The first part of my 7 part series. This is only on the warmup. This is often overlooked, but you will not be big and strong if you suffer a rotator cuff tear so listen closely!
First off let me give you the importance of a proper warmup.
1. Improved nervous system function
a. Increased sensitivity in nervous receptors
b. Faster nerve impulse transmissions
2. Increased core and muscle tempatures
a. Improved blood to muscle
b. More effecient uptake from oxygen to blood
c. Improves muscle flexibility and joint range of motion
3.Other benefits
a. More thorough lubrication of joints
b. Accilimation of soft tissue to increase loading
c. Activation of inhibited muscle groups
d. Decreases your chances of injury
Now that you know the reasons behind it, we can get started on the best warmup options.
Self Myofacial Release (better known as foam rolling) is the first. This improves the quality of soft tissue. It helps to work out any adhesions in the muscles and also help with overactive muscles. The basic way to describe foam rolling is to a tubular piece of foam you put your muscles on and use it sort of like a rolling pin. In this case since most of our members don't know much about it, I'd say to find a trainer in which club you attend and ask them for assistance, they would no doubt be happy to help.
The next is sort of a general warmup, which is what we teach most of our members. They begin by taking 5-15 minutes on a piece of cardio equipment to get they body tempature and heart rate up. This is a must before a member/client should train.
The third is dynamic stretching. These are what I like to call active stretching. I will give you a few examples of these:
1. Trunk Rotations-Stand with a shoulder width stance and place your arms on your hips. With your hands on your hips turn from side to side for 15-20 reps.
2. Alternate toe touches-Feet a foot or so past shoulder width bend down and touch your toes one at a time. Complete this for 20 reps.
3. Prisoner Squats-Place your hands behind your head and interlock your fingers. Now do 20 body weight squats
The last one is specific of that certain muscle group. Perform 2-3 sets of 10-20 repetitions of each exercise that you do with a very light weight. Also frequently implement isometrics during certain joint positions for various exercises. The last thing you want to do is go to war without your guns primed for duty!
Now a proper warmup all together may look something like this:
1. Foam Roll 5-10 mins. Focus on your problem areas
2. Get yourself a piece of cardio equipment and try and get your body tempature and heart rate up.
3. Trunk Rotations---Alternate toe touches---Prisoner Squats (Each 15-20 reps)
4. General Warmup. Take 50% or your normal working weight. For example if you were flat benching 225lbs. for 10 repititions, then use 115lbs. for 10 repititions, and continue that for 2-3 sets.
The next segement will be on post stretching and the importance of it!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Size and Strength Introduction
Over the past several years of being with DFM I have been approached with many different questions from members when it comes to adding muscle mass. What seems to be percieved about personal trainers is we are just here to help people fight the battle of the bulge. Now certainly we are very good at that don't get me wrong, but in some cases we have to expand out and capture another type of member's curiosity.
So with that being said I will spend the next few weeks explaining the in's and out's of adding lean body mass and strength, while at the same time maintaining flexibility and mobility. My 6 topics will be:
1.The Warmup
2.Stretching
3.Training Splits (general outlines)
4.Periodzation (Reps, sets, tempo and rest periods and how to manipulate each variable) and Progression
5.Core Training
6.Summary of how everything flows together (Basically a how to put it all together)
Hang around, read a bit, and by the end the rest should come easily. Thank you for your time and I appreciate any feedback. Have a great new year!
So with that being said I will spend the next few weeks explaining the in's and out's of adding lean body mass and strength, while at the same time maintaining flexibility and mobility. My 6 topics will be:
1.The Warmup
2.Stretching
3.Training Splits (general outlines)
4.Periodzation (Reps, sets, tempo and rest periods and how to manipulate each variable) and Progression
5.Core Training
6.Summary of how everything flows together (Basically a how to put it all together)
Hang around, read a bit, and by the end the rest should come easily. Thank you for your time and I appreciate any feedback. Have a great new year!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Fitness Tips
Resistance Training
If you want to really fire up your metabolism, incorporate resistance training into your workout. You’ll burn more calories over a longer period of time, and you will gain strength without bulking up. If you don’t want to lift free-weights, you can use your gym’s pin-&-stack machines.
If you want to really fire up your metabolism, incorporate resistance training into your workout. You’ll burn more calories over a longer period of time, and you will gain strength without bulking up. If you don’t want to lift free-weights, you can use your gym’s pin-&-stack machines.
Water Intake
More than half of your body is made up of water. Staying hydrated is absolutely vital to your health, especially if you are doing physical activity. Try to drink 64-oz of water daily. You can do eight 8-oz. glasses throughout the day.
