very cool nutritional article about athletic performance and lower carb intake dieting. It would seem as though all the carb loading is not entirely necessary. The article also delves into paleolithic or hunter/gather dietary evidence, which I personally prescribe to the evidence for genetic code nutrition is very compelling.
the article in question
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/1/1/2
hunter/gather dietary evidence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet
Some of my college kids are starting to come home for the weekend, and we have talked about their weight, and how to keep it at a reasonable level.
YOU CAN'T OUT EXERCISE YOU DIET! DID YOU HEAR ME?
This is an undeniable fact, hands down. Every year we see it, kids, athletes leave for college, keep the same exercise schedule that they did in high school sports (that gets more intensive when they get to their scholarship school) and still gain weight. The only factor that changes is that their mother is no longer feeding them in college.
Read earlier posts on this blog about diet and nutrition. Keep the late night food to a minimum, error on the side of fruit or a lean sandwich instead of a slice of pizza, keep your lean protein levels up, and stay hydrated.
Remember, have fun, but nothing you are going to regret in the future
I wrote a piece on this blog about variety, and the necessity to change the program you use, in order to expose the body to a range of stimuli, strength, flexibility, power, endurance, etc. This is all true.
The side we didn't discuss is the need for one to accomplish a program, and more importantly a lift, and progressively get better at that lift or movement. That could mean more weight, faster movement patterns, or a quicker time for a number of reps, but some sort of measurable improvement is elusive but never the less necessary.
Have enough patience with a program or movement to show improvement, and then move on. Hanging around with the same programs for too long is equally as bad, mentally or physically.
When you have reached your physical or mental capacity with one movement, move on and develop another facet of your athleticism, don't wait for injury or boredom to wake you up.
Try this, do as many below parallel squats as you can do in 10 minutes.....shoot for 350-400 as a good number
Let the quads start burning and the heart rate start climbing.
The picture below serves two purposes, one to show you below parallel means (a little too deep but you get the idea, don't half ass it) and two, yet another answer to the question I hear from women, "will lifting weights make me big and bulky?"
I wanted to put a piece together about pre and post workout nutrition. I personally have been researching and playing around with different formulas for these two extremely important periods of time. Pre workout is around 60-90 minutes before the workout. The actual research is all over the place concerning timing, but I have found this time period for pre meals is pretty accurate.
What I have come up with is:
1 large cup of coffee
sweeten with sugar or honey
1 scoop of protein powder (whey protein)
add milk to taste.
The caffeine gives a spark, simple sugars prime the energy system and the milk and protein powder regulate absorbtion, of carbohydrate and arginine, an amino acid, become nitric oxide, which dilates blood vessels allowing for higher blood carbon dioxide/oxygen turnover rates.
Many of the researchers conclude that the drink should be milk based, to round out the protein profile, and I agree, but I think it should be milk enhanced not based, because not all of us process milk well. Not a good thing before a long bike ride or run! The same goes for oatmeal or other fiber sources. They are a drain on the hydration levels, and can cause intestinal problems.
I will discuss post workout nutrition this week.
I took this picture of one of my clients Deb F. yesterday evening. Deb is the CFO of a medium sized company and dare I say a "soccer mom" (she will kill me for that), so her time is very
limited. This picture goes to show you what is possible with a cleaned up diet and some determination during workouts. It takes hard work, but it is possible even with the busiest schedule. Nice Job Deb!
Massages can significantly reduce one of runner's most common complaints: tight achy knees. Researchers gave 68 patients with knee osteoarthritis-pain caused by a breakdown for cartilage- regular, hour-long Swedish massages for 8 weeks. Those who were kneaded had significantly less knee pain and stiffness and more function in the joint. "Massage brings more blood into the area, which could remove toxins, decrease inflammation and improve flexibility and range of motion," explains study author Adam Perlman, M.D.
As I have stated in past posts, the body responds to stimulus. Training and nutrition should also be designed to cause the necessary stimulus (training) and then aid in recovery with the proper nutritional strategy. The research has shown that a 3:1 balance of carbohydrate to protein within 60-90 minutes after exercise does improve recovery rates, glycogen resynthesis, and decreasing post workout soreness, decreases post exercise catabolism, and increases in muscle growth. The preferred form is that of a shake, in which it components are in their most basic form, (read whey protein powder) and the sugars are as simple as possible (read Gatorade, or something similar). Where it is true that whey protein breaks down in your system slower than other forms such as BCAA or whey hydrolysate, the availability is such that it make it hard to find to make a homemade product. Ready made products such as Accelerade, do use a hydrolysate protein, so feel free to use them if expense is not an issue.
