TRAIN WITH JAKE

Fox News 7 Covers Austin Personal Trainers at the South Congress Athletic Club

2010-01-14T11:17:00.000-08:00

Fox News just featured my gym on "7 on your side" at 9:00 PM last night

THE FULL STORY CAN BE VIEWED HERE

If you are looking for a personal trainer or gym located near Downtown Austin, I highly recommend you check out the South Congress Athletic Club

"JUST SAY NO" TO VACCINES

2009-11-16T14:31:00.000-08:00

I was planning to write something on "how to pick an appropriate personal trainer" or "Top five greatest fitness myths," and I don't like to repeat subjects. But, lately there is something far more important to address.

VIEW MY ORIGINAL POST ON THE DANGERS OF VACCINES HERE

Caitlin and I were at the Emmis Austin Radio's (owners of 101X and KGSR) yearly health fair and were astounded at how many people ran straight past our table, and made a B-line for their "free flu-shot." Also interesting were the conversations:
Radio guy 1: "Dude, aren't you going to get your flu shot?"
Radio guy 2: "No thanks, I don't believe in them, don't take them and I never get sick"
Radio guy 1: "What about the swine flu? Don't you watch the news. If everyone would get flu shots, we'd probably never get sick. How can you disagree with doctors?"

If you know me, and you know my father, you know we are very outspoken when it comes to vaccines. As a result, I am constantly asked to provide "SOLID PROOF" by the nay-sayers as to how vaccines are dangerous, why the CDC and FDA would allow such a dangerous practice, and ultimately who benefits.

I was reading through my Twitter account, and stumbled across this video. in which David Ayoub, M.D gives a pretty thorough breakdown, and cites just about everything he says.

To go to the full site with all of the slides from his presentation go to http://www.whale.to/vaccine/ayoub_v.html

WHAT SHOULD I (YOU) BE EATING?

2009-10-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

I get asked all the time by personal training and boot camp clients alike: "how can I get better results from my training?", or better yet "how can I eat better, to get better results from my training?"

Like it or not folks, you are walking chemistry labs. You have been misled by infomercials, and widely disseminated misinformation, into thinking you can eat whatever you want, sleep whenever you want, and do anything you want to your body, provided you just work out hard enough. Sorry to break it to you, but that's simply not true.

Think about this for a second: imagine you are a flask, and you need 4 ingredients + heat to facilitate a given reaction. The 4 ingredients can be viewed arbitrarily as key components of wellness (i.e. proper nutrition, balanced hormones, proper sleep, and absence of pathogens, heavy metals, and other poisonous substances). The heat can be viewed as the exercise. So, if any of these components are deficient or absent, does it really make sense that turning up the heat would produce the desired reaction? Not unless you are an alchemist!

As I said, one should consider all the aforementioned factors before embarking on an exercise plan, but this article, will focus only on nutrition. The other three: hormones, proper sleep, and management of pathogens/poisons all have their place in other articles. Nutrition, however, is widely considered to be the most important component of wellness. With many health and fitness professionals attributing 60%-80% of your results to food and drink intake.

We will start with how I prefer my clients to keep their food journals. Fitness is a science and there are a variety of opinions about what to focus on. I see way to many people focused only on how many calories they take in per day. But wait, didn't I say the body is a walking chemistry lab? Do you really think that eating 2,000 calories of angel food cake, and not worrying about eating anything else is a healthy way to live? Does it really seem logical, that when the body requires protein, we can live on a limited sugar-intake only? OF COURSE NOT!!! In the following example, you will notice 4 categories: time, intake, activity, and abnormal symptoms. It is concerned less with caloric intake, and more with patterns, behaviors, and types of food/drink/etc. .

TIME	ACTIVITY	INTAKE	ABNORMAL SYMPTOMS
4:00 AM	WOKE	-----	-----
4:45 AM	-----	1 cup of coffee, 2 eggs, bowl of cereal with milk	-----
10:00 AM	-----	-----	felt tired
10:30 AM	-----	1 Red Bull	-----
12:30 AM	-----	3 grilled fish tacos with chips and queso	-----
1:30 PM	-----	-----	felt nauseated
2:30 PM	moved boxes for 2 hrs	-----	-----
4:30 PM	-----	-----	exhausted
6:00 PM	-----	8 oz. grilled chicken breast with broccoli	-----
7:30 PM	-----	-----	energized
8:30 PM	elliptical 60 min HR=130-140 BPM	-----	-----
10:30 PM	bedtime	-----	-----

TIME is recorded whenever any entry is made. It should begin with when you wake, and end with when you go to bed.

ACTIVITY includes your wake-up time, bedtime, and any physically demanding activities (e.g. "moved boxes for 2 hrs" or "elliptical 60 min HR=130-140 BPM," NOT "studied for exam for 2 hrs."). There is a very important component of eating for your activity level, not just in terms of lifestyle, but in terms of specific events (e.g. Lance Armstrong probably doesn't starve himself the nights before or after the Tour de France). For more information about this subject I recommend Nutrient Timing: The Future of Sports Nutrition by Dr. John Ivy (University of Texas) and Dr. Robert Portman

INTAKE is any food, drink, drug, or nutritional supplement taken in any way. Below you will find 15 BASIC principles to consider in your dietary behaviors, written by Celeste Brinson, MS (nutritionist and very smart woman). These are in NO WAY COMPREHENSIVE. On the contrary, these principles are only the tip of the dietary iceberg. But, in my opinion, if you aren't doing these fundamental things, you're wasting your time by getting any more technical. However, you can and should hire a good nutritionist and/or read up more on the Mediterranean diet (be careful where you get your information). Taking better care of your body will continue to pay dividends until you take your last breath. NOTHING should be more important.

ABNORMAL SYMPTOMS is anything out of the ordinary, good or bad. This can often indicate a deficiency or allergy to the substance being taken. If you want to get more technical, I recommend the services of the Austin Wellness Clinic or something of the like. They can test your blood, saliva, ect. for all of this stuff, as well as pathogens, toxic metals, and hormonal imbalances.

The following is taken directly from a handout, authored by Celeste:

LOWER-CARB MEDITERRANEAN-TYPE DIET

The following will help balance blood sugar and hormone levels, help with Adrenal Fatigue, prevent "ups and downs" in energy and mood, and promote weight loss. It is also the heart health diet plan.

HOW TO EAT

Eat every TWO hours. This relieves the stress handling glands from the job of maintaining normal blood sugar levels between meals (via epinephrine and cortisol).
Do NOT eat carbohydrates alone; always add protein to your meals and snacks. It is especially important not to eat a carbohydrate-only breakfast.
Avoid stimulants--caffeine, sugar, alcohol, etc.--simulants work by provoking the stress handling glands into releasing hormones to raise blood sugar and release energy.
Avoid dead, devitalized and junk foods. These foods cannot rebuild a healthy body. They are also anti-nutrients--they rob any remaining nutrient stores from your body.
Avoid trans fats and rancid fats. Cell membranes, nerve tissue, and steroid hormones (vitality hormones) all require healthy fats.
Eat real, WHOLE, fresh food. Minimize fruits and juices.
Salt your food liberally with Pink Himalayan Sea Salt. Stress handling glands need plenty of salt for normal function. Research has proven that eating salt does NOT cause high blood pressure or heart disease. Only people with organ damage, like kidney disease, need to be concerned with keeping a low salt diet. In fact, low salt contributes to adrenal fatigue.
Drink plenty of water (filtered or spring, NOT TAP WATER). Tap water is BLEACHED and will compromise your internal ecosystem.

WHAT TO EAT

Eat foods rich in Omega fatty acids such as fatty coldwater fish including salmon, trout, tuna, herring, and mackerel. Eat walnuts, flaxseeds, and green leafy vegetables. Or, if you prefer, take an Omega 3 supplement such as a high quality fish oil (there are also vegetarian options).
Use monounsaturated oils, especially raw extra virgin olive oil, as your primary fat source. DO NOT USE CANOLA OIL.
Eat seven or more servings of vegetables and fruits (remember to watch excessive fruit intake) every day. Vegetables and fruits should be fresh or frozen, NOT CANNED. Vegetables can be slightly cooked, steamed, or eaten raw.
Eat natural sources of good protein, NOT MAN-MADE DELI MEATS, and preferably ORGANIC meat (raised without the use of estrogens or antibiotics).
Eat more vegetable protein including: peas, beans, lentils, and nuts. Also, use QUINOA (keen-wah) as your main grain.
Eat only organic whole grains (quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, barley). No refined carbohydrates like white flour, white rice, white pasta, white sugar.
Make simple carbohydrates (such as breads, pastas, and grains) your smallest food group

Train With Jake boot camps are relocating indoors to the Austin Sports Center

2009-09-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

Train With Jake--An Austin-based boot camp and personal training company, will be teaming up with the Austin Sports Center, located across Woodward street from St. Edwards University (view the google map here). We are proud to offer the residents of Austin an alternative to the everyday Austin boot camps. Our boot camps, will not only offer an indoor location at the Austin Sports Center, free of inclement weather and darkness, we will feature only the most sought-after personal trainers in Austin, offering a premium boot camp service. Our boot camps are open to anyone in the greater Austin area, ready to take absolute charge of their lives. We look forward to serving the Austin community, and encourage anyone and everyone to give the new Austin Sports Center location a try.

Austin-New Boot Camp Locations and Times

2009-08-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

It's true, good people of Austin!!! Train With Jake is expanding it's boot camp operations with new times in Austin and new locations like Round Rock. Again, we understand that there are many Austin Boot camps, but how many are as awesome as Train With Jake? Also, the price is now only 99/month with options to TRAIN ENTIRELY FREE!!! So, "Won'tya be our neighbor" and come give our boot camp a try?

146 Reasons to Rethink Your Excessive Sugar Intake

2009-06-12T07:39:00.001-07:00

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.

2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body.

3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.

4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.

5. Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases).

6. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you loose.

7.. Sugar reduces high density lipoproteins.

8. Sugar leads to chromium deficiency.

9 Sugar leads to cancer of the ovaries.

10. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.

11. Sugar causes copper deficiency.

12. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.

13. Sugar can weaken eyesight.

14. Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.

15. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.

16. Sugar can produce an acidic digestive tract.

17. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children.

18. Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease.

19. Sugar can cause premature aging.

20. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.

21. Sugar can cause tooth decay.

22. Sugar contributes to obesity

23. High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.

24. Sugar can cause changes frequently found in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers.

25. Sugar can cause arthritis.

26. Sugar can cause asthma.

27. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections).

28. Sugar can cause gallstones.

29. Sugar can cause heart disease.

30. Sugar can cause appendicitis.

31. Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis.

32. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.

33. Sugar can cause varicose veins.

34. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.

35. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.

36. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.

37. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.

38. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.

39. Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E (alpha-Tocopherol in the blood.

40. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.

41. Sugar can increase cholesterol.

42. Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure.

43. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.

44. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar bound non-enzymatically to protein)

45. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein.

46. Sugar causes food allergies.

47. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.

48. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.

49. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.

50. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.

51. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA

52. Sugar can change the structure of protein.

53. Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen.

54. Sugar can cause cataracts.

55. Sugar can cause emphysema.

56. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.

57. Sugar can promote an elevation of low density lipoproteins (LDL).

58. High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in the body.

59. Sugar lowers the enzymes ability to function.

a60. Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson’s disease.

61. Sugar can cause a permanent altering the way the proteins act in the body.

62. Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide.

63. Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat.

64. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.

65. Sugar can damage the pancreas.

66. Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.

67. Sugar is enemy #1 of the bowel movement.

68. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).

69. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.

70. Sugar can make the tendons more brittle.

71. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraine.

72. Sugar plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women.

73. Sugar can adversely affect school children's grades and cause learning disorders.

74. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves.

75. Sugar can cause depression.

76. Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer.

77. Sugar and cause dyspepsia (indigestion).

78. Sugar can increase your risk of getting gout.

79. Sugar can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates.

80. Sugar can increase the insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.

81. High refined sugar diet reduces learning capacity.

82. Sugar can cause less effective functioning of two blood proteins, albumin, and lipoproteins, which may reduce the body’s ability to handle fat and cholesterol.

83. Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.

84. Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness.

85. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance; some hormones become underactive and others become overactive.

86. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.

87. Sugar can lead to the hypothalamus to become highly sensitive to a large variety of stimuli.

88. Sugar can lead to dizziness.

89. Diets high in sugar can cause free radicals and oxidative stress.

90. High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.

91. High sugar diet can lead to biliary tract cancer.

92. Sugar feeds cancer.

93. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.

94. High sugar consumption can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents.

95. Sugar slows food's travel time through the gastrointestinal tract.

96. Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon. This can modify bile to produce cancer-causing compounds and colon cancer.

97. Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men.

98. Sugar combines and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more difficult.

99. Sugar can be a risk factor of gallbladder cancer.

100. Sugar is an addictive substance.

101. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.

102. Sugar can exacerbate PMS.

103. Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.

104. Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.

105. The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.

106. The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.

107. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

108. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.

109. Sugar can slow down the ability of the adrenal glands to function.

110. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.

111. I.Vs (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to the brain.

112. High sucrose intake could be an important risk factor in lung cancer.

113. Sugar increases the risk of polio.

114. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.

115. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.

116. In Intensive Care Units, limiting sugar saves lives.

117. Sugar may induce cell death.

118. Sugar can increase the amount of food that you eat.

119. In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44% drop in antisocial behavior.

120. Sugar can lead to prostrate cancer.

121. Sugar dehydrates newborns.

122. Sugar increases the estradiol in young men.

123. Sugar can cause low birth weight babies.

124. Greater consumption of refined sugar is associated with a worse outcome of schizophrenia

125. Sugar can raise homocysteine levels in the blood stream.

126. Sweet food items increase the risk of breast cancer.

127. Sugar is a risk factor in cancer of the small intestine.

128. Sugar may cause laryngeal cancer.

129. Sugar induces salt and water retention.

130. Sugar may contribute to mild memory loss.

131. As sugar increases in the diet of 10 years olds, there is a linear decrease in the intake of many essential nutrients.

132. Sugar can increase the total amount of food consumed.

133. Exposing a newborn to sugar results in a heightened preference for sucrose relative to water at 6 months and 2 years of age.

134. Sugar causes constipation.

135. Sugar causes varicous veins.

136. Sugar can cause brain decay in prediabetic and diabetic women.

137. Sugar can increase the risk of stomach cancer.

138. Sugar can cause metabolic syndrome.

139. Sugar ingestion by pregnant women increases neural tube defects in embryos.

140. Sugar can be a factor in asthma.

141. The higher the sugar consumption the more chances of getting irritable bowel syndrome.

142. Sugar could affect central reward systems.

143. Sugar can cause cancer of the rectum.

144. Sugar can cause endometrial cancer. '

145. Sugar can cause renal (kidney) cell carcinoma.

146. Sugar can cause liver tumors.

Why and how people in Austin should eat quinoa for health and weight loss

2009-04-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

from: http://quinoatips.com/

Some time ago I wrote an article about the four ways to cook quinoa. Well this little article has been published on numerous websites and has attracted a lot of attention. I think the reason is that it helps people understand that quinoa is actually quite easy to cook and eat.

When people first hear about quinoa they learn about its benefits but not how to include it in their diet. I have re-written the article this week and have put it on this page.

Background information

Quinoa is often thought of as a grain but in fact seeds from a plant. These quinoa seeds are small and come in a range of varieties. The most common variety is white which has now become readily available in the uk being stocked by Tesco, Sainsbury’s and numerous health food shops. Red quinoa has recently become available in the uk although I understand that it has been on sale in the U.S. for quite some time.

The truth about rinsing Quinoa

For most types you do not need to rinse it. This is because the large manufacturers realized that they would sell more if it was prewashed before going on sale. So I have not found quinoa on sale in Austin that has not been rinsed in the last few months. If it tastes bitter then you need to rinse it by running it under a cold tap for 2 - 3 minutes before cooking. Just occasionally you can taste a slight bitter twang to the quinoa but it is not enough to make the quinoa inedible

What does it taste like?

This superfood has a unique flavour and feel to it. It is compared to rice but it has a definite crunch to it. If you overcook it, it will become soft and fluffy like rice but it will not become sticky and stodgy like overcooked rice does. The flavour is unique but is similar to other grains which is probably why it gets confused with other grains. The best description I can think of is like a mildly crunchy porridge.

How do you cook it?

The simplest method is to boil it. You take one part of quinoa to two parts of cold water. Bring it to the boil and simmer for 10 - 20 minutes. There are 2 factors that effect the cooking time.

You can slightly under cook the grains for 8 - 10 minutes which gives a much nuttier and crunchy feel. This is the way I prefer it. When it is subsequently added to other ingredients for a bit more cooking it is better to undercook it. In fact one method of cooking (shown below) includes no pre-cooking at all.

How to microwave quinoa grains

It can be cooked in a microwave quite simply. Using the same ratio of 1 part quinoa and 2 parts water place them in a microwave dish and cook for 3 minutes. Then leave to stand. Stir for a moment and cook for a further 3 - 5 minutes. Allow to stand for 2 minutes. Any remaining liquid can be drained - it is important that the grains in a microwave are not allowed to go dry.

