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Defending the Bench Press– by Mike Robertson

I didn’t even know the bench press needed to be defended. I mean, it’s not like guys don’t already bench press every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (and every other Thursday) as it is. This is tantamount to Tiger Woods writing an article called Defending Chlamydia: GET SOME.

*swish, count it*

All kidding aside, here, the ass-master himself discusses the ins and outs surrounding why so many people often get jacked up bench pressing (and not in a good way). Furthermore, he also discusses what can be done to alleviate the problem(s).

Some key points that I liked:

• Dissing the bench press in lieu of overhead pressing isn’t necessarily the answer. In fact, it’s “probably” worse.
• Technique, technique, technique. In other words, stop benching like a bodybuilder for the love of god.
• You need to do more dedicated work for the scapular stabilizers. It’s not what you want to hear, but then again, I don’t care. Do it anyways.
• There isn’t such a thing as a bad exercise*, just bad exercise performance.

Meat Grown in Laboratory is World’s First– by Dumbest Idea, Ever.

Researchers in the Netherlands created what was described as soggy pork and are now investigating ways to improve the muscle tissue in the hope that people will one day want to eat it

I’m gonna say it right now, I’d rather eat cancer garnished with ebola.

Can Exercise Help Ward off Swine Flu– by Jacqueline Stenson

Can exercise prevent someone from getting the Swine Flu? Doubtful. However it certainly won’t hurt, and may in fact slow down the degree at which it affects you. Yes, even if you do feel that yoga and pilates is actually a form of exercise. Just kidding. PS: I’m not.

Thanks to Chuck C. for sending me this article, and for summarizing the above article so succinctly:

“Ask your doctor if getting your ass off the couch is right for you.”

Sodas and Obesity: Here’s the Proof– by Dr. Jonny Bowden

Ditch the soda, fatty.

Protect Insurance Companies PSA

Normally, I go out of my way not to talk about politics here. However, I saw this posted over at Jason Harris’ Evidence Based Rehab blog, and thought everyone else might enjoy it as well.

 

 

alanaragonblog.com– by Alan Aragon

I’m a big fan of Alan’s work. If you haven’t checked out his monthly Research Review, you’re really missing out on some of the most practical, in depth, not to mention entertaining nutrition and fitness information available on the net. I’d go so far as to say that if you’re a fitness professional (or anyone who’s remotely interested in their own health and well-being), you’re doing yourself a disservice by not subscribing to it. For the same price it would cost you to go see a movie ($10), you could you know, actually get smarter. It’s a no-brainer in my opinion.

To that end, Alan is now officially a blogger. Go show him some love.

* Unless we’re talking about leg curls, leg extensions, upright rows, leg presses, squatting in a Smith Machine, and pretty much anything done on a BOSU ball. Other than that, we’re cool.

Tomorrow marks the Second Annual Cressey Performance Thanksgiving Morning Lift. All of last year’s inaugural cast will be in attendance, along with several other new people who have no idea what they’ve gotten themselves into. All in all, we’re expecting upwards of 20-25 people to arrive at 8AM for the sole purpose of lifting heavy things off the ground and stealing the lunch money from all the Turkey Trotters running past the facility. Or, if your name happens to be Tony Gentilcore, perform every bicep curl variation known to man until your arms are the size of Kansas. True story.

In any case, I’m headed back home to New York for the rest of the week to spend time with family. As such, I won’t be updating the blog for the rest of the week, but hope to be back Monday firing on all cylinders. I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, and to please try not to kill one another on Black Friday. It’s just a dvd player for crying out loud.

It was my girlfriend’s birthday last week. And when I say “it was my girlfriend’s birthday last week,” I literally mean it was her birthday for the entire week. It was her 30th, so understandably it was kind of a big deal. Many of her friends came in from out of town to celebrate, so it really wasn’t at all shocking that the week was jam packed with girl’s night out, margaritas, Sex and the City references, and naked pillow fights. You know, the status quo whenever a bunch of chicks get together.

Since we’ve only been dating for four months, I wanted to try to do something unique and memorable for her birthday. Given that she loves cooking (and I love eating what she cooks), I thought it would be a cool idea to sign us up for a Cooking Couples class at the local School of Culinary Arts.

NOTE: and for all the guys who just thought to themselves, “Oh snap, Tony is so pussy whipped,” all I have to say is that I’m not the one who went to go see New Moon this weekend. Just sayin.

For those who aren’t familiar, the premise is pretty self explanatory. Essentially you sign up for a class, whereupon you and three to four other couples cook your own meal under the supervision of a professional chef. It’s actually a pretty cool idea, except the only downfall is that you’re not allowed to kill your own animal beforehand. Be that as it may, I was able to let bygones be bygones, and signed is up anyways.