Mix It Up
The human body is remarkably adaptive. In as little as 2 weeks it can adapt to your routine, making it less effective and slowing results. To avoid hitting a plateau, change your workout every few weeks. Remember: Routine is the enemy.
Consult a Trainer
Nowadays, most fitness centers have a personal training staff that can provide you with guidance and help you achieve your fitness goals. Ask your local fitness center if they provide you 1 free session.
Don’t Skip Breakfast
There’s a reason they call it the most important meal of the day. Skipping your morning meal can really bog down your metabolism. Start off with good, balanced breakfast and you’ll notice you have more energy throughout the day and a slimmer waistline.
Get a Workout Partner
Working out with a friend will make exercise more fun and you’ll be less likely to skip workouts. Not only is it safer to work out with a buddy, you often get better workouts. This way you both can achieve better results!
Stretch at the End
Stretching is a good way to increase your mobility and reduce muscle soreness. The best time to stretch is at the very end of your workout. This will prevent injury because your muscles will be at their warmest at this time.
Get Plenty of Rest
Physical activity isn’t effective unless you get adequate sleep. Sleep is your body’s natural recovery process. Sleeping not only reduces stress, but it repairs you body. Adults should strive for 6-8 hours of undisturbed sleep every night.
Cut Back on Process Sugars
Highly processed, sugary foods like candy and cupcakes will flood your body with excess calories that ultimately get stored as body fat. If you have a sweet tooth, try satisfying your cravings with a piece of fruit.
Work Larger Muscle Groups
Your largest muscle groups burn the most calories. If you want to lose more body fat, your best bet is to focus your workouts around your legs, back, and chest. You’ll find that these muscle groups will have more impact on losing inches around your midsection.
Breathe!
It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised at how many forget to breathe. Some people have a tendency to hold their breath when the exercise gets challenging. Control your breathing and you’ll find that your workouts will be easier and more effective.
Sometimes it's about the person next to you
I know I just posted recently, but this is just too exciting to not make another entry. I usually see my Physiatrist for Cortico steroid injection under fluro guidance every 2-3 months to just keep me mobile. HOWEVER, it’s been almost 6 months since my last injection!! Honestly, it was nowhere near as bad as it’s been in the past but my deductible had been met so I thought I should get one more shot to prepare for the winter. When I saw my doctor yesterday he was a little amazed both in the physical changes, the mobility and things I can now do (ok, maybe I was showing off a little), and the fact that in almost the 2 years he’s been treating me this is the first time he’s seen me without my cane. That’s another one of those little things I keep forgetting about. How it used to be such an ordeal just walking from my car (even when I parked in Handicap parking). Yesterday I actually was talking and joking with people as I walked to the office. J
It made me stop and think how much my life has changed since I joined the Club and started working out with a trainer – in just April of this year. It has not been cheap – but how can you put a price on getting your life back? Check out how much a hospital stay is, and all of a sudden it isn’t as far-fetching as you originally thought! But regardless of what some of my friends think, it isn’t all about me. ;) It is about paying it forward and helping others.
When I was in the gym warming up the other day I noticed an elderly man sitting next to me watching the tv while sitting on a bike. While people were in line to use the bike. My first inclination was to say REALLY?!?!?. But I just started talking to him – asking if he needed help. He was a little curt with his “No” reply, but I recognized something in the reply I’d seen in myself. So I just started talking to him about how hard it was for me to originally use the bike. How my trainer had to literally place my feet on the pedals and find out where to stash my cane for easy access. He started listening and said that people had tried to help him, but he just couldn’t get his feet on the pedals. He was in his 70’s and was just trying to get more limber. I said if he was open to it, I could help him figure it out on his own (independence is SOOOO important). So I showed him how to have the dominant leg push the pedal all the way down and put his foot on. With one foot on the pedal, push the other pedal in the downward position and using your hands, lift the other leg and put it onto the pedal. After one or two tries he was successful! Then I said to not worry about going fast – just go 25-30 rpm initially until he was more comfortable. Then we worked out together for a bit. After warming up I went to my workout session with Jake the Great. I don’t know if I’ll ever see the man again – I hope I do.
But it made me realize there is a bigger reason to get into shape. And it’s not just for me (although that is HUGE). It is to take the lessons I’ve learned (and am learning) to help others. Not just the buff and toned crowd, but maybe the person sitting by themselves looking frustrated. Sometimes all it takes is a simple heart-felt “hello” to start the process.
Be well, and have a FANTASTIC New Year!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Are you a victim or a victor?