Cooking soups and casseroles with quinoa

This method simply includes quinoa in soup recipes and casseroles. There is no need to pre-cook the grains in the ways shown above. In soups it can add substance and flavour just by adding it to a favourite recipe. It really is a matter of trying out different soup recipes to find out what you like. Casseroles are very similar.

How to sprout quinoa

Quinoa sprouts are the least impressive sprouts you will ever see.It takes only 2 - 3 days to sprout and must be eaten straight away as it does not keep well. The sprouts are tiny. The benefit of preparing the grains this way is that you can eat it raw. A huge boost for those in Austin on a restrictive diet demanding raw food. The protein content is almost legendary and raw it really packs a punch as it is full of nutrients and vitamins. It is best combined with other salad vegetables as it can be quite bland on its own.

About your medical rights in Austin. Specifically regarding physical therapy

2009-04-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

This is a re-post of an e-mail from my friend and collegue, Allan Besselink, an Austin physical therapist and fellow trainer in the Austin area. Please educate yourselves:

Hello everyone:

I just wanted to send out a quick note to you regarding an important issue in our health care system. Direct access to physical therapy is currently in front of the Texas and California legislatures. This is a huge consumer issue nationwide. In Texas, we are one of few remaining health care providers that require a referral from a "gatekeeper". A patient can't simply go to a physical therapist, regardless of the problem. Unfortunately, consumers do not realize this!

I have been posting information on this topic regularly on my website (http://www.smartsport.info). The direct access discussion thread on my website now has over 1700 hits - of which about 600 have come in the past 10 days!

With this in mind, I am dedicating tomorrow's episode of "Consumer's Guide to Health" on BlogTalkRadio specifically to the topic of direct access. This 30 min show is a call-in online talk radio format. You can find the show information at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/abesselink. The call-in number is (646) 929-1567. The show begins at 8:00 pm central time and live streams for 30 minutes - but the discussion may go beyond this. Afterwards, a podcast is available for download from the website and from iTunes.

Please pass this along to your friends, your family, your colleagues, and to any consumers concerned about their access to health care, the cost of their health care, and the right to choose the providers of their health care!

I hope you can join me for the discussion.

All the best,

Allan

Strength training in Austin builds strong bones

2009-04-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

ARTICLE SOURCE: http://naturalnews.com

Bone density sharply enhanced by weight training, even in the elderly

Saturday, August 06, 2005 by: Dani Veracity, citizen journalist
Key concepts: Strength training, Bone density and Weight training

As people reach old age, osteoporosis is a major determining factor in quality of life. In Healing Moves, Dr. Mitchell and Carol Krucoff write, "Age-related declines in muscle and bone mass … can lead to frailty and fracture -- the primary reason older adults wind up in nursing homes." If you don't want to spend your later years resting in a nursing home, losing your independence and draining your or your family's financial resources, you need to do something to remain independent. According to numerous studies and aging manuals, that "something" is strength training, an activity known to increase bone mass and thus decrease the possibility of osteoporosis.

Postmenopausal women are especially prone to osteoporosis because they lack estrogen. Most women know this and begin to take calcium supplements to ward off the debilitating disease. Calcium supplements are important, but according to Kathy Keeton's book, Longevity, they are not enough. Not only does your body need magnesium and other nutrients to assimilate calcium into your bones, it also needs strength training to retain calcium. Keeton quotes nutritional biochemist Dr. Neil S. Orenstein: "Without consideration of these effects, no amount of calcium supplementation will prevent osteoporosis."

Numerous studies demonstrate strength training's ability to increase bone mass, especially spinal bone mass. According to Keeton, a research study by Ontario's McMaster University found that a year-long strength training program increased the spinal bone mass of postmenopausal women by nine percent. Furthermore, women who do not participate in strength training actually experience a decrease in bone density.

In Prescription Alternatives, Professor Earl Mindell and Virginia Hopkins detail these findings: "In a recent study on bone density and exercise, older women who did high-intensity weight training two days per week for a year were able to increase their bone density by one percent, while a control group of women who did not exercise had a bone density decrease of 1.8 to 2.5 percent. The women who exercised also had improved muscle strength and better balance, while both decreased in the non-exercising group."

Increased bone density, improved muscle strength, better balance -- these three things will dramatically improve your later years and increase your longevity. Only these health improvements can help prevent a bad fall, which is often a turning point in an elderly person's life. One bad spill can result in a broken hip, an injury that can lead to an elderly person's immobility and dependence on others. Only strength training can provide these benefits, but what exactly does "strength training" or "weight training" mean?

A little training goes a long way

Strength training does not mean that you have to train for the Olympics or tediously do the same exercise over and over. According to Healing Moves, a variety of exercises will yield bone-building benefits: "Physical impact and weight-bearing exercise stimulates bone formation. Just as a muscle gets stronger and bigger the more you use it, a bone becomes stronger and denser when you regularly place demands upon it.

The best bone builders are exercises that put force on the bone, such as weight-bearing activities like running and resistance exercises like strength training. In general, the greater the impact involved, the more it strengthens the bones." However, it is important to distinguish the exercises that will increase bone density from the ones that will not. "Weight lifting, including curls and bench presses, is a beneficial activity … Dancing, stair-climbing and brisk walking are all weight-bearing exercises, which promote (good) mechanical stress in the skeletal system, contributing to the placement of calcium in bones. Aerobic exercises such as biking, rowing and swimming do not strengthen the bones," writes Gary Null in Power Aging.

Now, aerobic exercise is great for your cardiovascular system, so you still should do it along with strength training. You don't have to devote a lot of time to strength training to experience the benefits. Null believes that only 15 to 30 minutes of weight training, two to three times per week, can provide you with the bone density you need to prevent osteoporosis. Just make sure that you work all your different muscle groups and allow a 24-hour lapse between sessions.

For best results, women should start strength training long before menopause; however, women can experience the benefits at any age. "A 1994 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that women as old as 70 who lifted weights twice a week for a year avoided the expected loss of bone and even increased their bone density slightly," writes Robert Haas in Permanent Remissions. According to Dr. George Kessler's Bone Density Program, "One study of people in their 80s and 90s living in nursing homes who exercised with weight machines three times a week for just eight weeks showed improvements in strength, balance and walking speed." It's never too late to lift just a few light weights and increase your bone density.

The experts speak on strength training and bone density:

Without resistance exercises to strengthen muscles and bones, most people face a midlife slide into flabbiness and its associated ills. And as we age, strength training becomes even more important to offset age-related declines in muscle and bone mass that can lead to frailty and fracture— the primary reason older adults wind up in nursing homes.
Healing Moves by Carol Krucoff and Mitchell Krucoff MD, page 144

Osteoporosis. Bone-thinning osteoporosis can lead to fractures, especially hip fractures, a major medical problem for the elderly. One way to maintain strong, healthy bones is to get plenty of calcium. Certain kinds of exercise, including strength training, also help keep bones healthy. In addition, weight training helps prevent fractures by strengthening the leg muscles, contributing to improved balance and decreasing the likelihood of falls, the cause of most fractures in the elderly.
Natures Cures by Michael Castleman, page 452

Because nine out of 10 hip fractures result from falls, engaging in activities that increase strength and balance helps decrease the risk. strength training is one of the best ways to increase bone density in the spine naturally and prevent falls.
Overdosed America by John Abramson MD, page 219

Postmenopausal women are at the greatest risk for brittle bones

Men also can have brittle bones, but women — especially thin women who are past menopause — are at greater risk. If you're thin, you have less weight bearing down on your bones during normal activity, and that means your bones will weaken faster. It's particularly important for you to start a regular program of weight-bearing exercises such as walking, jogging, or strength training. Studies have found gardening is also good at pumping up your bones so if you enjoy that activity, keep it up. The fresh air and sunshine are an added bonus.
Eat and Heal by the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, page 278

Calcium suplements are not enough

Simply increasing your calcium intake doesn't guarantee that the calcium is going to get into your bones. To properly absorb calcium the body needs other nutrients as well—magnesium, for one, and other vitamins. Exercise, particularly weight training, helps the bone retain its calcium. "Without consideration of these effects," says the nutritional biochemist Dr. Neil S. Orenstein of Lenox, Massachusetts, "no amount of calcium supplementation will prevent osteoporosis."
Longevity by Kathy Keeton, page 120

Numerous studies demonstrate strength training's ability to increase bone mass, especially spinal bone mass

There's even some evidence that increasing muscle mass can increase bone mass. When researchers at McMaster University in Ontario put a group of postmenopausal women on a year-long program of anaerobic strength training, not only did their muscle size increase by 20 percent, but their spinal bone mass rose by 9 percent. It's possible, then, that strength training might help ward off osteoporosis.
Longevity by Kathy Keeton, page 160

In a recent study on bone density and exercise, older women who did high-intensity weight training two days per week for a year were able to increase their bone density by 1.0 percent, while a control group of women who did not exercise had a bone density decrease of 1.8 to 2.5 percent. The women who exercised also had improved muscle strength and better balance, while both decreased in the nonexercising control group.
Prescription Alternatives by Earl Mindell RPh PhD and Virginia Hopkins MA, page 20

We know that weight lifters have much denser bones in their back and legs than do runners, for example. Studies do show that walking prevents bone loss in the spine, but strength training has been proved to build bone mass in the spine and hip. One study that (deservedly) got a lot of media attention followed a group of postmenopausal women who were generally healthy—but sedentary. None were taking HRT, or any other bone-related medicines, or taking calcium supplements. Half performed a simple weight-lifting routine twice a week, while the other half stuck with their couch potato ways. After one year, the weight lifters built their bone mass 1 percent on average, at both the hip and spine. That compares favorably to what you'd see with HRT alone. To give you perspective, consider this: the women who did not lift weights lost up to 2.5 percent of their bone mass over the same time period— and also lost muscle mass and gained body fat and weight. The weight lifters became much more active in general (as the researchers calculated it, a 27 percent increase), while the sedentary group became less active. The weight lifters lowered their body fat, gained muscle, and had better balance and more strength. And here's a wonderful bonus: the researchers had the daughters of the women who lifted weights come in and do the tests their mothers were acing. In every case, the weight-lifting women outperformed their own daughters!
The Bone Density Program George Kessler DO PC, page 279 and 280

A Journal of the American Medical Association Article reported a Tufts University study in which forty postmenopausal women. 50 to 70 years of age, were tested and measured by their participation in different levels of exercise. The conclusion of this study was that high intensity strength training exercises are an important, effective and feasible means to preserve bone density. In other words, exercise prevented the onset of osteoporosis.
Milk The Deadly Poison by Robert Cohen, page 268

Still, we were confident that Ramona could do even better, so we told her to work harder and to try some strength training as well. When Ramona came back to see us one year later, her bone density was 10 percent higher. And she had become a fanatic about strength training, working out four times a week.
Ultraprevention by Mark Hyman MD and Mark Liponis MD, page 102

Strength training does not mean that you have to train for the Olympics or tediously do the same exercise over and over: A wide variety of weight-bearing exercises yields bone-building results

Physical impact and weight-bearing exercise stimulates bone formation. Just as a muscle gets stronger and bigger the more you use it, a bone becomes stronger and denser when you regularly place demands upon it. The best bone builders are exercises that put force on the bone, such as weight-bearing activities like running and resistance exercises like strength training. In general, the greater the impact involved in an activity, the more it strengthens the bones. That's why the bones in the racket arms of tennis players are denser than the bones in their nondominant arms. When muscles and gravity aren't pulling on the bone, humans can lose bone mass rapidly. This is dramatically illustrated when people are forced by injury or ill health to undergo complete bed rest and, as a result, lose about 1 percent of their bone mass per week. This is similar to the devastating effects on bone mass seen in young, healthy male astronauts in outer space, due to the loss of gravity.
Healing Moves by Carol Krucoff and Mitchell Krucoff MD, page 144

Exercise for Skeletal Health. Weight-bearing exercises are very important to help avoid osteoporosis. Weight lifting, including curls and bench presses, is a beneficial activity. Women should not resist going to gyms as they age. But even if you don't go to a gym, you can still profit from taking a little one-pound weight and curling it throughout the day. In fact, you can take a five-minute break every hour to do exercises. Dancing, stair-climbing, and brisk walking are all weight-bearing exercises, which promote mechanical stress in the skeletal system, contributing to the placement of calcium in the bones. Aerobic exercises such as biking, rowing, and swimming do not strengthen the bones.
Power Aging by Gary Null, page 363

Not only is weight training safe, it is important for preventing osteoporosis. As muscles are pulled directly against the bone, with gravity working against it, calcium is driven back into the bones. It also stimulates the manufacture of new bone. This adds up to a decrease in the effects of osteoporosis by 50—80 percent. Women need to do weight training two to three times per week for fifteen to thirty minutes. All the different muscle groups should be worked on. Twenty-four hours should lapse between sessions to rest muscles. For best results, an exercise program should be started long before the onset of menopause.
Womans Encyclopedia Of Natural Healing by Dr Gary Null, page 277

Walking may be the best all-around exercise, but as far as bone building goes, strength training is the cream of the crop. The pull of muscle against bone stresses a bone, and that kind of stress is what makes a bone become stronger. Impact also strengthens a bone, but the impact that comes from running or jumping, say, can be otherwise harmful to the body. Muscle working against gravity provides another kind of impact for the bones, stimulating bone formation and slowing loss. Strength training with free weights (including light hand and ankle weights) or weight machines is the most direct way to provide that stress and impact of muscle on bone, which is what makes it ideal for building and preserving bone density.
The Bone Density Program George Kessler DO PC, page 279

Since stronger muscles do a better job of holding joints in their proper places, resistance training can lessen the joint wear and tear associated with osteoarthritis, the type of arthritis that most often afflicts older adults. What's more, studies find, weight training can strengthen your bones, offering added insurance against osteoporosis. That's because your bones and muscles are intimately connected. When you work your muscles against resistance, they pull on the bones they're attached to. In medical lingo, your muscles exert stress on your bones, and your bones, under stress, respond by laying down more calcium to reinforce themselves, explains Dr. Ades.
Healing with motion by the editors of-Prevention health books, page 332

Do strength-building exercises, such as weight lifting, three times a week for at least ten minutes. This is particularly important for women, since it helps maintain bone density.
The Real Age Diet by Michael F Roizen MD and John La Puma MD, page 39

Strength training is also one of the proven ways to reduce the risks associated with osteoporosis, because strong muscles can support the bones more effectively. Strength training also slows the aging process, improves posture and balance, and increases energy, strength, and stamina.
Active Wellness By Gayle Reichler MS RD CDN, page 151

Almost any type of vigorous exercise will maintain or build bone. Dr. Lee recommends walking, biking, tennis, or weight lifting.
Alternative Cures by Bill Gottlieb, page 473

The physical stresses to which bones are subjected during exercise stimulate new bone growth. Get at least 30 minutes of walking, weight lifting or another weight-bearing exercise, three times a week.
Bottom Line Yearbook 2002 by Bottom Line Personnel, page 18

Exercises that put stress on your bones, such as jogging and weight training (even light weights), will also strengthen your bones, whereas exercises that do not stress your bones, such as swimming, will not improve bone strength.
Complementary Cancer Therapies by Dan Labriola ND, page 198

For best results, women should start strength training long before menopause; however, women can experience the benefits at any age.

Extensive research has shown that muscles and bones will get stronger in response to strength training regardless of your age. Some health experts call strength training "the closest we've come to a fountain of youth."
Healing Moves by Carol Krucoff and Mitchell Krucoff MD, page 144

Aerobic exercise has long been touted as a way to prevent or slow bone loss, but researchers increasingly emphasize the benefits of strength training, such as weight lifting, to prevent bone loss at any age. A 1994 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that women as old as 70 who lifted weights twice a week for a year avoided the expected loss of bone and even increased their bone density slightly.
Permanent Remissions by Robert Haas MS, page 205

One study of people in their 80s and 90s living in nursing homes who exercised with weight machines three times a week for just eight weeks showed improvements in strength, balance, and walking speed. Even people who are already frail can, with proper exercise using light weights, build up enough leg strength to walk without a cane. I've no doubt of the bone benefits that went along with these results, even though they weren't tracked by the researchers.
The Bone Density Program George Kessler DO PC, page 281

Strengthening exercises such as weight training are as important as calcium for strong bones, and they can be started at any age. Even someone age 80 or older can be helped by weight training or isometrics—a form of exercise that involves contracting and releasing specific muscles. Your hospital, community recreation center, or senior center is likely to have more information on this exercise technique.
The Herbal Drugstore by Linda B White MD, page 442

The more bone you build early in life, the better you will be able to withstand the bone loss that starts to occur by about age 35. Years later, the loss of bone mass can result in the debilitating disease called osteoporosis. To develop bone mass, you need to make weight-bearing exercise part of your daily life—with activities like walking, running, and weight lifting.
Wellness Self-Care Handbook by John Edward Swartzberg MD FACP and Sheldon Margen MD, page 41

Weight lifting is not just for the young. Gerontologists and others who study aging now know that muscles built when you are 40, 50 and 60 can help more than just your self-esteem. Developed leg, trunk and arm muscles help protect older bodies from injuries related to frailty. These muscles help keep bones, which peak in density between ages 21 and 30, stronger longer.
Uncommon Cures for Everyday Ailments by the editors of Bottom Line Health, page 112

As with every other strategy in this book, it is never too late to benefit from strength training. You know you should be getting 30 minutes of weight-bearing aerobic exercise three times a week. Strength training is a valuable addition because we know it builds bone more directly and efficiently than any other kind of exercise you can do.
The Bone Density Program George Kessler DO PC, page 293

Austin Boot Camp by Austin personal trainer doing boot camp in Austin

2009-04-07T19:39:00.001-07:00

Hello Austin,

Yes, Austin, it's time for boot camp once again. Celeste Brinson, an award winning Austin nutritionist in Austin, who bases her cutting edge nutrition and weight loss programs on the latest research, and me, a "Austin Top Ten" personal trainer, who trains personal training clients at the South Congress Athletic Club, are teaming up to bring you the best boot camp in Austin.

