September Archives

1. Want to know why I get so frustrated with most (not all) trainers out there? Just the other day, we had a kid come in for an evaluation who mentioned to me that he has been working with another trainer for the past six months. You would think that after six months, he’d be able to perform one push-up with good form, right? You would also think that he’d have the kinesthetic awareness to be able to “find” what a neutral spine is supposed to feel like. Sadly, he couldn’t do either of the two. SIX MONTHS! Upon asking him what he and his previous trainer had been doing all this time, he said “you know, stuff like agility drills.” If more “trainers” spent more time working on the basics rather than trying to impress parents with smoke and mirrors (agility ladders, cone drills, etc), this kind of stuff wouldn’t be an issue.

2. I’d like to thank Karen Kent and Joey Taraborelli of +1 Fitness for inviting me out to Rhode Island last week to speak to their clients/members at AMGEN. I did a presentation titled De-Constructing Computer Guy: An Approach to Managing Muscle Imbalances in the Gym, where I discussed some basic programming strategies that your typical “computer guy” (or girl) should consider given the fact that they sit for a vast majority of the day. Some key points I hit on:

*You can spend one hour “fixing” things, but you still have 23 hours to mess it up again. Those other 23 hours are important. From a corrective exercise/postural standpoint, you have to be cognizant of what you’re doing outside of the gym as well. You know, like the fact that you’re reading this blog post with a forward head posture and a rounded back. Gotcha!

*Treadmills stink for this population. One of the keys to feeling better is increasing amplitude (range of motion). With jogging, there isn’t a lot of range of motion going on there (very little hip flexion or extension). Not to mention most people shouldn’t be jogging/running in the first place given the high impact load it places on their joints. Additionally, as I’ve stated before (and stealing from Mike Boyle), you need to get fit to run, not run to get fit.

*There’s a difference between what people want to do and what people need to do. Left on their own, people are going to do what’s “easy” and will rarely step out of their comfort zone. That said, what do most people do in the gym: bench press, lat pulldowns, crunches, use the selectorized machines, etc. All of which only exacerbate their already atrocious posture.

*You sit all day at work, why would you want to sit even more while training? Get off your ass!

Needless to say, it was an awesome experience and I received a lot of great feedback. And just an FYI, I’ll be doing an encore presentation tomorrow night at the local Borders using nothing but shadow puppets and my Lite Brite if anyone is interested.

3. Apparently the “fat loss” bug has hit CP and Eric, Kevin, and Danny are going to give Alwyn Cosgrove and Mike Roussell’s Warp Speed Fat Loss a go for the next month.

We “tweaked” the program slightly (lifting more heavy stuff, but the basic template/diet is still in tact) and are calling it Ludicrous Speed Fat Loss. Before pictures have been taken and I’ll definitely be updating their progress as the weeks pass.

4. On a completely non-fitness related issue: last weekend, I was given the opportunity to go listen to The Swell Season in concert at Agganis Arena at Boston University.

For those who aren’t familiar with The Swell Season, it’s an Irish folk band who’s two lead singers, Glen Hansard (of The Frames) and Marketa Irglova, were also the main characters in the movie Once(Side Note: awesome movie, even if it doesn’t have nudity. Also won Best Song at last year’s Oscars.) And yes people, even a man’s man such as myself, who eats beef jerky for breakfast and has a chest that is often mistaken for a steel plate can admit that he listens to folk music.

Point blank, the concert was amazing. Glen has been through some heartbreak in the past, and at the risk of sounding too personal, I could definitely relate to a lot of what he sang. One song in particular was “Happiness.” Before the song started, Glen mentioned that it was about “letting go of someone,” and that its main message was to “wish them well, send them good vibes, and be done with it.” Needless to say, it really hit home for me.

If you ever have the opportunity to see them in concert, it’s so worth it

I know, I know, I must sound like a broken record with the vitamin D talk yet again. But I thought I would pass this along to all of you because I thought it was interesting.

From Reuters Health:

Giving school children very high doses of vitamin D is safe, and may be necessary to bring their blood levels of the nutrient up to the amount necessary for optimum bone growth and health, a new study shows.