In looking at the class schedule a week or so prior, I was a little perplexed because the class schedule wasn’t really what I was expecting. I mean, you would think that any high class institution recognized for their culinary expertise and tradition would offer classes like:

Cooking Couples: Omletes

Cooking Couples: It’s Meat, and It’s In a Loaf. What’s Not to Love?

Cooking Couples: Lets Be Honest, I Don’t Even Know How To Pre-Set the Oven. How Bout You Just Make Me a Ham Sandwich, and We Call It a Night?

But that’s just me I guess. Nope, instead there were classes like, Cooking Couples Cook French, Cooking Couples Cook Tapas, and Cooking Couples Cook Italian. Unfortunately, most of the classes had waiting lists or just weren’t feasible due to scheduling, so I went with Cooking Couples: Twas the Night Before Christmas.

We were the first couple to arrive, and were greeted by the chef, Eliana. Elise took our names and mentioned that there were going to be a total of five couples for the class, and that we would get started once everyone arrived. In the meantime, however, she handed us our pamphlets which had all the cooking instructions of the things we were going to make.

For those interested, the menu included stuff like buttery seared scallops with a Beurre Blanc sauce and caviar with white truffle oil; as well as pan-seared roasted veal chops on a bed of creamy fennel puree with luscious Port Wine fig sauce, to name a few.

Honestly it could have said blah blah blahbiddy blah sauteed in worscestershire sauce with a bloop bleep bloopy bleep bloop creme brulee, and I would have been like “that sounds fantastic!!!”

Nevertheless, all the couples arrived, and Eliana gave everyone the option to choose what they wanted to make. Because we like to challenge ourselves, Lisa and I chose the veal chops and some sweet potato/apple thingamabob that called for like 22 gallons of heavy cream. We were given a quick tour of the kitchen, and we started cooking the shit out of our food.

To her credit, Lisa knows her way around the kitchen, and I just took orders from her. Grab the salt? Done. Stir ingredients? Gotcha. Put your shirt back on! Check. Everything was going swimmingly. We were talking with the other couples, Eliana was walking around making sure no fingers were being severed, and everyone was looking forward to a wonderful meal of whatever it was we were making.

That is, of course, until Lisa and I made a small boo-boo. While we were following the directions to a “t”, we had a minor brain-fart and placed the 8×8 pyrex dish we were using for our fennel and figs on top of the burner. Two minutes later, there was a massive noise as glass exploded all over the place. And when I say all over the place, that’s an understatement. Not only did Eliana shriek at the top of her lungs, “is everyone alright?” but glass even shot into the chocolate fondue the couple next to us were making for dessert.

Eliana was more than understanding, and while she had every right to go Full Metal Jacket on us, she didn’t. Instead she mentioned that in hindsight, the directions weren’t written that clearly. Well that, and I forgot to tell her that I couldn’t read. Opps. It’s a miracle I didn’t mistake confectioners sugar for rat poison!

In any case, while dinner was delayed an hour because we had to start over; all the other couples laughed it off, chipped in to help, and we had an awesome time nonetheless. Granted I think we may be blacklisted from ever going back, but at least we’ll have a funny story to tell during Thanksgiving dinner.

I’m blatantly stealing this idea from Eric, and decided I would hop on the “hey, I’m reading some cool stuff.,….you should read it too” bandwagon.

Do You Know Your Shit Part I– Elliott Hulse

Literally, do you know your shit? Listen, I like discussing the finer points of droppin it like it’s hot as much as anyone, but this article takes it to a whole new level. After reading this Nobel Prize worthy article, I guarantee you’ll never look at your poo the same way again

Side Note: unfortunately I can’t find parts II and III to this series. What’s the dealo Elliott?

Gut Health: More Important Than Ever– Brian St. Pierre

Keeping with the above theme, Brian and I have been on a kick lately discussing the benefits of probiotics, and how most people could benefit from including them in their diet. In this blog post, Brian discusses why.

Solving the Patellofemoral Mystery– Mike Reinold

This is just an outstaning series (seven parts!) dealing with anything and everything related to patellofemoral pain/anterior knee pain/my knee has an ouchie/whatever you want to call it. A little forewarning, it’s a bit geeky, but well worth the read for anyone who works with athletes or clients with chronic knee pain.

Pregnancy: Two Eggs a Day Will Keep the NTD’s Away– Cassandra Forsythe

I’m not a pregnant woman or anything, but this post by Cassandra on the benefits of whole eggs during pregnancy is the shiznit. On an aside, as far as organic eggs are concerned, I have found that The Country Hen (found at Whole Foods Market as well) to be one of tbe best brands out there. Not only does one egg contain 300 mg of omega’3’s, but each egg also contains 160 mg of choline to boot.

The Vitamin D Cure– James E. Dowd, M.D.