There are so many Austin boot camps to choose from in Austin. I believe our Austin boot camp is the best for many reasons, but here are a couple in case you are on the fence.

-Our boot camp is the only boot camp in Austin that offers exercise combined with nutrition

-Most Austin boot camps make you run for about 80 percent of the time and then fill in the remaining 20 percent with poorly executed planks and lunges. Our boot camp uses, kettlebells, medicine balls, resistance bands, and classical pilates methods to make our members into the fittest boot campers in Austin.

-Most boot camps in Austin are in excess of $200, while ours is only $189

-Celeste and I are totally accessable and encourage phone calls and e-mails

-Our boot camp offers an indoor location for bad weather

-Train with Jake is the coolest name for an Austin Personal Training and Boot Camp company in Austin

Best Austin Personal Trainers conducting Personal Training services in Austin, training boot camps in the following neighborhoods:
Central Austin NeighborhoodsAllandale, Brentwood, Bryker Woods, Clarksville/West End, Crestview, Downtown, Hancock, Heritage, Highland, Hyde Park, North University, Northfield, Old Enfield, Rosedale, Skyview, West CampusWest Austin NeighborhoodsFarwest, Highland Park West, Tarrytown, West Austin, Westlake HillsSouth Austin NeighborhoodsBarton Hills, Bartons Bluff - Spyglass, Battle Bend Springs, Bouldin Creek, Cherry Creek, Dawson, Galindo, Shady HollowSoCo (South Congress), South Lamar, Travis HeightsSouthwest Austin NeighborhoodsBee Cave, Barton Creek, Circle C Ranch, Lake Pointe, Rollingwood, WestcreekSoutheast Austin NeighborhoodsEast Riverside/Oltorf, Onion Creek, Southeast Austin, Willow CreekEast Austin NeighborhoodsEast Austin, Cherrywood, Del Valle, Delwood, French Place, Rosewood, SeabrookNorth Austin NeighborhoodsBalcones Wood, Cat Hollow, Copperfield, Gracywoods, Mesa Park, Milwood, River Oaks, River Place, Round Rock, Wells BranchNorthwest Austin NeighborhoodsArboretum, Canyon Creek, Cat Mountain, Great Hills, Laurel Oaks, Northwest Hills, NorthwoodNortheast Austin NeighborhoodsChimney Hills North, Copperfield, Harris Branch, Pflugerville

Validity of Austin Sports Supplements for Austin personal trainers and clients in Austin

2009-04-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

One question my Austin clients always ask me is: "what supplements can I buy in Austin to increase muscle power, size, and endurance, and decrease fat mass?"

Sorry to break it to you, folks, some supplements (e.g. whey protein isolate or creatine) may give the subject a slight advantage, but the real key is.....are you ready for this.......the suspense must be killing you.....HARD WORK, PROPER DIET, A SUITABLE AND SENSIBLE EXERCISE REGIMEN, AND ALMOST RELIGIOUSLY CONSISTENT ADHERENCE TO YOUR PROGRAM.

There are a couple of things I would like to point out about supplements:

-They are evaluated as a FOOD, not as a medication, meaning they undergo next to no scientific testing, or regulation.

-They make all sorts of insane (yet unscientific) claims. Ever wonder why a supplement can claim to "RIP FAT OFF YOUR BODY," but can't claim to "cure diabetes?" it gets back to that food/medicine thing. The latter claim would place them in a realm of medication and require far more strict regulation. This is why, on the back of the label, you will invariably find some sort of a disclaimer like "THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE, OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE."

-Often times, when tested by private agencies, certain products have often been shown to not contain the quantity of the ingredients specified. Some products have been shown not to contain any of the specified ingredients whatsoever (there is new legislation in the works to begin at least semi-legitimizing the authenticity of the products in supplements).

-Perhaps the most disconcerting prospect is that many of these products, OFTEN CONTAIN PRODUCTS NOT SPECIFIED ON THE LABEL. OFTEN THESE ARE ANABOLIC STEROIDS OR PRECURSORS. This is bad news for athletes especially, because some of them can be banned from competition for life, if they test positive for these supplements. These companies often do this, to feign effectiveness. If I tell you that my rare form of African tree bark will make you stronger, and you take it, and it works, do you ever question whether I added anything to it?

As some of you know, I recently returned home to Austin from the American College of Sports Medicine conference in Atlanta, and while I was there, Ellen Coleman, a world renowned sports nutritionist, provided us will several links (provided) to private companies who evaluate these supplements and compile data for the consumer. Her recommended three primary considerations for whether or not to use a product, were: safety and effectiveness, doping status (for athletes or others who will be tested for banned substances), and THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT (That's right, people. You get what you pay for. I can tell you how many of my clients come to me on Centrum or Sam's Club vitamins.)

HERE ARE THE LINKS TO HELP YOU EVALUATE SUPPLEMENTS (taken directly from Colemen's summary):

NSF (www.nsf.org/consumer/dietary_supplements)

United States Pharmacopeia (www.usp.org/USPVerified/dietarySupplements)

ConsumerLab (http://www.consumerlab.com/). Free information; not referenced. Access to Natural Products Encyclopedia by EBSCO for subscribers.

Natural Products Encyclopedia by EBSCO (www.alleghanyregional.com/healthcontent.asp?page=/choice/demonstration/TheNaturalPharmacist-Consumer). Free referenced monographs.

Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database (http://www.supplementinfo.org/) Free referenced information.

Supplement Watch (http://www.supplementwatch.com/). Free referenced information.

National library of Medicine database (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed).

Austin kids perform better on personal standardized exams after fitness training

2009-04-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

Physically fit students more likely to do well in school, less likely to be disciplinary problems
Texas Education Agency - March 9, 2009

AUSTIN - A first-of-its-kind study of more than 2.4 million Texas students found that students who are physically fit are more likely to do well on the state's standardized tests and have good school attendance. Fit students are also less likely to have disciplinary referrals.

The findings released today are based on the results of a battery of six FITNESSGRAM® tests taken by students in grades 3-12 during the 2007-2008 school year. The FITNESSGRAM® tool was created by The Cooper Institute of Dallas. The six types of assessment measure five areas - body composition, aerobic capacity, muscular strength, endurance and flexibility. The assessments determine whether students are in a "healthy fitness zone" for their age and gender.

The study analyzed data from 6,532 schools, which represents about 75 percent of the schools in Texas and about 84 percent of the school districts.

"Our state and nation are struggling with obesity, thanks to the combination of increasingly sedentary lifestyles and the declining quality of diets," Gov. Rick Perry said. "We owe it to our children to take the appropriate steps to encourage fitness, steps that are made more clear by the information contained in this first round of testing. I am confident we are on our way to making a difference that will improve and even save lives."

Commissioner of Education Robert Scott said, "Texas is the first state to require an annual physical fitness assessment of public school students. Today's research results show that improving our children's physical fitness can have positive results not only for the children, but for the schools as well."

The study found that cardiovascular health, measured by a walking/running test, had a higher correlation to school success than did the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a measure of body fat based on height and weight, adjusted for age and gender.

"The impact exercise has on the growing brain is unparalleled, said "father of aerobics" Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., founder and chairman of The Cooper Institute. "Increased exercise improves cardiovascular health, and that helps the brain function more efficiently and enhances its ability to learn."

About 78 percent of fourth-grade students were in the healthy fitness zone for cardiovascular fitness, whereas only 20 percent of high school seniors reached the healthy fitness zone. As with the overall FITNESSGRAM® data, cardiovascular fitness levels declined with each passing grade.

About 70 percent of students in each of the grades 3-12 reached the healthy fitness zone for Body Mass Index. About 30 percent of the students were not able to achieve the healthy fitness zone for their age and gender.

Significant correlations were found between physical fitness and various indicators of academic achievement. The study shows that:· Higher levels of fitness are associated with better academic performance. At high performing schools that have earned the state's top rating of Exemplary, about 80 percent of the students have healthy levels of cardiovascular fitness.

· At schools that have received the state's lowest rating called Academically Unacceptable, slightly more than 40 percent of the students achieved cardiovascular fitness.

· Higher levels of fitness were associated with better school attendance.

· Higher levels of fitness at a school were also associated with fewer disciplinary incidents. The research looked at the number of incidents involving drugs, alcohol, violence and truancy.

· Counties with high levels of cardiovascular fitness tended to have high passing rates on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). Regional and county data can be found at www.texasyouthfitnessstudy.org.

"This data confirms what we have always thought to be true -- that there is a strong correlation between a student's fitness and their scholastic success. These results provide yet another incentive to reverse the health trends we are seeing among our youth. We need to move forward on this issue as if lives depend on it -- because they do!" said Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, chairman of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee and author of the law establishing the assessments.

The physical fitness assessments are given annually to Texas students. The 2007-2008 school year was the first time students were assessed statewide using the FITNESSGRAM®. About 2.6 million students were tested. To ensure that results were representative of a school, test results were removed from the analysis if fewer than 25 percent of the students at a school were tested. Consequently, the research into the correlation between the cardiovascular health and BMI and academic success is based on the performance of 2.4 million students.

The original 2008 baseline data from 2.6 million youngsters, which was analyzed by researchers with The Cooper Institute, found that:· Students were most likely to achieve a healthy fitness zone level on all six FITNESSGRAM® tests at third grade;

· Of the 331,379 third-grade students who participated in the study, 33.25 percent of the girls and 28.60 percent of the boys were in the healthy fitness zone on all six tests;

· Fitness levels declined with each subsequent grade level, reaching a low at 12th grade. Of the 152,144 seniors tested, only 8.18 percent of the girls and 8.96 percent of the boys meet healthy standards on all six tests.

This spring students in grades 3-12 are undergoing a second round of FITNESSGRAM® testing.

Combating Depression With Austin Personal Training

2009-03-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

Newly-identified exercise gene could help with depression

from http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2007/12/02/newlyidentified_exercise_gene_could_help_with_depression.html

Boosting an exercise-related gene in the brain works as a powerful anti-depressant in mice—a finding that could lead to a new anti-depressant drug target, according to a Yale School of Medicine report in Nature Medicine.

“The VGF exercise-related gene and target for drug development could be even better than chemical antidepressants because it is already present in the brain,” said Ronald Duman, professor of psychiatry and senior author of the study.
Depression affects 16 percent of the population in the United States, at a related cost of $83 billion each year. Currently available anti-depressants help 65 percent of patients and require weeks to months before the patients experience relief.
Duman said it is known that exercise improves brain function and mental health, and provides protective benefits in the event of a brain injury or disease, but how this all happens in the brain is not well understood. He said the fact that existing medications take so long to work indicates that some neuronal adaptation or plasticity is needed.
He and his colleagues designed a custom microarray that was optimized to show small changes in gene expression, particularly in the brain’s hippocampus, a limbic structure highly sensitive to stress hormones, depression, and anti-depressants.
They then compared the brain activity of sedentary mice to those who were given running wheels. The researchers observed that the mice with wheels within one week were running more than six miles each night. Four independent array analyses of the mice turned up 33 hippocampal exercise-regulated genes—27 of which had never been identified before.
The action of one gene in particular—VGF—was greatly enhanced by exercise. Moreover, administering VGF functioned like a powerful anti-depressant, while blocking VGF inhibited the effects of exercise and induced depressive-like behavior in the mice.
“Identification of VGF provides a mechanism by which exercise produces antidepressant effects,” Duman said. “This information further supports the benefits of exercise and provides a novel target for the development of new antidepressants with a completely different mechanism of action than existing medications.”

Source : Yale University

How personal trainers in Austin calculate metabolism

2009-03-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

Tim Richardson

http://tim-richardson.net/joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=67

What are basal and resting metabolic rates (RMR)?

These two terms are used interchangeably, although they are not technically the same. Resting metabolic rate is really what most lay people in Austin mean when they say basal metabolic rate, and I talk here only about resting metabolic rate (RMR). Basal metabolic rate is a precise calculation with a precise definition; RMR is close enough for practical purposes. Resting metabolic rate is the energy required by an animal to stay alive with no activity. Therefore, your real metabolic rate is always significantly higher than your RMR. Calculating RMR is a very useful first step in calculating your real metabolic rate.

Your metabolic rate = your resting metabolic rate (easy to calculate reasonably accurately) + energy consumed by your daily activities (must guestimate).

What determines Resting Metabolic Rate?

A very small number of people have physical conditions that give them strange resting metabolic rates. However, for the vast majority of people in Austin, resting metabolic rate can be calculated knowing a few key variables. They are age, sex, weight, height and fat-free body mass. Fat-free mass is a very important variable. Weight and height are used in one formula to determine body surface area.

When does the body change Resting Metabolic Rate? Does cutting your food intake reduce resting metabolic rate?

The body CAN NOT change resting metabolic rate per unit of fat-free body mass. Studies have shown this. For an article that is on-line in full text by a well-known researchers in the field, see Genetic Influences on the Response of Body Fat and Fat Distribution to Positive and Negative Energy Balances in Human Identical Twins, Claude Bouchard and Angelo Tremblay
Your resting metabolic rate will decrease if you lose muscle, and increase if you gain muscle. Losing fat alone will not lower your RMR (and note that you will need to follow a very sensible program probably including weight training to lose fat without losing muscle). You have probably heard that people who go on crash diets end up lowering their metabolic rate, which means when they go off the diet, they put on fat more easily than before they started. Because they have lost muscle, they have lowered their metabolic rate. However, the amount of energy burnt per unit of fat-free weight does not change; poor dieters end up with fewer units of fat-free weight, and that's where their vicious cycle comes from.

Are some people's digestive systems more efficient than others?

No (except perhaps some people with disorders). And your system does not become more or less efficient in response to changing food intake. See the above study. Even obese people rarely have more efficient bodies. Researchers inspect the energy value of faeces to determine this.

Given the same values for the variables, how much does resting metabolic rate vary between people?

In other words, what is the error in the formulas used to calculate RMR? The latest research indicates there is a low variance in RESTING metabolic rate between individuals who have the same values for the key variables. That is, given someone's age, their fat free mass, their height and their sex, the formulas are accurate.
"Recent evidence thus supports the conclusion that within-subject variations in BMR [more or less the same as RMR] are small and insignificant, even when energy intake and physical activity are uncontrolled, (Shetty & Soares, 1988). This effectively refutes the Sukhatme-Margen hypothesis." (See link at the end of this page).

Formulas for calculating metabolic rate

Apart from the formulas here, you can also use what is the best calculator on the web (that I've seen): http://www.nutritionist.com/ Follow the link to the Healthy Body Calculator.You don't need to fill in all the information to get your metabolic rate. This is your total estimated daily metabolic rate, not your resting metabolic rate.

Formulas from "Advanced Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription", (4th ed) , Dr V. H. Heyward. pub Human Kinetics and available at Amazon (I own the third edition).
Their formulas only calculate Resting Metabolic Rate! There is a second step after this: calculating your energy use due to your daily activities.

Output is in kcal (1000 calories; nutritional information is nearly always given in kcal even when it says calories. It is often also shown in joules or kilojoules, which is different).

Harris-Benedict equations
BW = body weight in kilograms, HT = height in cm, Age in years
Men: RMR = 66.473 + 13.751*BW + 5.0033*HT - 6.755*Age
Women: RMR = 655.0955 + 9.463*BW + 1.8496*HT - 4.6756*Age

Fat Free Mass formula
This is the same for men and women.
RMR = 1.3 * FFM * 24
FFM is your body weight - your body fat in kg. You need to know your body fat percentage to work this out. If you weight 100kg and your body fat percentage is 10%, then your fat free mass is 100 - 100*10% = 90%. 10% is for a man pretty normal. If you are fat, then you should work with a number between 15% and 25% (better yet, measure it, don't guess).

Quick estimate formula
Men: BW (in kg) * 24.2
Women: BW (in kg) * 22.0

Note that only one formula uses fat free mass, even though this is a key determinant (so the other formulas are tuned. Calculate your RMR with all three methods, and take an average, unless you are obese. Then you should pay more attention to the Fat Free Mass equation. Work out a plus and minus amount using the three formulas. If the first method tells you 1720 kcal, the second 1750 kcal and the third 1760 kcal, then you would say that your RMR is about 1743 +- 20

CALCULATE YOUR RMR INSTANTLY, USING 5 DIFFERENT
METHODS @ http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calrmr.htm

"But, Jake, I Don't Want to Bulk Up" Why women in Austin Won't Get Huge By Training With Heavy Resistance

2009-03-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

Top 10 Reasons Heavy Weights Don’t Bulk Up the Female Athlete

By Tim Kontos, David Adamson, and Sarah Walls

David Adamson and I were driving to the IPA Nationals this past weekend talking training (yeah we’re pretty passionate about what we do) when the subject of training women with heavy weights came up. I’m in my ninth year at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as the head strength and conditioning coach, and David has been in strength and conditioning for three years. This is a subject we deal with every year regardless of how much training information is available to the public.