Are you a victIM or a victOR? I heard a long time ago that the difference between the two is IM. And I AM the difference. Do I just sit back and allow life to happen to me and accept all the challenges while saying “I wish” or “I hope”? My faith built up my “inner (wo)man” and gave me the fortitude to become the person I am. But it was up to ME to change the “outer (wo)man”. And that only comes about with sweat and hard work. I so wish it came easier – or that all I WANTED to do was easier. But I can do so much more than I EVER thought I would – and I am nowhere near the end of this journey. So maybe today I can’t run a marathon or even master the stupid Elliptical machine. But I WILL! Right now I am the person hanging on for dear life (you fall off it once and it kinda scars you – AND your trainer) J. Not having run in over 7 or so years has given me a taste to feel the wind on my face as I run just for the joy of it. I told Jake the Great the other day I ran for a few seconds but felt like Forest Gump. He said when he thinks about Forest running he thinks about the man who became the marathon runner, NOT the boy in the leg irons. Which do you identify with? Time to run until the leg irons fall off! You may initially feel like you are awkward and clumsy – but SOON you’ll be the one flying by having people say “I wish I was like her/him”. Then it’s YOUR time to help them. To become the victor!
Running to you may be the physical act of running, or just completing 10 sit-ups! It doesn’t matter WHAT it is. Just set an immediate goal for yourself, and work to complete it. Then set a long-range goal and work to complete it. And work out a plan on how to accomplish your goal – because without plans our goals are just wishes. Which are nice – but I’m tired of wishing my life away. If I reach the goals – FANTASTIC! If I fall short – at least I tried! Figure out if the goal was too lofty or if you didn’t work towards it hard enough. Then make ANOTHER goal.
I heard once that it isn’t how many times you fall – it’s the ONE TIME you STAY down. You may see me stumble and occasionally fall, but no way is this gal EVER going to stay down. Life is just too precious and too short.
Now I need to get ready for the next session with J the G.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Inflammation Information
Very recently the word "inflammation" has shown up in popular media, medical literature, and health and lifestyle related websites across the globe. It's a hot topic right now in medicine and has linked many diseases and problems together to a common source of injury. However, there seems to be a lot of talking and explanation but the points have been severely missed by the public. In this post I hope to explain what inflammation is, what it is responsible for, what causes it, and what we can do about it. Read on....
Inflammation is the body's natural response to any injury, bacteria, virus, allergen, or anything deemed "foreign" that is in the body. The "foreign particle" concept is an important thing to understand as many structures in the body transform into a "foreign" structure once injured or degraded to a certain extent. What happens is the body attacks these foreign particles via the immune system until the particle is removed or controlled and released from the body somehow. Acute (short-term) inflammation is commonly associated with redness, heat, swelling, and pain. Remember when you sprained your ankle? Inflammation of the joint caused it to swell, get warm, and hurt. Basically inflammation causes a localized increase in bloodflow to the affected area allowing more white blood cells (immune system) and chemicals to aid in tissue repair and remodeling so you heal correctly. This only lasts for a relatively short period of time, so the long term effects on the body are minimal. Also this kind of inflammation is easily detectable, as you can feel the pain and see the swelling. However, inflammation isn't that black and white. Inflammation occurs deep within the body in organs, blood vessels, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other internal structures. Tendonitis is inflammation, arthritis is inflammation, and so are many other common ailments. However it gets even worse. Inflammation that occurs in tissues such as the small intestine, blood vessels, heart, and other organs result in the same cascade of the immune system, however no pain is felt. Dr. Barry Sears, author of Enter the Zone and a leading researcher of inflammation, coined the term silent inflammation for inflammation that occurs within the body and can cause disease and poor health but doesn't provide any pain to let you know something is wrong. Acute inflammtion generally isn't a big problem, minus the pain and discomfort, however chronic inflammation (long term) is a real big deal and as many researchers and doctors have discovered is the root of many common diseases and health problems. So what can inflammation cause?
