Monday Rant:

Yeah I know I normally do this on monday, but you know what, it’s my blog!

1. Reading a great book this week, “The Consolations of Philosophy’  by Alain De Botton. This book skillfully integrates some of the great philosophers and integrates them into solving modern problems. It is extremely well written and entertaining. Its is always a good thing for me personally to read books that aren’t about training or nutrition! They keep me sane. To check it out, click on the link below.

The Consolations of Philosophy

2. I’m sick of people bagging on Mike Boyle. I don’t agree with him entirely but so what! That doesn’t make him an idiot, or me better or any of the other garbage spewed over the internet. For those of you who don’t know (or aren’t as big a strength and conditioning geek as me) Mike recently told the world he doesn’t use back squats. So f*%$ing what! A whole bunch of practitioners who think they are God’s gift to health are criticizing Mike calling him an idiot and a bad example because he has had back pain. What a load of shit! Having back pain probably makes you more qualified to help people get over it! Experience yields perspective and Mike has 25 years of it! What people need to do in this industry is get over their ego’s realize that they don’t know it all and can learn from anyone. I personally have listened to Mike to re-evaluate my use of back squats. I still use them, just my use of them will change. And on another note, if his posts encourage more single leg training, I’m all for it.

3. Of Machines is one of the best new bands I have heard in ages. A great mix of experimental music and post hardcore, awesome to listen to and chill out to! Highly recommended!

4. Training song of the week: Kings and Queens by 30 seconds to Mars

See you soon!

Training Tip #6

Training Tip #6 Respect the nervous system!

The nervous system is the last frontier in strength training and athletic development. By changing our focus from training to muscles to training the nervous system we will see our results skyrocket! Here are some practical examples of how we can work with the nervous system.

Lifting weights: Ideally we should perform the concentric portion of all lifts as fast as possible. What this does is to take advantage of what is known in neurology as the size principle. This principle states that motor units (which control our muscle fibers) are recruited in an orderly fashion from our smallest to our largest. Our largest motor units control our fast twitch IIB muscle fibers, which have the most potential for growth and strength development.  These are the muscle fibers that are used by sprinters, gymnasts and all other strength athletes. When we lift a load at sub-maximal speed or one that is too light, we do not have a need to recruit the fast twitch muscle fibers. We need to find a balance between a fast enough speed and a heavy load. This principle is espoused in the writings of Chad Waterbury, Eric Cressey, Christian Thibadeau and many others.

Mobility – By mobilizing our joints we mobilize our nervous system. This improves recruitment of all muscles surrounding the joints. By doing this, we send messages back to the brain that tell the brain that the joint is more stable which will allow the muscles to relax. This is the principle behind Z Health, Scott Sonnon’s work and many others.

Stretching – By syncing our stretching with breathing, we can utilize the nervous system to increase flexibility. If we go deeper into the stretch on an exhale while nasal breathing we stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the rest and digest nervous system. This allows for better recovery and an increased stretch in the muscle. This is the approach used by Ann and Chris Frederick in their book Stretch to Win.

Soft tissue regeneration: Have you ever seen a trigger point is a piece of steak? I haven’t yet. This is because the nervous system controls our muscular system. Buy training our nervous system to effectively recruit our muscles in the right sequences, we can eliminate trigger points in a much less painful manner.

So there are 4 ways the nervous system can be used to improve performance. Over the next few weeks I will discuss some more methods to improve our nervous system, using nutrition and some other therapies.

Monday Motivation

Anything is possible – seriously

Always believe that you can do anything.

Notes on Nutrition

‘Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food’

Above is a great quote, yet it is sadly one that is rarely adhered to. What I am going to write about today is some particularly poor food choices that will negatively impact on your health.

Dangers of Wheat and other Grains

Wheat and grains are staples in the diet of modern man. This is in direct opposition to what we have evolved to eat. Farming of grains did not become common place until about 10 000 years ago, which is a flash in regards to human evolution.