The best way to get information is to go to the source. So we asked Sarah Walls, another strength and conditioning coach at VCU. Sarah is also a writer for Muscle and Fitness Hers, a former figure competitor, and a women’s tri-fitness competitor—not to mention a strong female athlete who isn’t bulked up. Therefore, she has a great perspective on the subject.

We, being a good team, put our heads together to find a way to combat this never-ending dilemma. Our way of doing that is through education. And, only one answer to a question is never enough. If you know your job well, then you know that there is more than one way to skin a cat. So we came up with the following list:

Women do not have nearly as much testosterone as men. In fact, according to Bill Kreamer in Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, women have about 15 to 20 times less testosterone than men. Testosterone is the reason men are men and women are women. After men hit puberty, they grow facial hair, their voice deepens, and they develop muscle mass. Because men have more testosterone, they are much more equipped to gain muscle. Because women do not have very much testosterone in their bodies, they will never be able to get as big as men.

The perception that women will bulk up when they begin a strength training program comes from the chemically-altered women on the covers of bodybuilding magazines. These “grocery stand models” are most likely pumped full of some extra juice. This is why they look like men. If you take the missing link that separates men from women and add it back in, what do you have? A man!

For women, toning is what happens when the muscle is developed through training. This is essentially bodybuilding without testosterone. Since the testosterone is not present in sufficient amounts, the muscle will develop, but it won’t gain a large amount of mass. The “toned” appearance comes from removing the fat that is covering a well-developed muscle.

Muscle bulk comes from a high volume of work. The repetition range that most women would prefer to do (8–20 reps) promotes hypertrophy (muscle growth). For example, a bodybuilding program will have three exercises per body part. For the chest, they will do flat bench for three sets of 12, incline for three sets of 12, and decline bench for three sets of 12. This adds up to 108 total repetitions. A program geared towards strength will have one exercise for the chest—flat bench for six sets of three with progressively heavier weight. This equals 18 total repetitions. High volume (108 reps) causes considerable muscle damage, which in turn, results in hypertrophy. The considerably lower volume (18 reps) will build more strength and cause minimal bulking.

Heavy weights will promote strength not size. This has been proven time and time again. When lifting weights over 85 percent, the primary stress imposed upon the body is placed on the nervous system, not on the muscles. Therefore, strength will improve by a neurological effect while not increasing the size of the muscles.

And, according to Zatsiorsky and Kreamer in Science and Practice of Strength Training, women need to train with heavy weights not only to strengthen the muscles but also to cause positive adaptations in the bones and connective tissues.

6. Bulking up is not an overnight process. Many women think they will start lifting weights, wake up one morning, and say “Holy sh__! I’m huge!” This doesn’t happen. The men that you see who have more muscle than the average person have worked hard for a long time (years) to get that way. If you bulk up overnight, contact us because we want to do what you’re doing.

7. What the personal trainer is prescribing is not working. Many female athletes come into a new program and say they want to do body weight step-ups, body weight lunges, and leg extensions because it’s what their personal trainer back home had them do. However, many of these girls need to look in a mirror and have a reality check because their trainer’s so-called magical toning exercises are not working. Trainers will hand out easy workouts and tell people they work because they know that if they make the program too hard the client will complain. And, if the client is complaining, there’s a good chance the trainer might lose that client (a client to a trainer equals money).

8. Bulking up is calorie dependant. This means if you eat more than you are burning, you will gain weight. If you eat less than you are burning, you will lose weight. Unfortunately, most female athletes perceive any weight gain as “bulking up” and do not give attention to the fact that they are simply getting fatter. As Todd Hamer, a strength and conditioning coach at George Mason University said, “Squats don’t bulk you up. It’s the ten beers a night that bulk you up.” This cannot be emphasized enough.

If you’re a female athlete and training with heavy weights (or not), you need to watch what you eat. Let’s be real—the main concern that female athletes have when coming to their coach about gaining weight is not their performance but aesthetics. If you choose to ignore this fact as a coach, you will lose your athletes!

9. The freshman 15 is not caused by strength training. It is physiologically impossible to gain 15 lbs of muscle in only a few weeks unless you are on performance enhancing drugs. Yes the freshman 15 can come on in only a few weeks. This becomes more complex when an athlete comes to a new school, starts a new training program, and also has a considerable change in her diet (i.e. only eating one or two times per day in addition to adding 6–8 beers per evening for 2–4 evenings per week). They gain fat weight, get slower, and then blame the strength program. Of course, strength training being the underlying cause is the only reasonable answer for weight gain. The fact that two meals per day has slowed the athlete’s metabolism down to almost zero and then the multiple beers added on top of that couldn’t have anything to do with weight gain...it must be the lifting.

10. Most of the so-called experts are only experts on how to sound like they know what they are talking about. The people who “educate” female athletes on training and nutrition have no idea what they’re talking about. Let’s face it—how many people do you know who claim to “know a thing or two about lifting and nutrition?” Now, how many people do you know who actually know what they’re talking about, have lived the life, dieted down to make a weight class requirement, or got on stage at single digit body fat? Invariably, these so-called experts are also the people who blame their gut on poor genetics.

These so-called experts are the reason you see so many women doing sets of 10 with a weight they could do 20 or 30 times. They are being told by the experts that this is what it takes to “tone” the muscles. Instead, they are only wasting their time doing an exercise with a weight that is making no contribution to the fitness levels or the development of the muscle.

In case you haven’t figured it out by this point in the article, what is currently being done in fitness clubs to help female athletes tone their bodies is not working. It’s not helping these women get toned, and it is definitely not helping improve athletic performance. Maybe it’s time for a change. Contrary to the ineffective light weights currently being used, heavy weights offer many benefits for women including improved body composition, stronger muscles, decreased injury rate, and stronger bones (which helps prevent osteoporosis). Let’s try lifting some heavy weights and controlling our diet and watch this logical, science-based solution make the difference we’ve been looking for.

Tim Kontos is in his ninth year as the strength and conditioning coach for Virginia Commonwealth University athletes. A certified strength and conditioning specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association, Kontos designs, implements, and supervises all strength, speed, and agility programs for all the VCU athletic programs.

David Adamson is in his second year as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for VCU. He is directly responsible for program design and implementation for men’s and women’s track and field, women’s cross country, and field hockey. Prior to coming to VCU, David worked at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Arizona State University, and Winona State University. In 2003, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and in 2006, he received his masters in sport leadership from VCU.

Sarah Walls is in her first year with the Rams’ strength and conditioning staff as a graduate assistant working with men’s and women’s soccer, golf, and men’s cross-country. Graduating magna cum laude, she earned a bachelor’s of science degree from Virginia Tech in 2003. Since graduation, she has spent time working at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia in the strength department. While there, Sarah worked with women’s tennis, men’s tennis, men’s volleyball, and men’s soccer. At the same time, she also worked for LifeTime Fitness and helped manage and develop innovative training programs. In addition, she is a contributing writer for the magazine, Muscle and Fitness HERS.

Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit us at www.EliteFTS.com.

Copyright© 2006 Elite Fitness Systems. All rights reserved.
You may reproduce this article by including this copyright
and, if reproducing it electronically, including a link to
www.Elitefts.com.

Austin Hypertrophy Training for Austin Personal Trainers

2009-03-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

The Anti-Bodybuilding Hypertrophy ProgramBreak the "Rules" and Gain Real Muscle!

by Chad Waterbury

Anti-Establishment Hypertrophy

I can't read most hypertrophy training articles because of health reasons — they make me sick. Never has there been a topic with more misinformation than muscle-building methods.
At least some strength-training articles seem to have a shred of scientific basis, but with bodybuilding articles, all common sense and science seems to go to the wayside. That's probably because more is understood about the nervous system than muscle soreness, or maybe it's because most of the writers who are only concerned about hypertrophy training are imbeciles who can't even build muscle on themselves. You be the judge. After a recent seminar, a famous strength trainer told me I should market myself as the guy who could revolutionize bodybuilding. There's only one small problem with that — I don't like bodybuilding. Yep, you heard me right, never have liked it, probably never will. I see most competitive bodybuilders as overly tanned, overly shaved, waddling pieces of uneducated flesh and I have no interest in that market.

Yes, that's harsh, but recently something has slightly changed my views on bodybuilding: I started contributing to Testosterone and I realized there are some pretty damn cool and intelligent people out there who like bodybuilding in Austin. I'm not talking about "shaved gorillas posing in thongs" bodybuilding, but the good old hypertrophy-inducing strength-training from the days of the past. So, for all of you out there in Austin who love bodybuilding for what it used to be, I've written this article.

Old-time Austin strongmen were the only people who truly revolutionized bodybuilding. Unfortunately, their methods have been largely forgotten. In exchange for infrequent, machine-laden, ineffective bodybuilding methods, many great principles have been lost.
Let me tell you a little secret — hypertrophy training and strength training in Austin don't have to be two separate entities. I've never designed a program that was based solely on "hypertrophy" training, but my clients have gained a ton of muscle over the years (if that was the goal). Let me repeat a statement from one of my previous articles: muscle growth is mainly controlled through caloric intake. Assuming all is normal with a trainee's physiology, even the best hypertrophy program won't build appreciable amounts of muscle if there are insufficient calories. Got it?

So allow me to uncover some real hypertrophy methods so you can apply them to your current program in exchange for more functional muscle. Bodybuilders beware: I'm about to barbecue a few of your sacred cows!

Five Hypertrophy Training Principles You Must Understand

1) Train More Often
First and foremost, you must drop the notion that a muscle group can only be trained once a week. Strongmen from the past didn't train that way and you shouldn't either. The more frequent the growth-stimulating sessions you can have, the better.

2) Forget about Time Under Tension
One of the things that really makes me nauseous is the assumption that hypertrophy-inducing sets must last from 40 to 70 seconds (or is it 20 to 90 seconds, or 43.5 to 68.7 seconds?) So that must mean the classic 5 x 5 method doesn't build any muscle since those sets don't last at least 40 seconds. Or maybe I'm just a dumb hillbilly and everyone who uses the 5 x 5 method is actually using a tempo where each rep takes eight seconds? (I don't think so!)

3) There's a Daily Limit to Muscle Stimulation
I can't believe I'm actually going to do this, but I must quote a bodybuilding catch-phrase from the 1980's: stimulate, don't annihilate! There's an absolute limit to the amount of hypertrophy-inducing stimuli you can apply on any given day. That's why those "one day cures" are a huge, stinkin' pile of B.S. I feel sorry for those who actually wasted an entire day attempting such a program.

4) Don't Train to Failure
You must keep the nervous system from becoming overly fatigued if you want to train frequently. Therefore, leave the grunting and screaming to the frat boys in Austin who have 13" guns and spend their entire day doing concentration curls and wasting Daddy's money.

5) Train Through Soreness
Initially, you'll probably have constant soreness on this program. That's okay! The soreness will subside once recovery increases and proper adaptation has taken place. Soreness is your body's way of saying, "I need more carbs and protein." So feed your muscles constantly!

The Anti-Bodybuilding Hypertrophy Program
After reading through these principles, you probably understand why I refer to this as an anti-establishment program. I think I broke every so-called "hypertrophy" rule in the book! But you know what? This program rapidly builds muscle and it's very similar to the principles the old-time strongmen used to follow.

Now, let's get to the program that's going to build some serious muscle and increase strength levels! (Keep in mind you can pick your own exercises. Those listed are just examples.)

Day 1
Sets per Muscle Group: Chest 10, Back 10
Movement Plane: Horizontal
Examples: Flat Barbell Bench, Barbell Rows, Seated Cable Row (both back movements using a pronated grip with the width the exact same as bench press)
Reps: 3
Load: 80% of 1RM
Rest: 60 seconds between supersets (i.e. train chest, rest 60 secs, train back, rest 60 secs, train chest, rest 60 seconds, etc)

Day 2: OFF

Day 3
Sets per Muscle Group: Thighs 5, Abs 5, Calves 5.
Examples: Barbell Front Squat, Hanging Pike, Standing Calf Raise
Reps: 10
Load: 60% of 1RM
Rest: 60 seconds between giant sets (i.e. train thighs, rest 60 secs, train abs, rest 60 secs, train calves, rest 60 secs, train thighs, rest 60 secs, etc.)
Day 4: OFF

Day 5
Sets per Muscle Group: Chest 5, Back 5
Movement Plane: Vertical
Examples: Dips, Chin-ups
Reps: 10
Load: 60% of 1RM
Rest: 60 seconds between supersets

Day 6: OFF

Day 7
Sets per Muscle Group: Thighs 10, Abs 10, Calves 10
Examples: Deadlift, Decline Sit-ups, Seated Calf Raise (Note that this uses different exercises from Day 3.)
Reps: 3
Load: 80% of 1RM
Rest: 60 seconds between giant sets

Day 8: OFF

Days 9 & 17*
Same as Day 1 except with 4 & 5 reps per set, respectively (in other words, you'll just do 4repsfor each body part on Day 9 and 5 reps for each body part on Day 17).

Days 11 & 19
Same as Day 3 except with 65% & 70% of 1RM, respectively

Days 13 & 21
Same as Day 5 except with 65% & 70%, respectively

Days 15 & 23
Same as Day 7 except with 4 & 5 reps per set, respectively

*The days that aren't listed are, of course, off days.

A Reluctant Addendum
I know what you're thinking:
"Chad, youforgot to include direct arm work in that program!"
No, I didn't. The best increases in upper arm hypertrophy are achieved through compound exercises such as dips, chin-ups, bench presses and rows. Therefore, no direct arm work is prescribed in this program.

It's a strange phenomenon. Every Austin trainee who's been around the iron game for more than a year knows that big arms are built from compound exercises, but people are still convinced they need direct arm work! So I'll give you the choice. I don't recommend the direct upper-arm work option, but I know some people will add direct arm work anyway, so I might as well make sure they do it right.

If you feel cheated and betrayed by my original recommendations, follow the same parameters given in the plan, but cut the total sets in half. For example, on the 10 x 3 day at 80% of 1RM (i.e, Day 1), execute the following:
Preacher Curl, Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extension Superset
Sets: 5
Reps: 3
Load: 80% of 1RM
Rest: 60 seconds
On the other upper body day with 60% of 1RM, execute the following:
Incline Hammer Curl, Tricep Pressdown Superset
Sets: 2-3
Reps: 10
Load: 60% of 1RM
Rest: 60 seconds
Closing Remarks

Don't forget, you must feed your recovery. Think of it this way, if maximum hypertrophy is your goal, you can't eat enough during the two hours post-workout and before going to bed. Eat throughout the day too!

Follow the details of this program precisely and you'll be rewarded with head-turning muscle mass and a better understanding of "real" muscle-building methods.

About the Author
Chad Waterbury is a strength and conditioning coach with Bachelor of Science degrees in Human Biology and Physical Science. Currently, he's studying Graduate work in Physiology at the University of Arizona. He operates his company, Chad Waterbury Strength & Conditioning, in Tucson, AZ, where his clientele consists of members of military special forces units, athletes, professionals and non-athletes seeking exceptional physical performance and development. You can contact him through his website, ChadWaterbury.com.

BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONE THERAPY IN AUSTIN

2009-03-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

IF EVERY PERSONAL TRAINER IN AUSTIN EDUCATED THEIR CLIENTS ABOUT BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES, WE'D HAVE A LOT MORE SUCCESS. PLEASE DON'T TRUST THE FDA OPERATE IN YOUR BEST INTEREST. YOU MUST EDUCATE YOURSELVES AND DISCOVER THE TRUTH ABOUT BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES IN AUSTIN.

In this video, Dr. Jeffery Dach talks about the relationship between the FDA and pharmaceutical companies, and talks about the medical information "WAR"

HERE IS A LINK TO HIS BLOG POST ON THE SUBJECT
http://www.jeffreydach.com/2008/01/11/fda-declares-war-on-bioidentical-hormones-by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx

Interested in Bio-identical hormone therapy, but don't know where to go?
Contact the Austin Wellness Clinic at http://austinwellnessclinic.com

Why Choose Kettlebells Instead of Dumbbells?

2009-03-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

From www.performbetter.com
By Anthony DiLuglio
Don't choose! They are simply different strength tools and should be considered complimentary, not exclusive. The primary benefits of Austin kettlebell training lie in the philosophy of the movements that have grown up around it. Kettlebell drills in Austin have historically focused on working many muscle groups in unison. Dumbbells in Austin have been more commonly used for isolation drills (preacher curl, front raise, etc.) in traditional western weight training. Austin kettlebells are also more convenient for explosive movement patterns which are frowned upon in most traditional mainstream gyms.

You can certainly perform many of the kettlebell drills in Austin with a dumbbell. Swings, for instance, just feel more pleasant and natural with an Austin kettlebell. The round, compact shape and offset handle are made for this movement pattern. The wide, angular dumbbell shape makes the movement awkward and less intuitive.

Some Austin kettlebell drills have Austin dumbbell alternatives that offer lower difficulty levels. For instance, I love the added instability challenge that comes from perching atop two kettlebells in Austin in the Renegade Row... but, I often start my clients on this drill with dumbbells for a more stable base.