It’s been fairly well established in the literature (especially within the past 1-2 years) that vitamin D supplementation in adults is perfectly safe, and to a degree, almost mandatory. With a plethora of health benefits such as improved bone strength/bone mass, increases in lean muscle gain, improved cardiovascular health, improved blood pressure, improved sense of well-being (it’s no coincidence that we tend to feel down in the dumps during the winter months), and improved immune function, it’s amazing we haven’t been stressing it’s bad-assness sooner.

In a previous study, Fuleihan and colleagues found that giving 10- to 17-year-olds relatively high doses of vitamin D3 increased their bone mass and bone area, as well as lean mass. In the current study, they report on both the short- and long-term safety of high-dose supplementation.

You can read the article (link above), but I’ll summarize the results of the new study:

***Currently, the Institute of Medicine recommends 200 IU of D3 daily for children. In the current study, the high dose was 2,000 IU daily. Or what I like to call, “lets see what happens.”

Short-term study: 25 school children took either a placebo or 14,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D3 per week for eight weeks. Levels of the vitamin in children treated short-term rose from 44 to 54 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).

Long-term study: 340 participants took either a placebo, 1,400 IU weekly, or 14,000 IU weekly of vitamin D3, and were followed up at six and twelve months. In the long-term study, levels rose from 15 to 19 ng/mL in children given 1,400 IU weekly and from 15 to 36 ng/mL in the higher-dose group. And no one grew a third head or developed some crazy mutant power that

Of course one could argue (ie: me) that vitamin D supplementation wouldn’t even be an issue if kids would actually go outside for a change, rather than spend their free time on the internet or playing Rock Band. I mean, when I was a kid, I spent all of my free time outside wrestling grizzly bears playing wiffle ball. No one could hit my slurve, yo!

Q: What’s your opinion of flaxseed oil and all of its supposed side effects? Also, would you recommend taking it in addition to or in place of fish oil? Thanks for any help… I love your stuff please keep it up.

A: First a little bit of the geeky stuff. There are two fatty acids that the body cannot biosynthesize, and are therefore considered essential: linoleic acid (an n-6) and “alpha-“linolenic acid (an n-3). These two fatty acids must be obtained from the diet because the body lacks the delta-15 and the delta-12 desaturases, which are needed to create double bonds and elongate fatty acid chains beyond 9 carbons to create these essential compounds. Come to think of it, that’s not nearly as geeky as I thought. There’s more of where that came from. Ladies? You+Me+Fatty acid metabolism+Star Wars+Tetris=most romantic night of your life. True Story.

As nutritionist/strength coach/smart mofo Alan Aragon has noted on several occasions:

“……based on estimates from archaeological and modern-day hunter-gatherer population research, human beings originally thrived on a diet whose ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids was approximately 1:1, and unlikely to be greater than 4:1. It also contained far less trans fatty acids and than the present diet. Today, consumption of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids is roughly 25:1. A major cause for this is the predominance of n-6 oils (corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, refined packaged grain products) and a relative minority in n-3 sources (fatty marine fish, flaxseed oil, walnuts, and small amounts of canola oil).”

That being said, there is often a stigma associated with flaxseed products in general. Barry Bonds’ jokes aside, it’s often been noted that ingesting flaxseed to increase levels of EPA/DHA (the omega-3’s) is pointless due to the poor conversion rate of ALA into the said omega-3’s. However, in his book Girth Control, Aragon showcased a study in which a team recently observed 3g ALA/day (from 5.2g flaxseed oil) raise plasma EPA levels by 60% at the end of a 12-week trial.*

Personally, I’m not a big fan of the taste of flaxseed oil. I’m sure there are some products out there that taste great (if you know of any feel free to leave a comment), but I’d rather drink a glass of diarrhea. Conversely, I use ground flaxseeds quite a bit. I’ll add a tablespoon to my protein shake in the morning, and I also like to add them in my homemade protein bars (to give them a bit of a nutty taste). Furthermore, a serving elicits roughly 3-5 grams of fiber (depending on the brand), and the lignan found in flaxseeds also serves as an antioxidant. And yes, I realize that lignans are phytoestrogenic (estrogen like chemicals), but honestly, you’d have to eat a shit-ton in order to develop man-boobs, so relax fellas.