It takes around 10 000 years for the human genome to change one tenth of one percent. This is an incredibly subtle change and it is highly unlikely our digestive machinery has changed to accommodate large amounts of grains. The daily recommended allowance of between 6-11 serves of grains a day is a recipe for disaster for the vast majority of the population.

The most widely consumed forms of grains, processed breads and cereals are practically devoid of any nutritional value. They contain very little fibre, are primarily made up of carbohydrates and have had nearly all vitamins and minerals stripped. When you see that a grain has been fortified with a nutrient, such as calcium, it is a sure sign that the food is not good for you!

Grains also contain a highly allergenic substance called gluten. This substance puts a massive strain on the digestive organs. This can lead to their breakdown with illnesses such as celiac disease, chronic indigestion, candida albicans and allergies forming. By preparing the grains in the manner we will describe below you will avoid these problems and vastly increase the nutritional quality of the grains!

There are some grains that we recommend and one of these is oats, particularly organic oats. Oats are high in fibre, B vitamins, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous and iron. They are also low in gluten. We recommend when having oats that you soak them overnight in water with a teaspoon of sea salt. This will break down the oats making them far easier to digest and will also release their nutrients. To cook in the morning, simply add to 1 cup of boiling water and simmer for a few minutes. This will only take around 5 minutes to prepare a healthy breakfast.

We recommend eating oats with some butter or coconut milk to add some healthy fats to the meal and improve the stability of blood sugar levels.

Other recommended grains include quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat and spelt. Ideally if you choose to eat these it is best to either eat them first thing in the morning or after a training session when your body is most receptive to carbohydrates.

Dairy: The truth about milk

Dairy is considered to be one of the optimal foods for improving health. It has continually been hammered into us that we need dairy foods for adequate daily calcium intake. What we need to ask is: are dairy products the best source of calcium and what dangers are inherent in dairy foods?

Some people lack intestinal lactase, an enzyme that allows us to digest lactose, a sugar that is present in milk. If you lack this enzyme, dairy may not be the best option for you. Symptoms such as a runny nose or coughing after consuming dairy are key indicators of this.

Our key issues with dairy are the processes of pasteurization and homogenization. These processes are designed to improve the cleanliness of milk. What pasteurization does to milk is quite astounding: vitamin C loss is generally greater than 50%, the loss of other water soluble vitamins is as high as 80%, it reduces the bio-availability of chloride, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, calcium (leading to doubts over milks effectiveness to provide calcium) and sulphur. The last and perhaps largest issue with pasteurization is the elimination of enzymes. Enzymes are what allow us to digest our food effectively.

Homogenization effectively redistributes the fat through out the milk to prevent cream rising to the top. This has been linked to increased allergies from milk, heart disease and reduced absorption of calcium.

With dairy products we recommend reducing or even eliminating your consumption of all conventional products. If you can find it (it is now stocked in nearly all supermarkets) biodynamic yoghurt is a great source of beneficial bacteria and proteins. If you have milk allergies this will still be a problem but you can have either goats or sheep yoghurt, which contains no lactose and is much friendlier on the human gut. These are available in most health food stores.

The final product we do recommend if you can find it is organic raw milk. Raw milk is a treasure trove of valuable enzymes, proteins, beneficial fats and other nutrients. If you can find it, it is a very beneficial addition to your diet.

Alcohol

Alcohol is another area of nutrition that is highly controversial. There is much research studying the nutritional value of red wine and its ability to help in many different disease states.

We do not really recommend the consumption of any alcohol at DC Health due to its negative effects on blood sugar. When you drink alcohol it drastically increases your blood sugar levels and in turn your body produces a surge of insulin. This lowers blood sugar rapidly and leads to people eating anything they can to balance their sugar levels.

Beer is another highly controversial subject. There is ample research to suggest that beer has a strongly estrogenic effect on our hormonal systems. This effect will lead to excess weight gain and in men it very negatively depletes their testosterone levels.

