• Member of Sutter Street Merchants Historical Association since 2000
• Personal Fitness Trainer 1990-2000, Certified ACSM
• Ironman Finisher in Coeur D’Alene in 2004
• 2 x Marathon Finisher
• CPR Certification, 1997,1999,2000, 2002, 2004, 2006
• California, Illinois Chiropractic Licenses, INACTIVE
• Athlete Care Provider for 2004 Olympic Trials
• Sports Chiropractor for The CaliforniaMan Iron-Distance Triathlon 2004
• Official Sponsor and Sports Chiropractor for Total Intensity Sports Triathlon Club
• Official Sports Chiropractor for Folsom International Triathlon since 2003
• Official Sports Chiropractor for CaliforniaMan Iron-Distance Triathlon in 2004. Official Sponsor and Team Chiropractor for Total Body Fitness Multi-Racing Triathlon Group
• Official Sponsor and Sports Chiropractor for Sacramento Triathlon Club
• Official Sponsor and Sports Chiropractor for Tri-Sierra Club
• Official Sponsor and Chiropractor for Louisville Landsharks Triathlon Club
• Official Provider of Graston Technique, Active Release Technique and Chiropractic for The University Of Louisville Cardinals Athletics
• Chiropractor for the Louisville Fire Arena 2 Football Team
• Chiropractor for the Louisville Bats Baseball Team a Triple A Team for the Cincinnati Reds
• Chiropractor for the 2008 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball
• Chiropractor for the 2008 Ryder Cup Experience
• Chiropractor for the 2008 Fight Master Cup
• Chiropractor for the 2008 Derby City Roller Girls
• Chiropractor for the 2008 Louisville Karma Women’s Football Team
• Official Sponsor for the 2008 Taylorsville Half-Iron Distance Triathlon

Healthy Heart Tips for a Bad Economy

via HealthDay News

Don't let your body pay the price in uncertain times, experts say

SATURDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- The economic news is enough to weaken anyone's heart, and it sometimes does with people feeling stressed, eating poorly and cutting out workouts while trying to make ends meet.

"We've seen an increase in patients complaining about heart palpitations, anxiety and stress over the past months," Karol Watson, an associate professor of cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, said in a news release issued by the school. "Much of heart disease can be prevented. That's why it is so important to follow a healthy lifestyle and to control your cardiovascular risk factors."

UCLA cardiologists offer these tips for adults and children in these tough economic times:

Eat better; exercise more. Eat a healthy diet, including five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. By cooking simple fresh foods at home, rather than indulging in restaurant fare or fast foods, you can save money and your health. Maintaining a good diet and exercise program -- even if it's just 30 minutes of walking around the neighborhood -- helps you prevent obesity, which adds to the risk of heart attacks, heart failure and diabetes.

• Don't skimp on health care. Putting off doctor visits, especially when you have symptoms, hurts your health more in the long run, as does skipping medications or splitting pills to cut costs. Maintain regular checkups. Look at pharmaceutical company prescription programs if medication costs are a concern for you.

• Stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke. Smoking is an expensive habit that greatly increases your risk of cardiovascular problems. Quitting smoking quickly reduces the risk to your heart.

• Reduce stress. Find a positive outlet -- such as exercise, meditation or the company of others -- to ease stress and improve your health.

• Maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Get your levels checked and talk to your physician about the best plan of action to keep your LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels low and your HDL ("good") cholesterol levels high.

• Check your blood pressure. Hypertension is called the "silent killer," because it exhibits few warning signs. Today, several effective treatments are available for high blood pressure. If your blood pressure is normal, maintain it with a healthy lifestyle.