The last issue is exertion or stimulus. The uptake of this precise ratio of nutrients only makes a difference if the appropriate stimulus has been applied to the body, in which case the body will be looking to absorb them to replenish itself. This goes back to an earlier post about osmosis athletes. If you have had a maximally exertion workout, with maximal or near maximal intensity then you need to worry about this type of nutrition. If you have climbed 20 miles of hills on a bike, swam a 4 hour practice, gone through what the University of Dayton Girls Volleyball Team is presently going through (read weed out hell), or sprinting through a nasty kettlebell circuit, then you need this type of nutrition. If you are taking a stroll around the park or a quick ride on the bike path, these are probably extra calories you don't need.
Without the proper stimulus, supplementation is useless.
Levenhagen et al. (2001). Postexercise nutrient intake timing in humans is critical to recovery of leg glucose and protein homeostasis. Am.J.Physiol Endocrinol.Metab. 280(6): E982-993.
Borsheim E, Tipton KD, Wolf SE, Wolfe RR. Essential amino acids and muscle protein recovery from resistance exercise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Oct;283(4):E648-57.
Dangin M, Guillet C, Garcia-Rodenas C, Gachon P, Bouteloup-Demange C, Reiffers-Magnani K, Fauquant J, Ballevre O, Beaufrere B. The rate of protein digestion affects protein gain differently during aging in humans. Physiol. 2003 Jun 1;549(Pt 2):635-44.
The Washington Township Recreation center Sharks swim team and the Centerville High School swim team welcome the new coach Eric Limkemann. Mr Limkemann is a very accomplished NCAA swimmer and I understand a sponsored triathlete. We have a number of swimmers from these teams that train with us for general swim conditioning, rehabilitation, prehabilitation, and now massage therapy, so we look forward to working with the new coach in a support role for the swimmers and their families.
If you are thinking about cleaning up your dietary habits, summer is the easiest time to do it. The fruits and vegetables are sweet and ripe, and a perfect accompaniment to a lean piece of meat or fish.
I would like to extend a challenge to all of my readers, and that is cut out all grain and refined sugar calories for 2 weeks.
In the centuries past, humans needed a cheap energy source to help them through long work in the fields factories and other manual labor jobs and play.
The childhood obesity rates are due to the fact that we have kept most of these foods in our diets, but automated most all the things that we used to do manually (e.g. drive a car instead of walk or ride a bike)
Most of the grain or sugar calories we take in anymore are very processed, removing most if not all nutritional value and fiber. By making up the missing bulk in fruit and vegetables your nutritional density will increase through the roof.
Remember, be strong 2 weeks no grains or refined sugars or sweets.
This is an observation on athletes that I see, coaches I consult with and parents.
I have the opportunity and pleasure to train some very gifted and hard working athletes, and I also have crossed paths with what I call "osmosis athletes".
An osmosis athlete is one that the parents send to a strength coach, or sports trainer, in hopes that standing close to that coach or trainer will some how impart some performance improvement. This improvement is not through hard work or high intensity during practices, no just showing up is thought to be enough to make them superstars.
In a world of instant gratification, and instant messaging answers, the younger generations have lost their way down the performance pathway.
All the supplements, sports drinks and secret Eastern Block training methods are not going to work with out putting out effort, and having appropriate discipline.
Smart, Hard work always wins. End of Lecture.
after being tackled in a summer league game, and tearing a meniscus and ACL, Megan S. is flying through her rehab. Her hard work is paying off with a much faster recovery
also I took some shots of soccer standout Claire F. sprinting and lifting check it out!
Please join me in congratulating my wife Milissa on passing her state medical boards in massage with flying colors. She is taking appointments at (937) 436 2110
This couldn't be more true, over the years we have preached low fat diets, we have done high carb, low carb, but go back to black and white Jack LaLanne, and listen to his wisdom.
A study by sports scientists at West Point was done in order to analysis the correlation of the different tests used in the combine, and their ultimate usefulness on the playing field. This point of correlating the test to field performance has been on of contention for many years and more studies like this one need to be done to gain a more complete picture.
For the running backs-only group, bench press and standing long jump were the only tests that showed significant correlation with high game performance.
The linemen-only group indicated that the 40-yard dash was the only significant variable classifying high performance.
Brechue, W. and J. Mayhew, Discriminate Analysis of Standard Performance Tests to Determine Physical Development Ratings of College Football Players. United States Military Academy, West Point, NY.
(click to enlarge)
A couple of photos that I am proud of showing two of my athletes really getting a complete triple extension during their explosive exercise movements. These are some of the movements that we use to improve vertical jump and sprint speed. The athletes pictured on the left is Mary B, who has come a long way, from debilitating lower leg injury to confidently push pressing the 30 pound dumbbells! Working toward another winning season with Arch Bishop Alter's Women's Basketball Team
On a lighter note the better shirt I have seen in a very long time. Kory B. kicking some butt on the versa climber sprints.