Inflammation is responsible for rheumatoid arthritis, tendonitis, Gout, Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, cataracts, autoimmune diseases, many types of cancer, heart disease, osteoarthrits, and other pathologies including shin splints! Wow, is there anything inflammation can't do? It is the opinion of this author that inflammation occurs in pretty much every disease and pain that we human encounter. Like I mentioned earlier, acute inflammation isn't the real problem. In fact, we need a healthy immune system for acute inflammation to protect against infections, repair damaged tissue, and to keep the body humming along nicely. However when inflammation persists for long periods of time, damage to the cells within the body occurs. Damage to the cells over extended periods of time (chronic inflammation) can cause dysfunction of the organ, tissue, joint, or even cell. Let's take Multiple Sclerosis, for example. Inflammation of the myelin sheath (tissue that surrounds nerve cells) causes neurodegeneration (nerve damage) which results in a slowing down or even stoppage of nerve impulse transmission via the nerves. The end result is a loss of function from the nerve and the resulting tissue that ther nerve innervates. Say hypothetically that an effected nerve innervated a foot extensor. Once the inflammation of that particular nerve got severe enough to disrupt function (transmission of electrical activity-nerve impulses) then the muscle would lose function and we could see musclular disfunction in this area. Obviously, widespread inflammation could affect more processes than this isolated example. What about cancer? Chronic inflammation, as said before, can damage cells. Damaging a cell can result in a few things, such as loss of the cell's response to growth controls, modification of cell DNA, cell death, and a host of other things. Cell death really isn't too big of a deal as other cells will usually pick up the slack, but a change in the cell's DNA and a loss of growth control can be the start of cancer. A cell that grows uncontrollably and doesn't respond to feedback from the body can be the genesis of a tumor. This is bad news obviously. The cancer-inflammation link is well documented and if you want information the internet is a great resource. Lastly, let's talk about arthritis. The literally means inflammation (-itis) of the joint (-athr). In general, athritis is an immune response misdirected to a joint. The immune system's response is often overzealous and causes pain, loss of function, and a build up of soft tissue deposits as a result of the inflammatory response. Consequently, the soft tissuse deposits that the immune system's response leaves behind are not the same as the original equipment your body came with and are easily damaged resulting in even more inflammation. And thus the cycle repeats. So what causes chronic inflammation?
Chronic inflammation can be caused by a number of things, poor biomechanics during exercise and daily activity, exposure to dietary and environmental allergens, excess body fat, persistent infections, and many more. Poor biomechanics during exercise and daily activity causes a continual injury to tissues, ligaments, and tendons. Constant microtrauma to these tissues causes the accumulation of inflammatory products in the muscle, joint, or surrounding bones and can cause tendonitis, bursitis, or athritis due to the continual improper remodeling of tissue, immune system byproducts, and the actual inflammatory response persisting over long periods of time. The continual swelling, accumulation of white blood cells, and deposition of proteins such as fibrin and immunoglobulin further prevents proper function of the injured tissue, resulting in even worse biomechanics and compensatory activity of other muscles. This can lead to strains, pain, and dysfunction, among other things. Dietary and environmental allergens are a very real problem. High blood sugar and high blood insulin levels seem to be some of the most important factors in chronic inflammation. Chronically high blood sugar as well as high blood insulin levels have a tendency to damage blood vessels, nerves, tissues, and cells with prolonged exposure. As a result inflammation occurs. In fact, food has a pretty dramatic effect on overall body inflammation. Inflammation tends to rise and fall based on the levels of certain hormones, especially eicasanoids (eye-cas-a-noids). Eiscasanoids are either pro-inflammatory (causing inflammation) or anti-inflammatory (preventing inflammation). Obviously the goal isn't to erradicate all inflammation, as then our immune system would crash, we wouldn't recover from exercise, and we'd likely go into sepsis from the first bacteria we encountered. The real goal is to keep these hormones relatively balanced while giving the edge to the anti-inflammatory eicasanoids (so more inflammation is prevented rather than caused). Pro inflammatory eicasanoids are formed when fatty acids enter a hormone pathway and get remodeled into arachadonic (a-rack-a-don-ick) acid (AA). AA is stored in fat cells as well, so the more body fat someone carries, the more inflamed they are. The catalyst for conversion to AA is insulin. The higher your insulin levels are, the more AA you produce. Conversely, the lower your insulin levels are the more anti-inflammatory eicasanoids you produce, and the less AA you produce. Obviously having more anti-inflammatory eicasanoids floating around would be beneficial to anyone, but especially those with arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, cancer, MS, heart disease, or those interested in enhancing their wellness. So how do we lower insulin and prevent the conversion of fatty acids in the body to AA? Read on....