If you do choose to drink alcohol we recommend that you do so in extreme moderation and when you do drink, choose to eat some fatty foods (cheese is perfect). This will combat the negative effect alcohol has on blood sugar.

 

Next time I will talk about the dangers of one of the most controversial foods around, Soy. Until next time, healthy eating!

Training Principles #5

Training Principle #5 – Do no harm!

This principle should perhaps come in at number one. There is a slew of training methods available but what we have to look at as fitness professionals is obeying the Hippocratic oath. If we are working with athletic populations, our first goal should not be performance enhancement. It should be injury prevention. We should also not jeopardize an athletes career by performing dangerous exercises in the weight room.

 

 

 

 

This exercise looks good, but has a high risk factor!!

 

 

When we look at exercise selection we need to look at the safety of each exercise and the risk to benefit ratio. For example, performing a barbell snatch may be an exercise with some great benefits in terms of increasing power, hip extension and starting strength, but may also be contra-indicated for someone who lacks thoracic extension and shoulder mobility.

So when we analyze the exercises we use and different modalities we need to look does the exercise prevent any risk factors and does the client have any risk factors. The dead lift as an example is a safe exercise for the majority of people but if you have a inability to resist anterior shear, then the exercise has too many risk factors.

As fitness professionals we have a huge responsibility to our clients and society. We need to step up our game and be professional in our exercise selection ,choice of modality and program execution. Follow the rule of doing no harm and you will be well on your way!

Monday Motivation

Sometimes, we all need some extra motivation to get us to where we want to go.

Who motivates you?

Who are you accountable to?

We all need to look for mentors and coaches to help us.

Take responsibility

Never give up

Random Friday Thoughts

Welcome to the 2nd installment of random friday thoughts. Lets get started!!!

1. Bikram yoga – honestly pisses me off. Now, don’t get me wrong, I believe their is huge value in stretching, saunas, yoga and movement. But not all at once! You wouldn’t necessarily try to perform heavy dead lifts, run interval sprints, plyometrics then perform olympic lifts then max rep chin ups (or am I bagging on Crossfit..hmmm). Also, lets talk about biomechanics and movement. I had a client go to one class and come back in with a sacro-illiac jam, low back pain, neck pain and head aches. The pose involved simultaneous extreme lumbar flexion and a hyperextended stork stance on one knee. Now, basic exercise technique has told us that stiff legged deadlifts are bad for the spine as they shut down the gluteus maximus and research by Dr Stuart McGill has shown us that flexion is one of the worst things you can do to your spine. So what a great idea, shut down the glutes, add in extreme range flexion performed on one leg, further causing a movement challenge and perform it in a boiling hot room which improves tissue laxity and stretch!! Also, where is the overload principle! The same movements every class? Everyone knows the key to improvement is progressive overload!

 

 

 

Lets bulge a disc!!!

 

 

2. Something else that really grinds my gears – training dogma. I can’t stand Poliquin disciples, chekkies, Boylers, functional trainers, crossfitters, bodybuilders, kettlebell guys or clubbell guys. All tools have a place, it just is simply a matter of choosing the right tool, at the right time, for the right client. there is no perfect way to squat, only what is perfect for the individual. All these systems and philosophies have a place, it is the dogma associated with them that causes problems. I personally will use tools from all of these systems but will not subscribe to any.

3. Family guy is way too funny.

4. Fascial anatomy is way underrated. Check out Thomas Myers Anatomy Trains if you are any kind of therapist or trainer. It will instantly change the way you view the human body.

See you next week!

Comparing self to others

In my practice as a Kinesiologist, I deal with a wide range of emotional stressors that affect a clients performance and wellbeing. One of the most common and also self destructive emotions is the comparing oneself to others.

When we compare ourselves to others we do so at the cost of devaluing ourselves and our own achievements. I have learnt that when we start to judge ourselves based on the achievements and values of others, we put down and lower our own self worth. Dr John Demartini expressed this eloquently in his book The Breakthrough Experience. When we idolize others and judge ourselves based on them we tend to pit them on a pedestal and put ourselves in a pit. What eventually happens is when we start  to realize the faults these people have we tear them down and put them in the pit and place ourselves on a pedestal, effectively inflating our sense of self value compared to others, which is as destructive a place to be in.