As I always say, "Use the right tool for the job." Here is a sample workout combining both kettlebells in Austin and Austin dumbbells:

A-1: Kettlebell swings- x20
A-2: Dumbbell or kettlebell one arm suitcase deadlift - x6 (L,R)
A-3: One leg, single arm deadlift using a dumbbell or kettlebell - x6 (L,R)
Repeat 2-5x
B-1: Kettlebell Turkish get up - x1 (L,R)
B-2: Dumbbell or kettlebell one arm suitcase row - x6
B-3: Kettlebell lunge cocktail (back lunge, straight up with a twist)
Repeat 2-5x
C-1: Alternating seated kettlebell or dumbbell press (from the floor) - x6
C-2: Dumbbell renegade row - x6
C-3: Kettlebell Figure 8 to hold
Repeat 2-5x
D-1: Kettlebell crush curl - x6
D-2: Dumbbell tricep extension - x6
D-3: Kettlebell snatch - x6-20 (L,R)
Repeat 2-5x

CURRENT RESEARCH SUGGESTS RESVERATROL MAY BE A FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

2009-03-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

Fox News On Reseveratrol - Anti-Aging - Muscadine Grape - Red Wine

FROM WWW.POWERINGMUSCLES.COM
Resveratrol is a compound in red wine that belongs to a class of nutrients called polyphenols, many of which function as antioxidants. Past research has shown that resveratrol increases lifespan and exercise capacity in mice by enhancing mitochondrial function. Now a new study out of Japan has shown that it decelerates the aging-related decline in exercise performance in mice. Two groups of senscence-accelerated muscle were studied for 12 weeks. Both groups exercised regularly but one group also received resveratrol supplementation. Exercise performance declined steady in the exercise-only group, but held steady in the exercise-plus-reseveratrol group. The researchers found increased expression of enzymes related to mitochondrial function in the resveratrol-supplemented mice. They concluded, "These results suggest that the intake of resveratrol, together with habitual exercise, is beneficial for suppressing the aging-related decline in physical performance and that these effects are attributable, at least in part, to improved mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle." The study was published in Biogerontology.

From http://ouroboros.wordpress.com
As a biologist of aging, one question I get asked frequently is: “What should I be doing in the meantime?” That is, in the absence of any de facto anti-aging medicine, what’s the best way to extend healthspan, and thereby improve one’s chances of being around when bona fide life extension technology becomes available? Usually, the question takes the form, “What pills should I be popping?”
My answer (after issuing the routine qualifications that I’m not an MD, a dietitian or an exercise physiologist) is as follows: Vitamins are good but megadoses are of questionable value. Ditto for “supplements”: the nutraceutical industry is poorly regulated, so you don’t necessarily know what you’re getting. Beyond that, we don’t necessarily know the efficacy or understand the mechanism of action of many of these products, which means that we can’t begin to rationally predict the adverse reactions that could result from their combination.
Kind of bleak, right? Turns out that I do have some constructive advice, however — and it’s the same advice you’ve been getting all your life: Avoid tobacco, eat a reasonable diet, and get plenty of exercise. After all, I usually jest, they’re never going to turn exercise into a pill.
That is, until they do.
Enter the era of PPARβ/δ and AMPK agonists. From Narkar et al.:

AMPK and PPARδ Agonists Are Exercise Mimetics
The benefits of endurance exercise on general health make it desirable to identify orally active agents that would mimic or potentiate the effects of exercise to treat metabolic diseases. Although certain natural compounds, such as reseveratrol, have endurance-enhancing activities, their exact metabolic targets remain elusive. We therefore tested the effect of pathway-specific drugs on endurance capacities of mice in a treadmill running test. We found that PPARβ/δ agonist and exercise training synergistically increase oxidative myofibers and running endurance in adult mice. Because training activates AMPK and PGC1α, we then tested whether the orally active AMPK agonist AICAR might be sufficient to overcome the exercise requirement. Unexpectedly, even in sedentary mice, 4 weeks of AICAR treatment alone induced metabolic genes and enhanced running endurance by 44%. These results demonstrate that AMPK-PPARδ pathway can be targeted by orally active drugs to enhance training adaptation or even to increase endurance without exercise.

Get that? Mice that performed no workout more taxing than taking their medicine were almost 50% better than controls at running — and the effects were even more dramatic when combined with actual exercise.

Assuming — standard caveat — that AMPK agonists like AICAR are efficacious in humans, the potential applications are tremendous, with potential benefits for everyone from bedridden hospital patients to astronauts at the ISS.
An interesting open question: We know that actual exercise extends lifespan, possibly via hormesis (the improvement of chronic stress tolerance in response to regular acute stress). Do the exercise-like effects of PPARβ/δ and AMPK agonists also increase longevity — and if so, does the mechanism involve hormesis? In other words, are these drugs increasing endurance by simulating the acute stress of exercise, or are they activating a response further downstream in the pathway?

BODY FAT PROTOCOLS FOR AUSTIN PERSONAL TRAINERS

2009-03-11T16:15:00.000-07:00

Body fat measurements and the measuring tape are recognized as superior methods for measuring "weight loss". When one declares that they want to "lose weight", what they often mean is that they want to lose fat. So, now that you've had your body fat percentage measured, what does the number really mean? Understanding what your body fat percentage means can help you set goals for achieving a healthy weight.

First, your body fat percentage is simply the percentage of fat your body contains. If you are 150 pounds and 10% fat, it means that your body consists of 15 pounds fat and 135 pounds lean body mass (bone, muscle, organ tissue, blood and everything else).

A certain amount of fat is essential to bodily functions. Fat regulates body temperature, cushions and insulates organs and tissues and is the main form of the body's energy storage. The following table describes body fat ranges and their associated categories:
*General Body Fat Percentage Categories
Classification Women (% fat) Men (% fat)
Essential Fat 10-12% 2-4%
Athletes 14-20% 6-13%
Fitness 21-24% 14-17%
Acceptable 25-31% 18-25%
Obese 32% plus 25% plus
*American Council on Exercise

Knowing your body fat percentage can also help you determine if your weight loss goals are realistic. Remember, weight loss doesn't always mean fat loss. For example:

Let's say you're a 130# woman with 23% body fat, and you goal is to "lose 20 pounds":

Initial body fat: 130# x 0.23 fat = 30 # body fat

Lean body mass: 130# total - 30# fat = 100# lean body mass (bones, organs and all else)

Goal: 130# - 20# = 110 pounds

As you can see, the goal of losing 20 pounds is not realistic or healthy. At 110 pounds, this woman still requires 100# of lean body mass (bones, organs, etc.), but would only be carrying 10#, or only 9% body fat. From the chart above, you can see that this is a dangerously low percentage.

A better goal might be for the woman to reduce her body fat from 23% to 18%. In this case:

130# x 0.18 = 23 # body fat

100# lean body mass + 23 # = 123# goal weight

So, for this individual to achieve a lean, but healthy 18% fat, she would need to lose only 7 pounds of fat, reducing her weight from her current 130 pounds to 123 pounds. Losing more than 7 pounds means losing lean body mass (usually metabolically-active muscle tissue), which is clearly not desirable.

So before you decide that you need to "lose weight", remember to consider that "weight" consists of both lean body mass and body fat. Try to keep your weight loss goals realistic, and remember, keep the calorie-burning muscle, and lose only the fat.

10 ways to boost testosterone in Austin

2009-03-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

1 Lift weights

Testosterone levels are at their highest 48 hours after lifting weights, according to a study at Baylor University (near Austin, TX) in the US. And the harder you train, the more you increase your natural levels of testosterone, so base your training around compound exercises such as squats, bench presses and seated rows using heavy weights.

2 Watch football

Austin residents who watch their favourite sports team compete experience a similar testosterone surge to the players, say researchers at the University of Utah. They found that a fan’s testosterone levels increased by 20 per cent when his team won but fell 20 per cent when they lost. So avoid watching England games and you should be all right.

3 Eat good fats

By ‘good’ fats we mean the monounsaturated and omega 3 type – found in avocados, peanuts and oily fish – that help your body preserve protein. A study in the Journal Of Applied Physiology found that men who ate recommended amounts of these foods had the highest testosterone levels.

4 Gobble some eggs

Eggs improve levels of healthy HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol, an important building block needed for your body to manufacture testosterone. They are also loaded with protein and have plenty of testosterone-boosting zinc. Plus Paul Newman looked pretty manly when he ate 50 of ’em in Cool Hand Luke.

5 Don’t overtrain

Excessive exercising increases cortisol, a stress hormone that competes with testosterone and breaks down muscle. Researchers at the University of North Carolina found that overtraining can lower your testosterone levels by as much as 40 per cent. Resting isn’t slacking off – make sure you take time out.

6 Get enough sleep

Poor sleep quality and having less than seven hours a night can slash your testosterone levels by more than 30 per cent and dampen growth hormones, restricting your muscle-building potential.

7 Scoff cabbage

Cabbage is rammed with indole-3-carbinol (IC3), a phytochemical that increases your testosterone according to a study at the Rockefeller University Hospital in New York. The study also found that when men were given IC3, their levels of the female hormone oestrogen reduced by 50 per cent – reversing the effect caused by watching the Sex And The City movie.

8 Don’t booze

Happy hour can wreak havoc on your manly hormones, and Austin is the number one drinking town in the United States, according to a recent study. Numerous studies have found that alcohol consumption reduces testosterone levels for up to 24 hours. It also increases cortisol and lowers growth hormone levels.

9 Eat more seeds

You may feel like you’re munching bird food, but seeds are full of vitamin E and zinc, which send your testosterone levels soaring. They’re also bursting with protein and monounsaturated fat.

10 Get some sun

Exposing the skin to Texas sunlight for just 15-20 minutes can raise your testosterone levels by 120 per cent, says a report from Boston State Hospital in the US. The research also found that the hormone increased by a whopping 200 per cent when genital skin was exposed to the sun. Stick to the privacy of your own garden though – we don’t want any arrests.

Nutritional clinics at the South Congress Athletic Club

2009-03-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know, we like to promote self-care and education at SCAC. So with that in mind, here are a few tools to keep in your fitness toolbox that will help your path to success!Leading the chat is Lynn Heisel. She is a Board Certified Holistic Health Counselor, accredited with the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. She is a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York City, with a practice based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Her focus is on helping women and men overcomes their food addictions through gradual changes in diet and lifestyle, with an emphasis on home cooking. She is commetted to showing others that healthy eating can be delicious and fun!

Sugar Blues
Tuesday, March 10 :: 6 - 7pm
Members - Free
Nonmembers - $5
Do you crave sweets often and not understand why? If you'd like to bring your sweet cravings under control without willpower or deprivation, join us. You'll learn more about the nature of cravings, the lowdown on artificial sweeteners and discover delicious natural alternatives to sugar.
E-mail to register

Eating for Athletic Performance
Wednesday, March 11 :: 5 - 6pm
Members -Free
Nonmembers - $5
Do you play sports or exercise regularly? Do you know what to eat, when and how much to improve your athletic performance? Please join me and learn what foods will maximize your effort and minimize your recovery time; find out the most effective ways to trim fat and build muscle; and discover the natural superfoods that add the biggest punch to your fitness efforts.
Email to register

Up to 20% off membership to SCAC
By signing up or renewing your SCAC membership automatically, you save 10% on gym dues every month! Sign up with a buddy and you both save 20% every month! If you know that you'll be here at SCAC for at least three months, there is a plan for you. Questions? Call us at 512-445-0773, email, or ask us at the front desk for details.

South Congress Athletic Club 1109-B South Congress Avenue AUSTIN TX 78704

Why people training in Austin personally prefer compound movements

2009-03-05T20:51:00.001-08:00

Compound lifts are lifts that involve movement in more than one joint of the human body. Isolation lifts are exercises that involve the flexion and extension of only one joint. Examples of compound exercises include deadlifts, squats, power cleans, bench press variations, overhead presses, etc. while biceps curls and skull crushers are examples of isolation exercises.
Compound movements are superior to isolation ones because they stimulate larger muscle groups, build functional strength, and do wonders for the metabolism.

Let us compare the squat, a very important compound weight training exercise, with one of the most popular isolation exercises: biceps curls. Your fitness goals may just be to have impressive arms when you go to the beach, but you may be surprised to learn that squatting is actually more effective than curling for getting bigger arms. No qualified Austin personal trainer would say that curls are entirely useless. Yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger did curls, but that is missing the main point. For Arnold, or any other competitive bodybuilder, curls are icing on the cake, but the cake itself was built using exercises such as squats and deadlifts. Here’s why:

Compound movements speed up your metabolism: More muscle means more calories burned. Compound lifts build up many large muscle groups at once, and this allows you to burn more calories, even when you are resting. Furthermore, compound lifts immediately raise one’s metabolism beyond one’s basal metabolic rate (the normal rate at which one burns calories), and this metabolic high lasts for hours! Keep the fat off with compound lifts.

Compound lifts boost testosterone. Several studies have shown that doing heavy compound lifts boost natural testosterone production. Why is this important? Testosterone, in its free form, is a hormone that encourages your body to add muscle and burn fat! In other words doing deep, heavy squats will do wonders for your upper body in addition to your quads and posterior chain because the extra testosterone will encourage muscle growth throughout your body as a whole, and the testosterone may be just the boost you needed to lose a few extra pounds of body-fat.

Compound exercises build functional strength. Think of the last time that you used a curling motion in sports or even picking up groceries. Probably not too often. Compound lifts build strength that you can easily apply in sports and other aspects of life. Picking a heavy suitcase up off the ground mimics the motion of a deadlift, while squatting will do wonders for your vertical leap.

Compound lifts burn more calories and bring greater benefit to your cardiovascular energy systems than isolation exercises. This has to do with the longer path the weight has to travel in compound exercises. Anyone who has done a set of twenty rep squats or snatches can vouch for this statement. High rep sets of the Olympic and power lifts constitute some kick ass cardio.

THE BEST WRITTEN EXPLANATION OF THESE EXERCISES I'VE SEEN IN QUITE SOME TIME

2009-03-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

Triple Extension: The Key to Athletic Power

Greg Frounfelter, DPT, SCS, LAT, CSCS
Dr. Frounfelter is a staff physical therapist at Baldwin Area Medical Center, Baldwin, WI.
He has been a sport medicine professional for over 13 years in various settings and patient demographics. In addition to his clinical duties, he has been active with the NSCA at the state level in Wisconsin since 2001.

Introduction

Whenever one is training in preparation for sport, we are always looking for a secret; an “Edge” if you will. This is something that will give you an advantage over your opponent. After looking at the literature for many years, I have found what it is. It’s power. This is the ability to move
an object as quickly as possible over a given distance. In athletics this can range from moving your body mass quickly to moving an external load. In general, all other factors being equal, the athlete who can produce greater power, more often than not, wins.

So what does triple extension have to do with power? If you think of athletic power, consider the vertical jump. It is the most often used method to assess lower body power. In its liftoff phase, the body needs to explosively extend at the ankle, knee, and hip. This is how the body can propel itself upward. I know of no other way you can do it and jump any great distance, or in other words demonstrate power. This explosive extension of the knee, hip, and ankle is triple extension, and this is the key to athletic power or explosiveness if you wish to call it that. In my example of the vertical jump, the motion is up and down and with both legs. Triple extension is also performed in all planes and often with one leg as evidenced by agility needs that are seen throughout all athletics.

There are many ways to train triple extension. If you pick any type of athletic training regime, you will see that it is in there in one form or another. Triple extension training is basically explosive motion of the three major lower extremity joints of at least one leg in any direction. One of the basic ways to train triple extension is through the use of weightlifting. Weightlifting is different than weight training. Weightlifting is a sport where two lifts are contested. They are the snatch and the clean and jerk. These lifts involve raising a barbell from the floor to an overhead
position. Beside the competitive lifts, there are many associated training movements that can be utilized. Luckily, they all involve the use of triple extension in their proper performance. But why chose weightlifting movements? Well to be honest, if you want to develop maximal explosiveness, these lifts are unparalleled in their ability to develop
and train power (1).

Let’s take a look at the basics of each of the most two common weightlifting movements used to train for sport; they are the power clean and power snatch.

The Power Clean
Begin by standing with your shins close to the bar on the ground. Your feet should be feet even and about hipwidth apart. Squat down to grab the bar with a grip that is a little wider than shoulder-width. Ideally you should use a hook grip where your thumb is laid against
the bar and encircled by your first two fingers (It takes some getting used to). Make sure you maintain an arch in your low back. The angle of your torso should be about 45 degrees in relationship to the floor. Keep your chest up and look straight ahead. Your elbows should be held
firmly straight.

Use your legs to push your feet through the floor. This will cause you to lift up the bar. Keep your arms and chest tight. Your torso should remain at 45 degrees in relationship
to the floor. The bar should be close to your body as you are lifting it. From the side view, your chest should be over the bar and the bar almost dragging up your legs. Once you get the bar to about mid thigh, explode by driving/extending your hips, ankles, and knees (the triple extension
motion) as well as shrugging your shoulders to your ears. This snaps the bar into acceleration
upward.

All that is left to do is catch the bar. To do this, snap your elbows under and in front of the bar. This lets you catch the bar on your deltoids. It is important to have a loose grip at this point so your wrists can bend and allow you to more easily catch the bar. Your knees also need to
bend a little to help you absorb the energy from catching the bar. Carefully lower the bar and perform the lift again. Often rubber plates are used so dropping the weight produces less noise and damage to the training surface.