Insulin levels are controlled by what we eat, drink, and smell..yes SMELL! Ever heard the expression "I can just look at that _________(cookie, cake, pizza, etc) and gain weight!"? Turns out it may be true. Recent studies have linked simply smelling something appetizing with the pancreas releasing a bit of insulin. Insulin has a host of jobs to do, but it mainly is used for storing energy (fat) and catalyzing (speeding up) reactions in the body, for our purposes increasing the conversion of fatty acid molecules to pro-inflammatory eicasanoids. Well we can't control what we smell, and it's effect is rather small when we compare it to what we drink and eat. If you drink something with sugar, artificial sweetener, or any carbohydrate then insulin will be released at a fairly large rate. This is due to the nature of liquid food. The basic nutrients are already broken down and ready for use so the body doesn't have to process them to a very large extent. Henceforth, drinking a gatorade or soda causes a quicker and sharper insulin spike than eating a bowl or oatmeal or a potato. Remeber we want to keep insulin relatively low to avoid causing unnecessary inflammatory processes, so sugary (artificial or otherwsie) drinks should be avoided. Food-wise, civilization has been very unkind to us. Back in the 1900's the average sugar intake (from food, drink, etc) was around 4-10lbs per person a year. These days it's closer to 120-140lbs of sugar a year. Talk about a significant increase! Sugar is literally in everything. Cereal, bread, pasta, rice, etc. And those are just the refined sources. A medium sized regular potato has about 50g of glucose in it, which causes blood sugar to jump about 5x its normal level and causes a large rise in insulin levels. So instead of eating all this starch that makes up the current American diet, a shift to green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean meat, and moderate fruit intake would cause a marked lowering of blood insulin levels in most people. Fibrous carbohydrates such as those in temperate fruits and fresh vegetables cause little to no rise in insulin levels. Meats and other animal products actually tend to lower insulin levels as well as healthy fats from nuts and seeds. All of this sums up quite nicely to lower insulin and subsequently lower inflammation. Imagine being less dependent on modern medicine's medication and healthier by just choosing better food options! Also you can correct poor biomechanics and muscle activity by getting hooked up with a DFM trainer so that they can show you proper technique.
This post has gotten plenty long, and for that I apologize. However inflammation is running amok and causing serious harm to most of our community. Hopefully through the spread of knowledge and education on the subject we can start changing the lives of many. Until next time, keep working hard!
-Jordan Feigenbaum CSCS, ACSM-HFS
DFM Trainer
Inflammation is the body's natural response to any injury, bacteria, virus, allergen, or anything deemed "foreign" that is in the body. The "foreign particle" concept is an important thing to understand as many structures in the body transform into a "foreign" structure once injured or degraded to a certain extent. What happens is the body attacks these foreign particles via the immune system until the particle is removed or controlled and released from the body somehow. Acute (short-term) inflammation is commonly associated with redness, heat, swelling, and pain. Remember when you sprained your ankle? Inflammation of the joint caused it to swell, get warm, and hurt. Basically inflammation causes a localized increase in bloodflow to the affected area allowing more white blood cells (immune system) and chemicals to aid in tissue repair and remodeling so you heal correctly. This only lasts for a relatively short period of time, so the long term effects on the body are minimal. Also this kind of inflammation is easily detectable, as you can feel the pain and see the swelling. However, inflammation isn't that black and white. Inflammation occurs deep within the body in organs, blood vessels, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other internal structures. Tendonitis is inflammation, arthritis is inflammation, and so are many other common ailments. However it gets even worse. Inflammation that occurs in tissues such as the small intestine, blood vessels, heart, and other organs result in the same cascade of the immune system, however no pain is felt. Dr. Barry Sears, author of Enter the Zone and a leading researcher of inflammation, coined the term silent inflammation for inflammation that occurs within the body and can cause disease and poor health but doesn't provide any pain to let you know something is wrong. Acute inflammtion generally isn't a big problem, minus the pain and discomfort, however chronic inflammation (long term) is a real big deal and as many researchers and doctors have discovered is the root of many common diseases and health problems. So what can inflammation cause?
Inflammation is responsible for rheumatoid arthritis, tendonitis, Gout, Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, cataracts, autoimmune diseases, many types of cancer, heart disease, osteoarthrits, and other pathologies including shin splints! Wow, is there anything inflammation can't do? It is the opinion of this author that inflammation occurs in pretty much every disease and pain that we human encounter. Like I mentioned earlier, acute inflammation isn't the real problem. In fact, we need a healthy immune system for acute inflammation to protect against infections, repair damaged tissue, and to keep the body humming along nicely. However when inflammation persists for long periods of time, damage to the cells within the body occurs. Damage to the cells over extended periods of time (chronic inflammation) can cause dysfunction of the organ, tissue, joint, or even cell. Let's take Multiple Sclerosis, for example. Inflammation of the myelin sheath (tissue that surrounds nerve cells) causes neurodegeneration (nerve damage) which results in a slowing down or even stoppage of nerve impulse transmission via the nerves. The end result is a loss of function from the nerve and the resulting tissue that ther nerve innervates. Say hypothetically that an effected nerve innervated a foot extensor. Once the inflammation of that particular nerve got severe enough to disrupt function (transmission of electrical activity-nerve impulses) then the muscle would lose function and we could see musclular disfunction in this area. Obviously, widespread inflammation could affect more processes than this isolated example. What about cancer? Chronic inflammation, as said before, can damage cells. Damaging a cell can result in a few things, such as loss of the cell's response to growth controls, modification of cell DNA, cell death, and a host of other things. Cell death really isn't too big of a deal as other cells will usually pick up the slack, but a change in the cell's DNA and a loss of growth control can be the start of cancer. A cell that grows uncontrollably and doesn't respond to feedback from the body can be the genesis of a tumor. This is bad news obviously. The cancer-inflammation link is well documented and if you want information the internet is a great resource. Lastly, let's talk about arthritis. The literally means inflammation (-itis) of the joint (-athr). In general, athritis is an immune response misdirected to a joint. The immune system's response is often overzealous and causes pain, loss of function, and a build up of soft tissue deposits as a result of the inflammatory response. Consequently, the soft tissuse deposits that the immune system's response leaves behind are not the same as the original equipment your body came with and are easily damaged resulting in even more inflammation. And thus the cycle repeats. So what causes chronic inflammation?