What comparing yourself to others also does is conflict with your values. Your values are the most important thing to you and are what you, knowingly or not, live your life by to honor those values. An example of this is when someone compares themselves to someone who is extremely wealthy. The wealthy person has financial success high upon their list of values. The person who may have family higher than money, for example, will compare themselves to the wealthy person and judge themselves according to that persons values.

To build high levels of self esteem and confidence we need to learn to value and honor our own personal, unique value system and live our life that way. When we do this we will be able to see that we will be highly successful in life in the areas that we highly value, be they family, financial, social or whatever. From this point of view we will effectively be able to link whatever we want to achieve to our highest values, giving us the highest possible chance to succeed in all areas of life.

“Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves” . -Nathaniel Branden.

Training Principles #4

Training Principle #4 – Program Regeneration strategies

I’m sure many of you have heard the expression ‘over-training’. In reality very few of the population are actually overtrained. It could in fact be said that the population as a whole needs a hell of a lot more training! The reality of the situation is not that we are overtrained, it is that we are under-recovered.

 

 

 

 

 

If you don’t recover properly you could end up like this!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our responsibility as coaches and as athletes is to ensure we get optimal recovery after training sessions. Recovery is when we get our gains in strength, power, endurance and movement skills. Here are some methods I use for recovery. I generally include these on a clients workout program and the more of these they can circle that they perform, the better!

Foam rolling – this restores quality to the soft tissues and removes adhesions and trigger points

Static stretching – this restores length to shortened tissues and I believe can help with the disposal of metabolic waste products. It also stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system which encourages growth and regeneration.

Post Workout Nutrition – This is a critical step. By optimizing post workout nutrition you will immediately start muscular recovery. I recommend liquid nutrition as it is easier to consume and absorbed far more quickly. I will post on a later date my post workout strategies

Joint Mobility – This method of recovery lubricates and hydrates the joints, washing them with synovial fluids which improves recovery and energy levels.

Sleep: A nap can do wonders for recovery, particularly after a heavy training session. Great for athletes desiring hypertrophy.

Cardio – A light aerobic session after weight training has been shown to accelerate recovery. I only allow nasal breathing and a short duration, max 15 minutes.

Meditation – This helps with nervous system recovery, promotes an optimal hormonal profile and starts parasympathetic processes.

I recommend clients pick one or two of these strategies initially and experiment to find what works best for them. Personally, I use post workout nutrition religiously and like static stretching and the foam roller. I will integrate meditation into my routine soon and will let you know how it goes!

See you next week for the next installment!

Notes on Nutrition

Many clients ask me ‘what supplements should I take?’ or ‘what do you think about this supplement?’. Here are my answers to what I believe are the optimal supplements people should take. My criteria for a good supplement is that it should improve your health, body composition and athletic performance. If a supplement meets these criteria, it is generally pretty good!

1. Fish Oil: I have written about the numerous benefits of fish oil many times. Fish oils have been shown reduce abdominal adiposity, improve blood chemistry, cardiovascular profiles and hormone profiles.

2. Protein Powder : supplementing with protein after a workout will help with the regeneration process and will also promote satiety. This will generally lead people to eating less, and more importantly eating less refined carbohydrates, which improves body composition and health by default!

3. Creatine:  Creatine has been shown to improve athletic performance and also is highly beneficial for brain function and health.

4. Probiotics: These wonder supplements restore good bacteria in the gut, improving digestion and vitamin utilization and assimilation.

5. Greens supplements: Many people do not eat enough green vegetables. These supplements promote alkalinity which improves our acid/alkaline balance and provide many nutrients that are essential to optimal health.

These are the 5 main supplements I will recommend to people. Stay tuned for the next installment, where I will talk about the most important foods to avoid!!