Given my infatuation with vitamin D, it only made sense that I would buy this book as I was perusing the bookstore a few weeks ago. Outside of fish oil, I would place Vitamin D as the next most important supplement that the vast majority of people should consider taking. Ask yourself this:

Do you currently have any of the following symptoms?

• Fatigue
• Joint pain and/or swelling
• Muscle pain, cramping, and/or weakness
• Chronic pain
• Uncontrolled weight gain
• HIgh blood pressure
• Restless sleep
• Poor concentration or memory
• Headaches
• Bowel problems
• Bladder problems
• Uncontrollable urge to throw your television set out the window

If so, the likelihood you’re vitamin D deficient is fairly high. Accept for the last one- that’s just related to the current nightmare that is health care reform. LOL. Just kidding. No but seriously, I swear to god I’m going to jump into a live volcano.

Furthermore, other diseases such as depression (including seasonal affective disorder), fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, as well as various autoimmune disease (multiple sclerosis for example) can all be linked to Vitamin D deficiency.

Like everyone else out there, I’m a creature of habit. As it is, I wake up the same time every day, have a rotation of the same three t-shirts I wear every week (much to my girlfriend’s dismay), like to eat at the same restaurants, and always put my right sock on before my left. Heck, I even listen to the same music every day at CP. But that’s mainly because Eric is like the Energy Bunny of playing the same playlist over and over and over again. I swear to god I’m going to go fall on a knife if I hear Linkin Park one more time.

Above all, nothing defines our “habits” more than the food we eat. We all have our likes and dislikes as far as what we put down out pie holes. As such, I’ll be the first to admit that I tend to eat the same food day in and day out. However, recently, I’ve been a little more creative (for lack of a better term) with the foods I’ve been eating and would like to share my new favorite foods (new to me anyways).

1. Cacao Nibs– there’s been a ton of research recently expounding the many health benefits of chocolate. Now, before you jump the gun and reach for that Hershey bar, you should know that I AM NOT referring to milk chocolate. Instead, I’m referring to dark chocolate. Specifically 100% dark chocolate, which unfortunately, compared to milk chocolate, taste like wet fart (but that’s just my opinion).

Loaded with tons of antioxidants, as well as fiber (one serving contains 9 grams), it goes without saying the benefits far outweigh the bitter taste. Besides, throw it in a protein shake, and you won’t even notice it. In fact, it’s quite tasty.

2. Lamb’s Lettuce– as Michael Pollan noted in his phenomenal book, In Defense of Food:

Two of the most nutritious plants in the world are weeds- lamb’s quarters (lamb’s lettuce) and purslane- and some of the healthiest tradtional diets, sush as Mediterranean, make frequent use of wild greens.

It’s often hard to find, but if you live near a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, you should be able to get your hands on some. I buy a brand called Mache, and it’s definitely a step up from your traditional baby spinach.

3. Chia Seeds– Brian St. Pierre actually recommended these to me not too long ago. Yes, these are the same chia seeds found in the lamest Christmas present ever-the Chia Pet. Actually, scratch that. The lamest Christmas present ever is socks. Or a John Tesh Christmas album. But the Chia Pet is reaaaaly close. And while I’d like to sit here and tell you that by eating chia seeds you’ll grow chest hair like Tom Selleck, it ain’t gonna happen.

However, what you will get is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and soluble fiber (6 grams per serving). Additionally, they’ll also provide a nice nutty texture to your salads/cottage cheese/yogurt. I know it comes across as a bit “hippy” to recommend these, but for those who are growing tired of ground flax seeds, chia seeds are a nice substitute.

4. Ginger– While I’m sure I could go on Wikipedia and look up the health benefits, I don’t care. All I know is that ginger looks like this:

Okay, not really. it actually looks like this:

……and I can’t get enough of it since my girlfriend introduced it to me. Ginger definitely provides a little “kick” to foods such as mashed sweet potatoes, kale, or whatever else she wants to feed me on Sunday nights. Pssssst, meatloaf. Psssssst, STAT!

5. Speaking of which, in case you missed it, here is Lisa’s bean dip recipe that I told everyone I’d post last week:

1 can of organic black beans

1 quarter of a white onion

a few (5 or 6 if you love it) roasted garlic cloves (or one small raw clove)

2-3 tbsp of sundried tomatoes (in olive oil is better)

a little salt and pepper

some veggie broth to make sure it is moist enough to blend

I’ve been using this as my salad dressing as of late, and I love it. Definitely a healthier option compared to most salad dressings, and tastes great to boot.

So, there you have it. Those are some of the new foods I’ve been eating as of late. Feel free to include some of your new foods below. I’m always game for trying new stuff. Accept for seafood. And brussel sprouts. Other than that, we’re good to go.