Chronic inflammation can be caused by a number of things, poor biomechanics during exercise and daily activity, exposure to dietary and environmental allergens, excess body fat, persistent infections, and many more. Poor biomechanics during exercise and daily activity causes a continual injury to tissues, ligaments, and tendons. Constant microtrauma to these tissues causes the accumulation of inflammatory products in the muscle, joint, or surrounding bones and can cause tendonitis, bursitis, or athritis due to the continual improper remodeling of tissue, immune system byproducts, and the actual inflammatory response persisting over long periods of time. The continual swelling, accumulation of white blood cells, and deposition of proteins such as fibrin and immunoglobulin further prevents proper function of the injured tissue, resulting in even worse biomechanics and compensatory activity of other muscles. This can lead to strains, pain, and dysfunction, among other things. Dietary and environmental allergens are a very real problem. High blood sugar and high blood insulin levels seem to be some of the most important factors in chronic inflammation. Chronically high blood sugar as well as high blood insulin levels have a tendency to damage blood vessels, nerves, tissues, and cells with prolonged exposure. As a result inflammation occurs. In fact, food has a pretty dramatic effect on overall body inflammation. Inflammation tends to rise and fall based on the levels of certain hormones, especially eicasanoids (eye-cas-a-noids). Eiscasanoids are either pro-inflammatory (causing inflammation) or anti-inflammatory (preventing inflammation). Obviously the goal isn't to erradicate all inflammation, as then our immune system would crash, we wouldn't recover from exercise, and we'd likely go into sepsis from the first bacteria we encountered. The real goal is to keep these hormones relatively balanced while giving the edge to the anti-inflammatory eicasanoids (so more inflammation is prevented rather than caused). Pro inflammatory eicasanoids are formed when fatty acids enter a hormone pathway and get remodeled into arachadonic (a-rack-a-don-ick) acid (AA). AA is stored in fat cells as well, so the more body fat someone carries, the more inflamed they are. The catalyst for conversion to AA is insulin. The higher your insulin levels are, the more AA you produce. Conversely, the lower your insulin levels are the more anti-inflammatory eicasanoids you produce, and the less AA you produce. Obviously having more anti-inflammatory eicasanoids floating around would be beneficial to anyone, but especially those with arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, cancer, MS, heart disease, or those interested in enhancing their wellness. So how do we lower insulin and prevent the conversion of fatty acids in the body to AA? Read on....
Insulin levels are controlled by what we eat, drink, and smell..yes SMELL! Ever heard the expression "I can just look at that _________(cookie, cake, pizza, etc) and gain weight!"? Turns out it may be true. Recent studies have linked simply smelling something appetizing with the pancreas releasing a bit of insulin. Insulin has a host of jobs to do, but it mainly is used for storing energy (fat) and catalyzing (speeding up) reactions in the body, for our purposes increasing the conversion of fatty acid molecules to pro-inflammatory eicasanoids. Well we can't control what we smell, and it's effect is rather small when we compare it to what we drink and eat. If you drink something with sugar, artificial sweetener, or any carbohydrate then insulin will be released at a fairly large rate. This is due to the nature of liquid food. The basic nutrients are already broken down and ready for use so the body doesn't have to process them to a very large extent. Henceforth, drinking a gatorade or soda causes a quicker and sharper insulin spike than eating a bowl or oatmeal or a potato. Remeber we want to keep insulin relatively low to avoid causing unnecessary inflammatory processes, so sugary (artificial or otherwsie) drinks should be avoided. Food-wise, civilization has been very unkind to us. Back in the 1900's the average sugar intake (from food, drink, etc) was around 4-10lbs per person a year. These days it's closer to 120-140lbs of sugar a year. Talk about a significant increase! Sugar is literally in everything. Cereal, bread, pasta, rice, etc. And those are just the refined sources. A medium sized regular potato has about 50g of glucose in it, which causes blood sugar to jump about 5x its normal level and causes a large rise in insulin levels. So instead of eating all this starch that makes up the current American diet, a shift to green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean meat, and moderate fruit intake would cause a marked lowering of blood insulin levels in most people. Fibrous carbohydrates such as those in temperate fruits and fresh vegetables cause little to no rise in insulin levels. Meats and other animal products actually tend to lower insulin levels as well as healthy fats from nuts and seeds. All of this sums up quite nicely to lower insulin and subsequently lower inflammation. Imagine being less dependent on modern medicine's medication and healthier by just choosing better food options! Also you can correct poor biomechanics and muscle activity by getting hooked up with a DFM trainer so that they can show you proper technique.