The Power Snatch

The power snatch is essentially the same concept as the power clean, but the bar is brought
overhead in one motion from the floor. Your grip on the bar is wider than with the power clean.
There are several ways to measure how wide this grip should be. One is to measure from the tip
of one shoulder to the fingertips of the opposite hand with it held outstretched and parallel with
the ground. You really need to make sure to keep the bar close to the body. The triple extension and shoulder shrug are done when the bar is about level with the pubic bone of the pelvis.
Snap under the bar and catch it in an overhead position. Complete the lift by extending
the hips and knees to a full standing position. The weightlifting movements are great ways to improve your triple extension power; however, you do need to realize that these lifts can be dangerous if not executed properly and in a safe environment. Someone who is skilled in teaching these lifts should help guide you in how to perform them. With proper coaching, weightlifting movements are no more dangerous than other sporting activities (1).

Conclusion

The ability to move powerfully and explosively is a critical aspect in developing athletic success.
Training triple extension ability is a critical factor to this success. Use of weightlifting movements
is an important bridge to this. By using weightlifting movements such as the power clean and
power snatch, you can begin to unlock explosive power that can help propel you to increased athletic success.

References
1. Hendrick A, Wada H. (2008). Weightlifting
movements: do the benefits outweigh the risks?
Strength and Conditioning. 30(2):26 – 34

Several personal trainers running in Rogue Rush, outside Austin on April 11, 2009

2009-03-03T16:42:00.000-08:00

Join Rogue Equipment and Rogue Training Systems for their first, fastest and bad ass-est 5K ever! Located in Williamson County, just a hop away from downtown Austin, this race is sure to remind you of why you started running.

The 3.1 mile course begins in the Parkside neighborhood at Mayfield Ranch, providing plenty of parking and space for a Greek-style after-party. So, lace up your shoes, and prepare to rush through the streets of Parkside on April 11, 2009 at 7:30 AM. Run in our shoes, or stand in our shadows. Go Rogue.

Rogues receive a discount on the event. Email laura@roguerunning.com for the code. All ages welcome.
Kids K to follow the 5K event

Arsenic in your drinking water may be linked to diabetes

2009-03-01T11:10:00.001-08:00

Is Your Drinking Water Giving You Diabetes?

Arsenic, a common trace contaminant in well water, has been linked to type 2 diabetes

By Adam Voiland

The heavy metal arsenic, which occurs naturally as an element of the Earth's crust, has a long history as an instrument of murder. The notorious Borgia family of Italy, including Pope Alexander VI, is said to have used the tasteless, colorless, and odorless substance to regularly dispatch enemies, and even a despot of Napoleon Bonaparte's stature may have fallen victim to an orchestrated overdose. More recently, scientists have proved that chronic exposure to drinking water contaminated with arsenic can cause cancers of the bladder, lung, kidney, and skin, as well as a collection of other diseases. Now there's a new twist. Research published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association has linked the ancient poison to type 2 diabetes, a disease that has reached pandemic proportions and now accounts for 1 in every 10 American dollars spent on healthcare. And trace amounts of naturally occurring arsenic seem to be contributing to the problem—and endangering some Americans without their knowledge, experts say.

Johns Hopkins researchers found that the risk of diabetes for Americans with the highest inorganic arsenic loads in their urine is more than three times the risk for those with the lowest arsenic loads. The new finding buttresses previous research in animals that shows exposure to arsenic increases blood glucose and insulin levels. It's also consistent with studies from Taiwan, Bangladesh, and Mexico that link high levels of arsenic to diabetes. The new study examined inorganic arsenic exposure in a representative sample of Americans nationwide. (Organic arsenic, which is found in seafood, is not thought to pose a health risk.)

There's a take-home message for many Americans. While utility companies are required by law to keep arsenic levels in drinking water below 10 parts per billion, fewer safeguards exist for the approximately 15 percent of Americans who quench their thirst with water from private wells. So, many people may have high levels of arsenic in their water and not realize it, says Ana Navas-Acien, a physician and epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University who is the study's lead author.

"People who get their drinking water from private wells and live in areas where groundwater is naturally contaminated with arsenic are at an especially high risk of being exposed to water with levels above the 10 parts per billion acceptable limit set by the Environmental Protection Agency," Navas-Acien says.

The good news: A cheap lab test—typically only $20 to $35—can determine whether a household's well is contaminated. If it is, water filters or other water quality improvement strategies can remedy the problem.

Arid states in the West have some of the most arsenic-contaminated groundwater in the country, but midwestern and eastern states are also known to have certain areas with heavily arsenic-laced water. The United States Geological Survey maintains nationwide maps of arsenic levels that are a helpful resource for people wondering about their local area. Typically, arsenic is a problem in deep wells, not surface waters. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, filtering done by reverse osmosis, distillation, or special iron and aluminum units can remove arsenic; water softeners and pitcher filters cannot. NSF International maintains a useful database of filters.

For households with arsenic-contaminated wells, bottled water can be a good short-term solution (though it is important to ensure that the bottled water is actually clear of the metal—something that's not necessarily a guarantee, as this report and a 2007 recall of Jermuk mineral water suggest). Longer-term remedies involve putting in a new well using appropriate precautions or connecting to a public water supply. Sites from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Health and Human Services offer more advice for consumers confronting high arsenic levels in their wells.

Want to learn how to combat heavy metal toxicity?

Contact the Austin Wellness Clinic at (512) 473-8900 or visit their website at www.austinwellnessclinic.com

Austin Personal Trainers Linked to Amelioration of Chronic Back Pain in Clients

2009-02-28T13:29:00.000-08:00

A Surplus of Treatment Options, Few of Them Good
By LESLIE BERGER

In Brief:
-Back pain is one of the most widespread medical complaints, but a specific cause is rarely identified.

-Concerns about substance abuse and side effects limit the usefulness of many painkillers.

-Antidepressants, anticonvulsants and other drugs are increasingly prescribed to ease patients' back pain.

-Despite the popularity of spinal injections, there is no strong evidence that they provide benefit beyond short-term relief of back pain.

-Surgery for back pain has met with mixed results. Many experts now favor more conservative treatments like exercise and physical therapy.

Back pain is one of the most common medical complaints, so it’s no surprise that treatments for it have multiplied over the years. That ought to be good news; instead, many patients find that sudden back pain opens the door to a world of medical controversy. Virtually every pharmaceutical or surgical remedy has been challenged in recent years, and for all the money sufferers spend on doctor visits, hospital stays, procedures and drugs, studies clearly show that most people with back pain heal the old-fashioned way: on their own, slowly, without significant intervention.

“Low back pain represents so many different diseases that there really hasn’t been a breakthrough treatment,” said Dr. Russell K. Portenoy, chairman of the department of pain medicine and palliative care at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. “It’s good for the public to know how little we know.”

The mystery begins with the first visit to a doctor’s office. The exact cause of back pain is never found in 85 percent of patients, according to Dr. Dennis C. Turk, professor of anesthesiology and pain research at the University of Washington and a past president of the American Pain Society. Even sophisticated magnetic resonance imaging seldom sheds light -- indeed, in many studies the scans have picked up spinal abnormalities in many people who have never reported back pain.

Regardless of cause, an ailing back hurts. So what’s a sufferer to do? Pop a pill? Submit to the scalpel? Wait and see? Consult an Austin Personal Trainer?

These days, most heavy-duty pain relievers come with a hefty set of warnings. Narcotics like OxyContin, used regularly by more than eight million Americans, can work wonders, but doctors remain deeply divided over when to prescribe them. On the one hand, these painkillers can be highly addictive; on the other, serious pain is too often untreated in this society, with its Puritan roots, and many patients with back problems suffer for weeks.

Alternatives to the narcotics have proved problematic, too. Rofecoxib (Vioxx) and valdecoxib (Bextra), both nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, were pulled off the market after it was discovered they raised the risk of heart attacks. Even over-the-counter mainstays like ibuprofen and aspirin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding or organ damage at high doses.

Spinal injections of steroids and anestetics increased by nearly a third during the 1990s, but several scientific reviews found scant evidence that any provided more than short-term relief. With options diminishing, many physicians have begun prescribing off-label painkillers such as pregabalin (Lyrica) and antidepressants like duloxetine (Cymbalta) to their patients with chronic back pain.

While the quest for a safe and effective pain pill continues, Americans undergo more than 300,000 spinal fusion surgeries a year, at an average cost of $59,000 each, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Almost as many undergo laminectomies or diskectomies, aimed at removing damaged vertebrae and disks. Back surgery can be life-altering, eliminating pain and disability. It can also have serious consequences.

One study found that 11.6 percent of patients in the 78 spinal surgeries developed infections and other serious complications. Perhaps more disturbing, more than half of those surgeries were performed to correct complications from a previous surgery.

Newer surgical procedures have met with mixed results. Implants of medication pumps and stimulators into the spine, for example — a promising area of growing research — have been greeted as godsends by some patients. For others, the devices have led only to infections and bleeding, or have required repair. The jury is also still out on kyphoplasty, a newer outpatient procedure for patients whose vertebrae fracture because of osteoporosis. The doctor inserts a needle into the spine and inflates a balloon, then injects a cement literally gluing the bones together. The procedure works only for a subset of patients.

With all the uncertainties surrounding medications and surgery, it’s little wonder that many physicians have fallen back on noninvasive, traditional approaches to easing the pain, like exercise or counseling. This year the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, which oversees doctors’ training programs, began requiring that residents who want to become pain specialists study not only anesthesiology but also psychology, neurology and rehabilitative medicine.

Indeed, many back pain specialists are now evaluating their patients daily exercise habits and emotional stresses. The new standards are a small step, but one reflective of the growing realization that pain, in all its forms, must be approached more holistically. But realization now dawning on physicians has not yet been felt by insurers. Health plans pay for surgery, drugs and spinal injections, but rarely for long-term physical therapy, psychotherapy -- or joining a gym and seeking the assistence of a professional trainer in Austin.
Noted Dr. Portenoy, “Training people to do the right thing doesn’t necessarily work in the real world if you’re only reimbursed for interventions.”

Austin Personal Muay Thai Trainers and Muay Thai Boot camps in Austin

2009-02-26T20:58:00.001-08:00

Muay Thai: Cross-Train with Thai Boxing For Fun and Effective Results In the Gym
Kyle Brown, CSCS

One of the hottest new fi tness training methods is MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) training. Its benefi ts are not just for competitors or self defense, but also for crosstraining conditioning. A wide variety of men and women from serious athletes to desk jockeys and housewives are
embracing MMA training to enhance their fitness level. Considered to be the most brutal of the Martial Arts, Muay Thai (Thai-boxing) includes kicking and punching as well as devastating elbow, knee, and shin strikes (1). Muay Thai is one of the best sports for physical conditioning and a great compliment to your resistance training program for fun and eff ective results.

Benefits
Athletes and weekend warriors alike can benefit from incorporating Muay Thai conditioning into their workout routine without the dangers of combat. Muay Thai training methods develop incredible speed, agility, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, strength, and power. Side benefits
include: stress relief, increased confi dence, self defense skills, and exciting, challenging workouts (2).

Conditioning
Nearly all techniques in Muay Thai involve movement of the entire body. Th e foundation of these movements involves rotating the hips with each kick, punch, and block. The power behind each striking movement comes from the core—not the lever being used (the arms or legs). This intense focus on the core is a big part of what differentiates Muay Thai from other Martial Arts (2).

Muay Thai-specific training includes using Thai-pads, focus mitts, heavy bag, and sparring. Muay Thai athletes also use traditional combat sport conditioning methods like running, shadowboxing, jumping rope, weight training, bodyweight-resistance exercises, medicine-ball exercises, and abdominal exercises (1).

The foundation of the Thai-boxer’s conditioning is the use of Thai-pads. Thai-pads are heavy pads strapped to the arms of a trainer/workout partner that work as targets to absorb the impact of the strikes and allow the athlete to react to the attacks of the pad holder. Th is method of training is advantageous to the heavy bag in that it allows the fighter to respond to a “live” opponent (3). Lastly, the heavy bag training can be used in addition to the Th ai-pads and focus
mitts for conditioning and power training. However, if you do not have the benefit of a trainer/workout partner, a Thai heavy bag or Body Opponent Bag (BOB) can be utilized.

A typical Muay Thai training program includes three to five minute rounds alternating between these various training skills – followed by a minute or two-minute rest period
(3). If you are looking to include Muay Thai into your fitness routine but do not have the time to make it a separate workout from your resistance training days, you can incorporate
it into your resistance training workouts.

References
1. Kraitus, P, Kraitus, P. Muay Thai: The Most Distinguished
Art of Fighting: 9th edition. Phuket, Thailand: Asia Books,
2006.
2. Mousel T. The Thai Boxing Workout: A Scientifi c
Approach. Accessed May 22, 2008 from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Thaiboxing-Workout:-A-Scientific-Approach&id=200986, 2006.
3. Rebac Z. (1987) Thai Boxing Dynamite: The Explosive
Art of Muay Thai. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 1987.

Austin personal trainers training CrossFit in Austin, and the Dangers of rhabdomyolysis and scientifically invalidated CrossFit stupidity

2009-02-25T19:38:00.000-08:00

Getting Fit, Even if It Kills You
By STEPHANIE COOPERMAN

WHILE many gymgoers complain that they might not survive a tough workout, Brian Anderson can speak from experience. For his first CrossFit session, he swung a 44-pound steel ball with a handle over his head and between his legs. The aim was to do 50 quick repetitions, rest and repeat. After 30 minutes, Mr. Anderson, a 38-year-old member of the special weapons and tactics team in the sheriff's office in Tacoma, Wash., left the gym with his muscles sapped and back pain so excruciating that he had to lie in the driveway to collect himself.

That night he went to the emergency room, where doctors told him he had rhabdomyolysis, which is caused when muscle fiber breaks down and is released into the bloodstream, poisoning the kidneys. He spent six days in intensive care.
Yet six months later Mr. Anderson, a former Army Ranger, was back in the gym, performing the very exercises that nearly killed him. "I see pushing my body to the point where the muscles destroy themselves as a huge benefit of CrossFit," he said.
In the last year this controversial exercise program has attracted a growing following of thousands nationwide, who log on to CrossFit's website for a daily workout, said its founder, Greg Glassman. Participants skip StairMasters and weight machines. Instead they do high-intensity workouts that mix gymnastics, track and field skills and bodybuilding, resting very little between movements.
The emphasis is on speed and weight hoisted, not technique. And the importance placed on quantifiable results has attracted hard-charging people like hedge fund managers, former Olympians and scientists. But some exercise experts are troubled by the lack of guidance for beginners, who may dive into stressful workouts as Mr. Anderson did. (He had not worked out regularly for two years.) "There's no way inexperienced people doing this are not going to hurt themselves," said Wayne Winnick, a sports medicine specialist in private practice in Manhattan, who also works for the New York City Marathon.
Other critics say that even fit people risk injury if they exercise strenuously and too quickly to give form its due, as CrossFit participants often do. For people who like to push the limits of fitness and strength - there are many police officers, firefighters and military personnel in the ranks of CrossFit athletes - the risks are worth it, because they consider it the most challenging workout around.
The short grueling sessions aren't for the weekend gym warrior. The three-days-on, one-day-rest schedule includes workouts like "Cindy": 20 minutes of as many repetitions as you can of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats. "Fight Gone Bad" entails rotating through five exercises, including throwing a 20-pound ball at a target 10 feet away. And only veteran CrossFit devotees even attempt, and few complete, "Murph," a timed mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats and then a second mile run. (A weighted vest is optional.)
Mr. Glassman, CrossFit's founder, does not discount his regimen's risks, even to those who are in shape and take the time to warm up their bodies before a session.
"It can kill you," he said. "I've always been completely honest about that."
But CrossFitters revel in the challenge. A common axiom among practitioners is "I met Pukey," meaning they worked out so hard they vomited. Some even own T-shirts emblazoned with a clown, Pukey. CrossFit's other mascot is Uncle Rhabdo, another clown, whose kidneys have spilled onto the floor presumably due to rhabdomyolysis.
Mr. Glassman, 49, a former gymnast from Santa Cruz, Calif., walks with a slight limp because of a knee injury, and at 5-foot-7 and 185 pounds admits he should lose weight. He began developing CrossFit more than two decades ago, but he says that he spends so much time running the business now that he no longer regularly does the routines. At first his program was a hard sell to clients who weren't keen to climb ropes or grapple with gymnastic rings.
Then in 2001 he launched CrossFit.com and began publishing a monthly journal and holding seminars at his California gym. People from around the world have come to learn Mr. Glassman's techniques. Today CrossFit has more than 50 affiliates in 21 states and 5 countries, Mr. Glassman said. And CrossFit.com has 25,000 unique visitors a week, according to WebSideStory, a Web analytics company in Seattle.
Mr. Glassman's followers call him Coach and share a cultlike devotion to his theories.
"We are all drinking the Kool-Aid," said Eugene Allen, another Tacoma SWAT team member who introduced Mr. Anderson to CrossFit last summer. "It's hard not to catch Coach's enthusiasm."