Long story short, I wouldn’t go out of your way to exclude flaxseed products out of your diet. I think if you’re making sound choices and getting more n-3’s in your diet (flaxseeds, fatty fish, nuts, fish oil capsules, nuts, etc), you’ll be fine.

* I know you were expecting me to reference said study. Well, I’m not. Go buy the book you selfish bastard.** Click here.

**Listen, it’s me. I didn’t mean to call you a selfish bastard. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me? Who’s my cute little monkey head? You are, that’s who.

***PS, I love you.

In case you missed this week’s episode of The Fitcast, we briefly touched upon the topic of how the corn industry has apparently gotten their panties all up in a tither (ie: they’re being whiny bitches) about how high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has gotten a bad rap within the past few years. In a sign that the apocalypse is just around the corner, sweetsurprise.com recently released a few tv ads that pretty much make me want to jump into a live volcano.

As Leigh Peele stated on her blog the other day:

To quickly note, sugar isn’t just sugar. Nothing is ever that black and white, but, is HFCS going to kill you, are they right? The short answer is, under current research, there is no danger with intake of HFCS on small levels.”

It’s true, HFCS isn’t quite the evil step-sister that it’s made out to be, and in small doses, it really isn’t that big of a deal. But come on!!! Do we really need ads telling people that they shouldn’t avoid it? Do they really expect us to think that saying that it’s made from corn (it’s natural!) makes it healthy or a viable option?

Furthermore, as ex-CP client Gregg Taliercio mentions:

“Industrialized corn funneled and processed down to High Fructose Corn Syrup isn’t all that natural. Fruit sugar is still sugar, and to have them compare HFCS to regular sugar is certainly fair, but isn’t that setting the standard pretty low? But HFCS is made of fruit sugar, it has to be okay, right? Well again, this sugar comes in the absence of any of the positive things fruit brings to the table like antioxidants, fiber, and all kinds of micro-nutrients.”

Each commercial ends with a voice over telling us to “Get the facts. You’re in for a sweet surprise.” I find it comical that one of the “facts” on their website is that HFCS retains moisture in bran cereals and helps keep breakfast bars moist. WOW. That is freakin mind blowing. Way to shoot for the stars fellas. You really hit a home-run with that one. I mean, you could have told me that HFCS cures tape worm in puppies and I would have scoffed as no big deal. But now that I know that it retains moisture in cereal bars, I’m completely sold. You sir, are a treasure and a true pioneer of science.

1. A few weeks ago, I touched on the topic of Vitamin D and how I feel it’s going to be the next “big thing” as far as supplements is concerned. In short, just about everyone (even people in Texas) are deficient in Vitamin D. Vitamin D plays a key role in many things such as:

-Helps maintain calcium homeostasis, along with bone and muscle health

-Plays a role in helping to regulate blood pressure and improves cardiovascular health

-May have an integral part in helping to prevent autoimmune disease, as well as helping to prevent cancer

-Supplementing with Vitamin D has been shown to improve one’s sense of well-being (AKA: helps with depression)

My friend Jen Heath actually wrote a fairly detailed summary on the importance of Vitamin D (scroll down to #3), so I’ll just let her do the talking.

2. I’m off to Upstate NY this weekend for a family reunion. Vegas has me at 2-1 odds that I end up wanting to shoot myself in the face with a taser gun. Hahaha, just kidding. No, but seriously, toss me that 22.

3. Eric and I made an executive decision yesterday at CP. No more skipping drills with our new athletes (high knee skips, reverse skips w/external rotation, etc). Most of the kids totally butcher the skipping anyways and Eric made mention that having our guys perform skipping drills instead of sprinting is like handing them a calculator and teaching them how to turn it on. Everyone knows how to use a calculator, just like “most” people know how to sprint. Why waste time skipping, when we could be sprinting instead?

Addendum: Conversely, I do feel that skipping drills (as well as other low-level movement training protocols) are an important component for really de-conditioned athletes and/or “computer guys” who do nothing but sit in front of a desk all day. If these guys even make it to the gym, most do nothing but jog, which locks up their hips even more since they’re using a very limited range of motion (virtually no hip flexion/extension what-so-ever). That being said, adding in some easy skipping drills allows them to move around a bit and loosen up the hips, which is cool in my book. Plus lets be honest, it can be quite entertaining to see someone who hasn’t skipped since 6th grade try to do it again.