This post has gotten plenty long, and for that I apologize. However inflammation is running amok and causing serious harm to most of our community. Hopefully through the spread of knowledge and education on the subject we can start changing the lives of many. Until next time, keep working hard!
-Jordan Feigenbaum CSCS, ACSM-HFS
DFM Trainer
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Hello!
Hello everyone! I'm Janet "The Janimal" and I work out at the St. Charles location. I'd love to tell you how my life has changed and over time I'm sure I will, but for now, I'm just enjoying the holiday season. Tonight I'll do a special service at my church, tomorrow get together with friends, and Saturday with the family. And all my shopping is done! ((tip of the sparkling water))
I feel like for the first time in a long time I have control over my life. Since being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 15 years ago, it has been a roller coaster ride. At times I felt like all I could do was hold on as I'd go up yet another steep hill. But guess what. I'm the one in the front now with hands in the air screaming with joy at the top of my lungs! Because I no longer walk with a cane and have more energy than a room full of kindergarteners!
But enough of that - back to the holidays! To my family food is an important part of any get-together. One thing I've learned to do is buy extra protein bars in the flavors I like and load up my purse so I'll have one instead of the ever popular cookies! A favorite of mine is the lemon-flavored Luna bars. Mmmmmmm.......... Also, my refrigerator is stocked to overflowing with fresh veggies so I have something quick to snack on during the rush. Even so, it will be interesting to see if I can avoid the temptation! I look forward to any hints that have helped you during this time.
Another thing I'll be doing is spending extra time at the gym. I'm fortunate enough to be off work until January 4th, so this is Janimal-Time! Jake the Great (my trainer) will be gone for a little bit so I promised I'd work hard in his absence (if you see him, be sure and tell him how hard I did). I was going to add so he'd take it easy on me - but one thing I've learned - I don't pay for him to take it easy on me. There was a LONG time spent just trying to get me mobile, so now I like it when he pushes me to the max. I may not be able to do everything, but I'm sure as heck going to try!!!
So if you see me in the gym, stop by and say hello. But if we talk too long, you may have to work out with me - cuz I'll be there to sweat. Cuz I CAN!!!
And if there is someone you know who doesn't think they can work out due to their "limitations" feel free to share my story - because others have said it but I mean it - if I can do this (and I CAN) then ANYONE can. And if you haven't bought them a holiday gift yet - how about a gym membership and a Quick Start packet? It's the gift that keeps giving...
(Oh, and explanation of the name "Janimal" - it was given to me by a DFM friend (thanks JC) - the inner animal has been released - watch me roar!!!)
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Hand Holding and Miscellanous Ramblings
Hey everyone and welcome to the new DFM website and blog. I plan on trying to add to this a few times a week. I would love to get questions from clients, trainers, and non-clients to answer or at least try to so if you have a question go ahead and email me at jfeigenb@gmail.com. Now, on with the show!
Yesterday, while working at the Club Fitness in O’Fallon at Highway K and N I surveyed the landscape of gym patrons and noticed an oddity that spoke to me. Over half of the people using the cardio equipment were holding on to some sort of handles or other parts of the machine to "brace" themselves while frantically cranking out their exercise with their legs only. Now I am all for anybody getting active in the first place, and if that happens to mean they need to assist themselves by bracing their hands against the machine then so be it. However, for some of the gym regulars, it surprised me that they were still holding on for dear life! For example, a few people were walking on pretty steep inclines while holding themselves in an upright position with their hands on the machine. Furthermore, there were a few people on the stair climbers hunched over with their arms and hands braced on the machine. Then there are the elliptical machines where people were holding on to the arm poles that move when you move your legs. It was very interesting to me.