Devotees say CrossFit has enabled them to challenge their bodies in ways they never thought possible. Eva Twardokens, 40, an Olympic alpine skier in the 1992 and 1994 Games, said years of CrossFit training have enabled her to bench-press 155 pounds, 20 more than she could when she was training for the Olympics.

Tariq Kassum, 31, a research analyst in New York, found both the workout community and the variety of difficult exercises he was looking for. Online, where some participants record their workout progress, people cheered him on as his upper-body strength increased. When he started CrossFit, Mr. Kassum was unable to do a handstand, but after a year with the program he can do push-ups from that position. CrossFit exercises can be made more or less intense based on a person's abilities, but the workouts are the same for everyone, from marines to senior citizens. And some critics say that is a big part of what's wrong.
"My concern is that one cookie-cutter program doesn't apply to everyone," said Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist at the American Council on Exercise. He said people in their 60's who have osteoporosis, for example, may not be able to do an overhead press, pushing a barbell over one's head.
CrossFit enthusiasts are also criticized for being cavalier about the injuries they sustain, including chronic soreness, pulled muscles and even some separated shoulders. Norma Loehr, 37, a vice president for a financial services company in New York, was sidelined for a week after she strained her back doing "Three Bars of Death," 10 sets of 3 lifts using barbells that weigh up to one and a half times as much as the person using them. She realized the barbells were too heavy, but she didn't want to waste the seconds it would have taken to change plates.
Mr. Glassman said that he has never been sued by an injured client and that paramedics have never had to treat one of his clients in his gym. But he acknowledged that as many as six CrossFit participants have suffered rhabdomyolysis, which often sets in more than a day after excessive exercise.
After they complete the workout of the day, hundreds of people post their times and the amount they have lifted on the Web site, making CrossFit a competitive online sport.
"When I first started the program, I could barely do a pull-up, so I was embarrassed to post," Mr. Kassum said. "Now that I can do 20 or 30, I'm on there every day. People on there are animals."
Those people include Kelly Moore, a 42-year-old Wisconsin police dispatcher and former powerlifter who is 5 feet tall and 117 pounds and has eight-pack abs. Her self-reported statistics have become the stuff of legend on CrossFit.com, inspiring both praise ("Pull-ups with a broken hand? You rock!") and amazement that she beats most men on the site. ("I'll be chasing Kelly until I die. At this rate, literally.")
CrossFit has an especially large number of police, firefighter and military participants. Members of Navy Seals, Air Force Pararescue and Special Forces groups also do workouts. And though it is not recognized as an official military regimen, CrossFit has drawn the attention of people in charge of military preparation. Capt. Timothy Joyce teaches CrossFit to marines in the Fleet Support Division in Barstow, Calif. And Capt. J. T. Williams, the chief standards officer at the Canadian Infantry School, where officers are trained, helped run a six-week trial where half of the participants followed the school's fitness program and half did CrossFit workouts. He declared CrossFit "very effective."
In recent months a group of New York CrossFit athletes have tried unsuccessfully to find a home gym. Joshua Newman, the group's organizer, said gym managers expressed concerns that they took up too much space, or even that their fast and furious pull-ups would break the apparatus.
"They used too many pieces of equipment at one time, and we got a lot of complaints from trainers who didn't like being on the floor with them," said Eric Slayton, the owner of New York Underground Fitness, a Midtown gym that Crossfit New York called home for a few weeks. "They put too much emphasis on getting things done in a certain amount of time and not enough on form."
But for Mr. Glassman, dismissals of his extreme workouts merely help him weed out people he considers weak-willed. "If you find the notion of falling off the rings and breaking your neck so foreign to you, then we don't want you in our ranks," he said.

Next Austin, TX Train With Jake Boot camp Begins on Wednesday, February 25th 2009. Be there.

2009-02-23T14:57:00.000-08:00

We are going to work hard. We are going to use kettlebells. We are going to rock out in Downtown Austin. And, we are going to get the bodies we've always wanted.

My award winning instruction, based on current information, combined with Celeste Brinson's nutritional expertise makes the Train With Jake boot camp members unstoppable in pursuing their fitness goals. Our techniques are based on classical methods combined with information from the latest professional research journals.

The real question is:
In six weeks will you have put yourself through the best boot camp in Austin, TX, or will you still be in the same shape you are today?

Personal Trainers and boot camps serving the Austin, Texas (TX) area: Cedar Park, Round Rock, Hutto, Normans Crossing, Turkey Hollow, Jonestown, Spicewood, Lago Vista, Pond Springs, Jollyville, Ward Spring, Rices Crossing, Coupland, Cele, Pflugerville, Volente, North Shore Acres, Briarcliff, Marshall Ford, Four Points, Dessau, New Sweden, Lund, Manda, Elgin, Butler, Littig, Manor, Decker, Smoot, Greenshores, Rivers Hill, The Hills, Lakeway, Hammetts Crossing, Bee Cave, West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, Smoot, Pershing, Hornsby Bend, Webberville, Sayersville, Utley, Phelan, Garfield, Del Valle, Vinson, Cedar Valley, Kincheonville, Bear Creek, Dripping Springs, Mount Gainor, Driftwood, Manchaca, Pilot Knob, Elroy, Bastrop, Cedar Creek, Creedmoor, Buda, Flatrock Ford, Hays, Woodcreek, Mountain City, Goforth, Niederwald, Mustang Ridge, Mendoza, Lytton Springs, Rockne, Clearview

Free workouts for Track and Field enthusiasts in Austin, TX by world renowned Olympic coaches

2009-02-22T21:27:00.000-08:00

Today, I had the opportunity to work out with the folks at the Waterloo Track and Field Club at Austin High School. Let me tell you, seeing a 65-year-old woman in tip-top sprinting shape almost brings tears to my eyes (ok, not really, but it's still pretty cool). These people know what they are doing. They have trained numerous Olympic atheletes and been around for quite some time in the athletic scene. Anyone who has ever done any sort of athletic training in any reputable gym in Austin, under the guidance of any reputable strength coach or personal trainer, has picked up a Dynamax medicine ball at some time or another. The two chair people of this club designed them. You can check out their company at www.medicineballs.com.

The real reason I am posting this, is for you to have a free Austin workout resource. These people want to educate you for free, and of the fifteen or so of us that were out there today, three of us own prominent Austin personal training companies and Austin boot camps. Today, instead of giving others instruction in current fitness methods, we were there to shut up and listen to the voices of those with several decades of experience in training world-class athletes, and to expand our knowledge of exercise science.

The Waterloo Track and Field Club meets at the following times and locations:
Sundays 4:00 PM at the Austin High School Track
Tuesdays 9:30 AM, at the McNeil High School Track and 6:30 PM at the Austin High School Track
Fridays 9:30 AM at the McNeil High School Track and 5:30 PM at the Austin High School Track

E-Mail the Waterloo Track Club at clubemail@waterlootrackandfield.org

Just Say No To High Fructose Death Syrup (AKA CRYSTALLINE FRUCTOSE)

2009-02-21T18:14:00.000-08:00

By: Jacob Bellonzi

From Oprah.com:

"Although they taste sweet, Dr. Oz says food products that contain high fructose corn syrup should be avoided. Dr. Oz says the body processes the sugar in high-fructose corn syrup differently than it does old-fashioned cane or beet sugar, which in turn alters your body's natural ability to regulate appetite. "It blocks the ability of a chemical called leptin, which is the way your fat tells your brain it's there," says Dr. Oz. "It's not so much the 150 calories in the soda pop—it's the fact at that same meal you will normally consume an extra hundred calories of food than you would have."

It's not rocket science people. Change the molecular structure of a substance (like the vegetable oil which forms "trans fat" when it's heated up to a couple hundred degrees) and the body screams "are you trying to kill me." The coolest thing though, is that the good people at the Corn Refiners Association are actually getting their legal teams to threaten health professionals like my father out of speaking the truth about the poison they purvey. I'm not sure if you've seen their creepy new ad campaign. I mean what would you say if your kids were watching their Saturday morning cartoons and on an alcohol commercial one woman turns to another, because she is concerned about her friend's drinking and the alcoholic friend responded "Alcohol? What about it? It's safer than crack, and harmless when taken in moderation."

Like I always say people educate yourselves. Knowledge is power. The FDA is clearly acting on behalf of the consumer. I feel totally safe and protected now. LOL.

THE LIES

THE TRUTH

For Austin runners, ameteur athletes, and anyone else spending too much time in Austin, TX on a treadmill

2009-02-20T21:33:00.000-08:00

Sprinting: The Courvaisier of Cardio
By Loki

When it comes to cutting you up and promoting a nutrient-partitioning milieu conducive to building and maintaining a lean, muscular physique, sprinting simply cannot be beat. A simple look at competitive athletics demonstrates this pretty clearly.

And I am NOT even talking about PRO-athletics, a world rife with performance-enhancing-drug-using, one-and-a-million-gene-possessing individuals who are able to log hours of gym-time every day while being tended to by a virtual cadre of trainers, coaches, dieticians and sports-specialists.

No, instead just think back to your high-school days (unless you were home-schooled, in which case may someone have mercy on your sad, coddled soul, because you're just going to have to skip a few sentences).

Okay, now - mild genetic-selectivity aside - who were the most ripped (i.e. lowest amount of bodyfat relative to the amount of lean body mass carried) guys on your football team? The running backs, wide receivers and defensive backs, right? Track team? Jumpers and guys who ran events 400m and shorter. Basketball team guards?

Almost none of the guys or girls whose athletic lively-hoods depended on their being able to sprint at maximal or near-maximal speed (causing them to thereby hone their anaerobic threshold in the process) ever had an appreciable amount of bodyfat on their frames during their playing days.

Most folks (while speeding by the track on the way to the weight-room) still mistakenly attribute this phenomenon to simple 'ectomorphism.' Well I, Loki, shall not tolerate it any longer, and that is why I have come to preach the gospel of "going really fast with your feet."

The fact of the matter is, those kids' physiques may have been influenced by 'ectomorphism,' but they were influenced a whole helluva' lot more by "the big A's" when it comes to nutrient-partitioning, fat oxidation, and physique-augmentation:

5'-AMP-mediated protein kinase (AMPk)

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and

ADP : ATP (adenosine di- and tri- phosphate, respectively) cellular ratios.

The fact of the matter is, unless you simply happen to be the most inept Google-user on God's green Earth, if you're reading this article, you care about exercise and how you look. And if you care about either (and hopefully both), then you should make sure you save some room in that split of yours for some sprint work. Because 'booking it big-time' - be it on a track, in a park, in your yard, or from 'the 5-0' - will do more to develop your aesthetic and anaerobic capacities than anything else out there.

Trying to lose fat? You should be sprinting. Trying to gain lean mass? You should be sprinting. Trying to defy conventional established wisdom and be really badass and do both simultaneously in an effort to 'recomp?' Then you damn-sure NEED to be sprinting. And a look at the physiological effects and adaptations elicited by consistent (and possibly even infrequent) sprint-sessions, which I shall now share with you... will make things abundantly clear.

For people in Austin currently interested in rest-pause training

2009-02-19T04:45:00.000-08:00

Experiments With Rest-Pause Training

By Drew Baye

Background

For those unfamiliar with the term, rest-pause is a method of resistance training where a brief pause is taken between repetitions. Some variations involve a pause between every repetition of a set, some involve pausing between reps or groups of reps to enable the performance of additional repetitions after muscular failure has been reached. The rest-pause between reps is typically between 5 and 15 seconds, and some variations start lower and increase as the set becomes progressively harder.

Rest pause is not a new method of training, or even a relatively recent development. Peary Rader wrote about rest pause training in 1946 in one of his Iron Man training courses, The Rader Master Bodybuilding and Weight Gaining System, and Bob Hoffman wrote about a method of rest pause he called Muscle Contraction with Measured Movement in 1962 in his Functional Isometric Contraction - Advanced Course. There have been numerous variations since then, some of the most popular being the 20 rep breathing squats popularized by Randall Strossen in his book Super Squats, Mike Mentzer’s version from High Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way, and Dante Trudell’s “Dogg Crapp” training method.

Over a period of several weeks during the summer of 2006 Jon Kilcoyne and I used Mike Mentzer’s version of rest-pause training in our workouts. This involved performing two repetitions using close to one-rep maximum weights with a 10 second pause between reps, followed by two or three more forced reps with the same or a slightly reduced weight. Although this produced noticeable size increases we discontinued after a few weeks since assisting with the forced reps was becoming almost as draining as the sets themselves due to the rapid increases in weight.

We resumed rest-pause training in the fall using a more traditional method after reading Dan Moore’s articles on his Max Stim protocol, which make a strong case for rest-pause for hypertrophy. Rather than the near one rep max weights and 10 second pauses we were using with Mentzer’s rest-pause, we started with our normal weights and a 5 second pause, which initially resulted in a doubling of our rep counts. Over a period of several workouts we increased the weights until we were back down in the 5 to 8 repetition range, which we had both found worked well for us. Within a few weeks my one rep max on the chest press increased by nearly thirty pounds, and our weights had increased significantly on every exercise.

We started using this version of rest-pause with several clients, all with good results. The only downside was most of the Nautilus Nitro equipment we were using did provide an adequate amount of resistance - Jon and I and most of the male clients using rest pause quickly maxed out several of the machines. This has been an even bigger problem with MedX equipment, which sacrifices resistance for low inertia by limiting the stroke of the weight stacks to under a foot. My preference of machines for rest pause would be first and second generation Nautilus equipment, which had adequately heavy weight stacks, although free weights and well-designed plate-loaded machines would probably be the best choice since they will accomodate even the strongest trainees.

Twin Experiment with Rest Pause

In November of 2006 I started an experiment with a pair of identical twins to compare the effects of rest pause training on strength and muscle mass. Unfortunately, the twins were poor subjects for an experiment on muscular hypertrophy, being small-framed teenage girls and posessing what appeared to be very poor potential for muscular size. Additionally, it was apparent they did not follow my instructions to increase their calorie and protein intake, as there was no significant increase in bodyweight over an 11 week period. I didn’t exactly have identical twins knocking down the doors to participate in training experiments though, so I figured they’d have to do.

On November 13, 2006, I tested both twins’ one rep maximums on the calf raise, seated leg curl, leg press, row, chest press, pulldown, overhead press, back extension, and abdominal machines. Two days later I tested each twin for repetition maximums with 75% of their 1RM. While their reps for the upper body exercises were only a little on the high side, their reps for the leg exercises were absurdly high for 75% of 1RM, which probably had a bit to do with both being long distance runners. Interestingly, both performed very few reps with 75% of their 1RM on the back extension machine.

Both twins performed the same exercises, in the same order, using a repetition range of 8 to 12, a 3 second lifting and 3 second lowering cadence, and rested around 60 seconds between exercises. The only difference was one twin set down the weight and rested for 5 seconds between each repetition. Each twin worked out 16 times over a period of 11 weeks, starting November 20, 2006 and ending February 2, 2007. They were tested again for 1RM on February 6, and for their repetition maximum with 75% of their November 13 1RMs two days later on February 8. The muscular endurance test with 75% of the original 1RM was not retested on calf raise since I stopped both twins when they reached 40 repetitions during the initial test.

Kara: Rest-Pause (8-12 reps, 3/3 cadence, 5 second rest-pause)

Strength (1RM) Average Increase = 30.3%

Endurance (RM with 75% of Initial 1RM) Average Increase = 112%

Kelsey: Traditional Reps (8-12 reps, 3/3 cadence, No rest-pause)

Strength (1RM) Average Increase = 26.3%

Endurance (RM with 75% of Initial 1RM) Average Increase = 156%

Both twins increased their muscular strength and endurance significantly, but much of this can probably be attributed to learning effect since neither gained a significant amount of body weight. While the twin who performed rest pause had a higher increase in 1RM, the twin who performed regular repetitions had a much greater increase in muscular endurance.

Joseph Ross - 8.5 Pounds in Three Weeks

Unlike the twins in the experiment, Joe Ross had above average potential for muscular size gains, and followed my instructions to increase his calorie and protein intake. Joe also performed fewer exercises per workout, and alternated between two different workouts consisting of a few compound exercises each plus direct exercises for the upper arms and forearms. Over a period of three weeks during which he performed six workouts Joe increased his bodyweight from 165 to 173.5 pounds, while maintaining a very low level of body fat. I do not believe Joe’s results are typical, and would be highly skeptical if I did not weigh him and perform the skinfold measurements myself. I believe he could probably gain another 20 pounds of muscle if he continues to train and eat properly.

Recommendations for Rest-Pause Training

Since then, I have been using rest-pause regularly in my own workouts and with several of my personal training and phone clients. After a bit of experimentation, I’ve developed the following guidelines, which have been working pretty well so far.

Rest-Pause Duration: 5 seconds

I’ve been using a rest-pause duration of approximately 5 seconds. The weight is set down completely, unloading the muscles, and two deep breaths are taken: inhale on the one count, exhale on the two, inhale on the three, exhale on the four, then inhale on the five while getting set to begin the next rep. Shorter pauses don’t seem to allow as much of a weight increase, and pauses that are longer than 10 seconds end up taking a bit longer but don’t seem much more effective.