Addendum #2: Effective Immediately- any trainer seen advocating sprinting to their 40 lb overweight client is subject to random acts of torture which include, but not limited to:

* Being forced to listen to every 17 year year old kid who weighs 150 lbs and has watched Fight Club tell you how he wants abs like Brad Pitt.

* Attending my family reunion

4. Speaking of CP, we always like to inspire our clients with various quotes of the day. This week’s installment:

5. New favorite exercise= speed pulls against chains. I’ve always been slow off the floor with my deadlifts, so I implemented three weeks worth of speed pulls against chains in my last cycle and saw my deadlift go up ten lbs in that time span. Chicks totally want to hang out with me now. Ladies? Anyone? Those ham sandwiches aren’t just going to make themselves now are they? Hello?

UPDATE: Thank you to Gregg T for being the bestest Grammar Nazi this side of polygamous marriages. Gregg lives in Utah, which is pretty much the coolest State EVER. Unfortunately, I was away from my computer all day traveling and basically came across as a nimrod for using affective instead of effective above. I’m never going to get laid. Dammit!

I received an e-mail from a fellow fitness professional this morning, which simply said this:

Don’t know if you’ve seen this yet, but holy s***, un-freakin-beleeeevable:

www.downsdisc.com

Hopefully these NBA players are just endorsing it and not using it. But it’s fooling the public nonetheless!! Keep up the great blog and articles!!!

Other than having an uncontrollable urge to throw my eyeballs into a pool full of piranhas, I’m utterly speechless after having watched that. It amazes me the lengths that some “experts” will go to make a buck.

1. Causes imbalance, which forces our abs and body to work harder? Riiiiigggghhhhtttt. Cause you know, we want to make our athletes capable of producing less force and reinforcing aberrant motor patterns; not to mention make them weaker.

2. Add another 20 degrees of extension= 8x more work for your abs compared to crunches alone!!!!! OMG, that’s amazing! Too bad it’s completely irrelevant! First off, other than my six year old nephew, who references the Air Force as their lone source of scientific data? Secondly, it’s a huge misconception that spinal range of motion is correlated with spine health and/or improved performance. Third, what happens to a metal rod when you continuously bend it back and forth? It breaks; or at the very least, is weakened dramatically. The same can be said of your spine when you go into constant flexion and HYPER-extension. Does that sound like something that’s healthy or wise to do on a consistent basis?

(Hint: looking at random pictures of Kelly Brook= HEALTHY. Ohhhhhhh, so very healthy. Performing abdominal exercises on a poorly designed apparatus with total disregard for spinal end range of motion= not healthy).

Needless to say, this kind of stuff really bothers me, and it’s rather disconcerting the information that the general public is exposed to by these infomercials that do nothing but perpetuate lies and cater to those that are looking for that “magic pill.” Then again, who am I kidding? The Downs Disc will undoubtedly sell hundreds of thousand of copies and all I’ve done today is spend all morning debating whether or not Governor Palin qualifies as MILF material and playing Duck Hunt on my Nintendo. Pwwww, Pwwww, Pwwww.

At CP, we’re always game for a little healthy competition. Whether it’s seeing who can perform the most push-ups within a minute, who can come up with the most bad-ass medley and make someone else puke, or who can come up with the most things for Kevin, our intern, to clean (Hint: the entire facility floor, with a toothbrush), there’s never a dull moment.

Last Friday was Dan T’s last day training at CP for the summer. For his final farewell, he decided to challenge Eric to a bench off. So cliche. If they had any balls they would have had a Michael Jackson dance off. Real men don’t bench, they get Thriller! JAZZ HANDS!

Anyways, it was an epic battle. Here’s Eric at 335

Smoked

Dan T at 335

No need to comment on this one, Dan’s commentary said it all.

Eric at 345

Unfortunately, the video was cut-off a tad early and you miss Dan yelling, DAMMIT after Eric hit it.

And alas, Dan at 345. Kids, don’t try this at home

PWNED!

EDIT: for some odd reason, I inadvertently didn’t get Eric’s 355 bench. Maybe it was because my camera and I aren’t on speaking terms lately, or maybe it was because Dan was off crying in the corner somewhere. Either way, there’s a lesson to be learned here people. Boobies are awesome!