So before just going up to these nice folks and explaining to them that they were getting less out of their exercise by bracing themselves against the machine, I decided to do some research. As it turns out more than a few different authorities have found that holding on while performing cardio reduces caloric expenditure (bad), results in poor posture (bad), and reinforces improper muscular biomechanics (yea you guessed it, bad). When you hold on while say, walking on an inclined treadmill, you are effectively robbing your legs, core, and trunk of working hard during the exercise. Think about it, if you had to walk up a hill in the forest that had a steep incline you would be leaning forward and doing some pretty hard work. Contrast this to holding on to the handles on the treadmill and your position, which is more upright and relaxed. Which is more difficult and which do you think burns more calories? Ding, ding. Walking up the hill sans holding on wins out on all counts. It engages more musculature to keep your balance and also forces you to create more force with your legs to keep up with the treadmill rather than the slight subconscious pulling you would do while holding on to the treadmill. In another example, most would agree that swiftly ascending a few flights of stairs is pretty challenging, especially when the "few" flights turns out to be 20 or 30 flights. Now if you're holding on the railing of the stairs the difficulty drops through the cellar, comparatively. Also, the hunched over position that most gym-goers assume while leaning on the stair climber is just bad posture and reinforcing that is not a good way to get results.
Some sources claim anywhere from a 20%- 50% decrease in caloric expenditure when you hold on the machine with your hands or upper body. That is a TON of calories to give up during your precious gym time! And don't think that pushing and pulling on the elliptical's "ski-style" poles are doing anything for your upper body. In reality your legs are creating the movement and your arms are just moving as a result of being attached to the poles. Also, you're failing to challenge your core to hold your skeleton upright by adding points of contact (with your hands). I could go on for pages, but the reality is this: Do yourself a favor and do your cardio sans hands and see how much more challenging it is. There are about three cardio machines I know of that really can involve the upper body to any sort of significant training effect and they are the rower, a ski erg, and an upper body cycle ergometer. Unfortunately, Club Fitness does not currently have any of these specialty machines. The good news is now you have no question on whether you should be holding on or not, don't do it! Until next time, keep working hard!
-Jordan Feigenbaum CSCS, ACSM-HFS, IFA Sports Nutritionist DFM Trainer
Yesterday, while working at the Club Fitness in O’Fallon at Highway K and N I surveyed the landscape of gym patrons and noticed an oddity that spoke to me. Over half of the people using the cardio equipment were holding on to some sort of handles or other parts of the machine to "brace" themselves while frantically cranking out their exercise with their legs only. Now I am all for anybody getting active in the first place, and if that happens to mean they need to assist themselves by bracing their hands against the machine then so be it. However, for some of the gym regulars, it surprised me that they were still holding on for dear life! For example, a few people were walking on pretty steep inclines while holding themselves in an upright position with their hands on the machine. Furthermore, there were a few people on the stair climbers hunched over with their arms and hands braced on the machine. Then there are the elliptical machines where people were holding on to the arm poles that move when you move your legs. It was very interesting to me.
So before just going up to these nice folks and explaining to them that they were getting less out of their exercise by bracing themselves against the machine, I decided to do some research. As it turns out more than a few different authorities have found that holding on while performing cardio reduces caloric expenditure (bad), results in poor posture (bad), and reinforces improper muscular biomechanics (yea you guessed it, bad). When you hold on while say, walking on an inclined treadmill, you are effectively robbing your legs, core, and trunk of working hard during the exercise. Think about it, if you had to walk up a hill in the forest that had a steep incline you would be leaning forward and doing some pretty hard work. Contrast this to holding on to the handles on the treadmill and your position, which is more upright and relaxed. Which is more difficult and which do you think burns more calories? Ding, ding. Walking up the hill sans holding on wins out on all counts. It engages more musculature to keep your balance and also forces you to create more force with your legs to keep up with the treadmill rather than the slight subconscious pulling you would do while holding on to the treadmill. In another example, most would agree that swiftly ascending a few flights of stairs is pretty challenging, especially when the "few" flights turns out to be 20 or 30 flights. Now if you're holding on the railing of the stairs the difficulty drops through the cellar, comparatively. Also, the hunched over position that most gym-goers assume while leaning on the stair climber is just bad posture and reinforcing that is not a good way to get results.
Some sources claim anywhere from a 20%- 50% decrease in caloric expenditure when you hold on the machine with your hands or upper body. That is a TON of calories to give up during your precious gym time! And don't think that pushing and pulling on the elliptical's "ski-style" poles are doing anything for your upper body. In reality your legs are creating the movement and your arms are just moving as a result of being attached to the poles. Also, you're failing to challenge your core to hold your skeleton upright by adding points of contact (with your hands). I could go on for pages, but the reality is this: Do yourself a favor and do your cardio sans hands and see how much more challenging it is. There are about three cardio machines I know of that really can involve the upper body to any sort of significant training effect and they are the rower, a ski erg, and an upper body cycle ergometer. Unfortunately, Club Fitness does not currently have any of these specialty machines. The good news is now you have no question on whether you should be holding on or not, don't do it! Until next time, keep working hard!
-Jordan Feigenbaum CSCS, ACSM-HFS, IFA Sports Nutritionist DFM Trainer
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