Repetition Range: 5-8

Most clients were able to almost double their repetitions with their normal set weight when performing the 5-second rest-pause between reps, and were able to use significantly more weight for their normal rep ranges. However, since systemic fatigue seemed to become more of a limiting factor when sets went on too long I reduced the upper rep number for everyone to 8 to keep the total set time under 90 seconds. I set the lower rep number at 5 to maintain a minimal cumulative time under tension of around 30 seconds for adequate motor unit recruitment and stimulation.

Some people may do better with slightly lower ranges similar to what Mentzer recommends, some will do better with higher reps, but this has worked well for everyone I have worked with so far.

Weight

When switching from normal, continuous sets to rest-pause I recommend increasing the weight by about 5-10% each workout until you are only able to perform 5 to 8 reps. Bigger weight increases if you normally use a higher repetition range, smaller if you normally use a lower repetition range.

Exercises

Some exercises are better-than others for rest pause training. I recommend using exercises that allow you to set the weight down completely between repetitions. A power rack makes it possible to do this with a variety of barbell exercises. A bench or chair can be placed under a chinning bar for performing rest-pause chin-ups or pull-ups. Most well-designed machines work well for rest-pause, however many newer selectorized machines have weight stacks that are too small for stronger trainees. This is not a problem with plate-loaded machines. A book is currently in the works on rest-pause training that goes into this in detail.

Safety

Due to the much heavier weights that can be handled with rest-pause training, it is absolutely essential that all safety precautions are taken. I highly recommend a power rack for all barbell pressing exercises. If you’re lifting a bar over yourself, you should have the safety pins set at the right height to set the bar on during the rest-pauses and to prevent it from coming down on you if dropped. Inspect equipment before use to make sure there are no loose bolts, frayed cables or belts, or broken welds - I’ve seen all of these on equipment in big-name commercial gyms that were left unfixed for months. Don’t assume any equipment you use is in safe working condition - check it yourself.

If you live in Austin and are interested in CrossFit, read this article first

2009-02-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

Lawsuit Alleges CrossFit Workout Damaging

By Bryan Mitchell - Naval Staff writer

MANASSAS, Va. — A lawsuit filed by a former sailor has raised concerns about the dangers of a workout regimen that is rapidly growing in popularity across the military.
The lawsuit, filed by former Information Systems Technician 1st Class Makimba Mimms in Prince William County, Va., Circuit Court late last year, seeks $500,000, as well as punitive damages, in connection with the permanent disability Mimms allegedly suffered as a result of performing the CrossFit workout under the direction of a trainer at a Manassas gym.
CrossFit, an intense strength and conditioning regimen, is practiced by thousands worldwide at dozens of ad-hoc clubs and is especially popular with military and law enforcement communities.
Neither CrossFit nor its founder, Greg Glassman, is listed as defendants in the lawsuit, but the word “CrossFit” appears dozens of times throughout the legal documents connected to the suit. Glassman could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit is part of an emerging body of evidence that CrossFit may be damaging to participants’ health, perhaps even causing death — a possibility acknowledged by its founder as early as 2005.
Following a June story on the popularity of CrossFit in Military Times newspapers, Capt. Jonathan Picker, commander of the Navy’s Center for Personal and Professional Development, posted a story that raised concerns about CrossFit in the July issue of the center’s internal magazine.
“Several [experts] in the sports medicine field (military and civilian) have addressed a concern that the program has the potential for causing an increased incidence of musculoskeletal injuries and even muscle breakdown (rhabdomyoloysis) and therefore is not supported by [Navy Center for Personal and Professional Development],” the story states. “Granted, anyone can develop a program that’s very intense, but there’s a safer way of doing this for our sailors.” Picker could not be reached for comment.
Navy officials said studies are underway to examine CrossFit and its potential effects on service members, but those involved with the studies declined to discuss the specifics.
A section of Picker’s story was posted on a CrossFit Web site and subsequently mocked by some of CrossFit’s more strident advocates.
“You know what’s another excellent way to get a musculoskeletal injury?” one poster asked in reply to Picker’s assessment. “Getting shot because you can’t run fast enough with 50 [pounds] on your back!”
However, Glassman posted a warning on the CrossFit site in October 2005 labeled “CrossFit induced Rhabdo,” telling participants about the potential problems associated with the unforgiving workout, while Eugene Allen — a Washington State law enforcement officer who runs a CrossFit blog — posted an even less ambiguous warning in May 2005 titled “Killer Workouts.”
“With CrossFit, we are dealing with what is known as exertional rhabdomyolysis,” he wrote. “It can disable, maim and even kill.”
That’s what Mimms contends happened to him in one intense exercise session Dec. 11, 2005, in which, he said, he suffered injuries he has yet to recover from.
In the initial seven-page complaint filed Nov. 21, Mimms’ attorney, Phillip Walsh, contends that Manassas World Gym, Ruthless Training Concepts and Ruthless trainer Javier Lopez failed to exercise diligence before instructing an unprepared Mimms in performing CrossFit.
“The defendants, in concert with one another, entreated, promoted, encouraged and coached Mr. Mimms to perform and endure the extreme exertion prescribed by the CrossFit regimen,” court records state.
The suit claims Mimms suffered from rhabdomyolysis — which occurs when tiny shreds of muscle fiber are absorbed by the bloodstream and ultimately poison the kidneys — as a result of performing a CrossFit workout under the direction of Lopez, who worked as Ruthless Training Concepts trainer at the now-defunct Manassas World Gym.
Mimms, who was in the Navy for 11 years, got out in May and was not separated for medical reasons, declined to discuss the case, pending a trial slated to begin Oct. 6 in Manassas.
Lopez could not be reached for comment. However, statements made by Lopez to court officials during a pretrial deposition indicate he was aware that “people who perform too intensely perhaps can undergo this rhabdomyolysis,” he said.
Ruthless Training Concepts, as well as attorneys representing Ruthless and Manassas World Gym, declined to comment on the suit.
Several physicians, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center neurophysiologist Lt. Col. Mark Landau, concluded that Mimms suffered severe injuries following his intense CrossFit workout, according to court records.
The injuries included rhabdomyolysis, lumbosacral spine strain and strain of the bilateral quadriceps, according to court documents. As a result of these injuries, Mimms was incapacitated, lost time from work and required surgery, court records show.
“[He] endured great mental and physical pain, mental anguish and inconvenience,” court records state. “[He] has incurred and will in the future incur medical and related expenses, has sustained permanent disability.” The extent of his physical disability was not outlined in court documents.
Dr. Priscilla Clarkson of the University of Massachusetts contends that Lopez encouraged Mimms to perform exercises known to produce rhabdomyolysis. “Adequate precautions to prevent such a condition from occurring were not taken,” Clarkson wrote in documents prepared for the lawsuit.
Gray Cook, a physical therapist who consults with a host of NFL teams on strength and conditioning, said CrossFit is not dangerous unless performed by people not physically prepared for its intensity.
Cook stressed that he did not want to disparage CrossFit, and that the program has inherent benefits, such as keeping people active and preventing boredom by mixing up workouts. His concern is that novice participants don’t know what they’re getting into.
“Football players practice a lot more than they play for a reason,” Cook said. “You are not supposed to test drive the system as much as you tune it up.”
Mimms is certainly not the only service member to induce rhabdo with a strenuous workout. An article in the February/March 2008 issue of the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, published by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, indicates the ailment is on the rise across the services.
There were 114 cases of rhabdo across the military services in 2004, four of which required hospitalization. The number rose to 159 in 2007, including 34 that required hospital visits.
No individual cause is provided for the rise in the number of rhabdo cases, and CrossFit is not mentioned in the four-page article.
The article states that troops struck with rhabdo are more likely to be from Army and Marine units, that cases tend to occur in the summer, and that blacks and other nonwhite service members are at a higher risk of suffering from the ailment.

Award winning Austin Personal Training Treadmill Protocol

2009-02-17T22:27:00.000-08:00

In the beginning, raise this by 0.1mph every time you do it, when you get closer to your threshold, raise it ).1mph each week

Done at 3% incline on treadmill

-start at lowest point for two minutes
-climb up 2.0mph in 0.5mph increments(4 increments)
-drop back down to lowest point
-climb up 2.0mph in 4 increments
-drop back down to lowest point
-climb up 2.0mph in 4 increments
-climb up an additional 0.5mph for two minutes
-drop back down to lowest point for two minutes
-done

If you're pretty fast, this would be a good example:
5.0
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
7.5
7.5
5.0
5.0

Committed to your success,
Jacob Bellonzi
Train With Jake
(512) 554-9944
www.trainwithjake.com

An Austin Fitness Trainer begs you to reconsider getting vaccinated

2009-02-16T18:49:00.000-08:00

Ah, vaccines, how many ways I despise them. We poison our children, as we were poisoned, all in the name of health and wellness. We trust doctors who tell us to abstain from alternative treatments like chelation. I can't stand it. It makes my blood boil. Please, people educate yourselves before you stick another needle into yourself or your children.

Here's what my father has to say on the subject:

and here is a special on the link between mercury (found in vaccines and amalgam fillings) toxicity and Autism in our children. Education is your best defense.

Part 1

Part 2

If you're still not convinced, go to http://www.wanttoknow.info/060215vaccinesmercurydangers for more information on the dangers of heavy metals and the truth about the false vilification of
chelation.

EDUCATE YOURSELF!!!

Back to the Playground: Jumping Rope for Athletic Conditioning

2009-02-16T09:47:00.000-08:00

By: Kyle Brown, CSCS

Reminisce for a moment back to your childhood when fitness was not a monitored chore but a multitude of fun games and activities you looked forward to participating in during recess or after school. One of the most time-efficient and beneficial childhood activities for physical fitness
was jumping rope. Yet as adults, the only group that notoriously taps into the conditioning benefits of jumping rope is fighters. With a little persistent practice, you too
can reap the conditioning benefits of this fun yet challenging
and time-efficient workout tool.

Make sure you purchase a quality rope and the appropriate size. The rope needs to be long enough but not too long that it is not challenging. To find a standard starting measurement, stand with one foot in the center of the rope and the handles should reach your underarm. Since
jumping rope is a plyometric move, (explosive jumping movement) you must ensure you have a forgiving shock absorbing surface. A few good examples are a basketball
court, tennis court, or gym mat.

Since jump roping is considered by many a plyometric activity, there should be a gradual progression in the quantity and intensity of the jumps. Learning how to jump rope parallels in many ways learning how to play a musical instrument. You need to get the skills down before you can play. When you are beginning learning to jump rope, you should focus on frequency rather than duration. For example, if you are at the gym to lift weights followed by cardio,
use jump rope for a minute or two as a warm up, post resistance training, and post cardio. Once you’ve developed baseline proficiency, you can train with a variety of programs. For instance, try one minute rounds followed by 30 seconds rest. Try to work up to 6 – 12 of them. Start by running in place or double leg jumps and work up to double unders (two turns of the rope for every jump), crisscross patterns, single leg jumps, and backwards jumps.

Not only is jumping rope a challenging workout, but once you develop proficiency it can become quite fun. No more need to stress if your hotel doesn’t have a gym and it’s cold or raining outside. You can take a jump rope with you wherever you travel so it’s the one of the most inexpensive portable workout options. If you are a novice, be patient and expect a challenge. Yet the rewards are worth the practice and jumping rope can become and enjoyable,
time-efficient conditioning tool.

Recovering at the Speed of Life

2009-02-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

By Dr. Tim Maggs
July/August 2001
Washington Running Report

The million dollar question--"How can I recover more quickly from both injuries and training/racing?" Nature's time frame for recovery and our recovery needs are often in conflict. Speeding this process has kept many researchers (as well as yours truly) burning the midnight oil searching for advances. My greatest teacher was personally being on the disabled list. I wished my only goal was to recover from a marathon. Unfortunately, I tried in vain for eight years to recover from chronic calf pulls (more than 75 of them). I guess being personally injured automatically put the interest level up a notch or two. I'm not sure whether it was intelligence or ignorance that kept me persistently looking for an answer, but I ultimately found one, and this is now the foundation of my Maggs Muscle ManagementTM Program.

Physiological Changes An exercised muscle will go through micro-traumas. The micro- tears that occur after exercise require time to heal. That time is our recovery period. With a little forethought and discipline, we can expedite the recovery process, from both training and racing, while also reducing our vulnerability to injury.

The first step in a speedier recovery is to prepare your muscles better. Fast and short or long and slow, muscles recover more quickly with a thorough warm-up. My muscle management program encourages the increase of blood to muscles (The Stick is one way to do this), coupled with thorough stretching of the muscles. This will increase both the temperature and length of the muscle, making the muscle more efficient in both exercise and recovery. Circulation (food and oxygen) to the muscle will increase, while harmful toxins will be flushed from the muscle.

Recovery Once a muscle has been worked, and depending on the degree of work it has done, it will contain micro-tears. A worked muscle will also be tight, much like a clenched-fist. This environment suggests the need for circulation, but Mother Nature's time clock insists that a muscle must slowly relax before healthy volumes of new blood can get into the muscle to begin the clean- up and healing process. Again, with the combination of The Stick and stretching, new, rich blood flow is introduced to a muscle while the muscle is being manually relaxed. This allows food and oxygen to get into the muscle much faster, expediting the whole recovery process.

Now, to add one more piece to the puzzle, you have your carbohydrate window, which can help dramatically in this process. Studies have shown there is a period after intense or long endurance exercise that muscles are "hungry" for glycogen restoration. During a brief period after exercise, this "window" is your opportunity to consume carbohydrates that will speed recovery and increase your stores of glycogen for future use. "The longer you wait before you consume carbohydrates, the less 'hungry' your muscles become," says Dr. John Ivy, Ph.D., director of the exercise science laboratory at the University of Texas. "If you wait longer than 15 minutes, the rate of absorption is decreased by roughly fifty percent."

This basically says that, instead of sitting around reminiscing after a race or hard workout, get out your Stick or ask a friend to apply some good massage techniques to the most worked muscles in your body. Then, ingest some carbohydrate recovery product that will feed the muscles exactly what they are looking for.

Do you set S.M.A.R.T. fitness goals?

2009-02-14T15:53:00.001-08:00

Ask any accomplished person, from Bill Gates to Micheal Jordan how they achieved their mountain of success, and they will reply that they accomplished their dreams, through obtaining realistic goals.

S.M.A.R.T. stands for
-Specific
-Measurable
-Attainable
-Realistic
-Timely

So the next time you are in Austin, wondering, "should I hire a personal trainer to help me lose 50 pounds?," or "I want to look like Arnold schwarzenegger, by recruiting a well-qualified personal trainer," ask yourself first if that is a S.M.A.R.T. goal.

Dr. Vince Bellonzi D.C., CCN

2009-02-12T20:25:00.000-08:00

My father, Dr. Vincent Bellonzi, D.C., CCN and well respected Strength and Conditioning Coach discusses the primary obstacles to weight loss presented by stress.

What should a top notch Austin Group Fitness or Austin Boot Camp entail?

2009-02-12T05:18:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

In your quest for fitness and weight loss in Austin, there are many Austin personal trainers and Austin boot camps to choose from, so HOW DO YOU PICK THE RIGHT ONE? In order to protect the anonymity of my former fitness employer, I'll leave they're name out. Although this employer offered several locations and classes, I generally taught a kickboxing and kettlebell class in the 78704. These people are great, don't get me wrong, and many members experienced an impressive weight loss, and saw all kinds of other great fitness results. However, this new trend of CrossFit, saying, "push em till they puke," "have Ms. Jones start doing cleans on her first day," and "let's just let em work, and worry about the risk later," mentalities are dangerous, and are a threat to everything a good, knowledgeable, and well qualified Austin trainer like myself spends his or her life trying to abolish.

I have narrowed the consumer concerns as follows:

1. What Austin fitness professional is running the Boot Camp?
-Are they well established in the Austin Community?
-Is their business insured?
-What is their athletic background?
-Can they provide references?
-What are their fitness credentials?

2. How do they process the new Boot Camp enrollee?
-Do they at least have a PAR-Q (physical activity readiness questionnaire) to protect both the integrity of their company and the safety of their new client?
-Did they perform a postural analysis or any other helpful fitness tests to ensure Boot Camp or group fitness would be an appropriate method of pursuing weight loss?
-Did they answer all of your questions, or did they just take your money and smile?

3. What sort of training methods do they provide in their Austin group fitness class or Boot Camp?
-How do they assess different fitness levels and provide an equally intense workout for all participants from sedentary to athletic?
-Do they have a dynamic program, or are they just making you do a bunch of push-ups and planks and telling you to run for extended periods in between
-Do they assess nutrition (this is 70%-80% of your results)
-Do they incorporate a proper warm-up and cool down into each session?
-Do they do anything to improve flexibility?
-Do you leave each session feeling educated or confused?

Before you consider factors like money and class time, first run your prospective Austin Boot Camp or Group Fitness service through the above checklist.

Good luck,
Jacob Bellonzi
Train With Jake
(512) 554-9944
www.trainwithjake.com

AUSTIN PERSONAL TRAINER NEW TO THIS BLOGGING THING

2009-02-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

Hello,

I thought it was about time to begin my blog. It will feature every current bit of valuable contemporary fitness information an Austin top ten personal fitness trainer like myself can manage to provide. This will include tips for weight loss, techniques used by Austin personal trainers, Kettlebell techniques, resistence band training techniques, and just about every thing else I can think of.

Warm Regards,
Jacob Bellonzi
Train With Jake
(512) 554-9944
www.trainwithjake.com