Looking For a Fun Way to Get in Shape for 2009

Try giving an outdoor fitness class a try. Jon and I have started a class in Clovis with several times and locations available. We, of course are certified, experienced trainers with degrees in Exercise Science and will lead you through fun and challenging workouts lasting roughly one hour.

Super Fat Loss

When most people think of fat loss, their minds immediately turn to steady state aerobic workouts. Today I'm going to teach you a method of stripping away unwanted fat, The Tabata Method. Dr. Tabata is a Japanese researcher that authored a study in 1996 in the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise that described the benefits of high-intensity intermittent training. The participants in his study showed fantastic results; in 6 weeks of testing, Dr. Tabata noted a 28% increase in anaerobic capacity in his subjects, along with a 14% increase in their ability to consume oxygen (V02Max). The interesting thing about this way of exercising is that it can be performed in only four minutes! How hard can four minutes be... extremely! What you do is pick an exercise, try to pick one that uses the greatest amount of muscle: squats, thrusters, sprints, jump ropes, etc. Now perform that exercise as fast as you can for twenty seconds, then rest for ten seconds, repeat seven more times, now... pass out of exhaustion. That's it just eight reps of do much as possible in twenty seconds followed by ten seconds of rest. It's easiest with a partner telling you when to start or stop, but I've used a wall clock with a large second hand, or a good watch with an interval timer. There are different ways of "scoring" or progressing yourself. If your using a stationary exercise then count your reps during each of the eight sets; the total is your score. Next time you do that exercise try to improve on it. Another way of progressing, if your doing a mobile exercise, which is pretty simple is to track how far you go, and then try to go farther on your next attempt. Lastly, try messing around with the times, if twenty seconds is too easy try twenty five seconds with ten seconds rest, or twenty seconds on with five seconds of rest. While this may sound easy, don't underestimate it, it is extremely difficult! If you are not in good shape you may want to modify it to make it easier. I would start it off by increasing the rest intervals to twenty seconds, and maybe only do six sets. As this becomes easier decrease the rest intervals by five seconds, and then when you are comfortable with that decrease it by another five seconds. When six sets become easy, increase it to seven sets, but also increase the rest to twenty seconds. Then start decreasing the rest interval just like before, and again when this gets easy add the eigth rep in. Try the Tabata Method a couple times a week in addition to your normal stregth training, and you start to see some of that extra fat burn right off! Contact me at info@180ft.com with any questions.

Apple Muffins

Looking for some yummy muffins that fit your low carb lifestyle? Give these a try.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cup flax seed meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Artificial sweetener equal to 3/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup can be flavored sugar-free syrup)
4 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup liquid (flavored syrup or water)
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 medium apple, chopped fairly finely
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Preparation:Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 12-muffin tin very well.1. Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the rest of them.2. Let batter stand 10 minutes, then put into the muffin pan and bake for about 18 minutes until toothpick comes out clean and muffins just barely start to pull away from the sides of the tin.

Nutritional Information: Each muffin contains 2 grams link ecc effective carbohydrate plus 5 grams fiber.

from:http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breads/r/appleflaxmuffin.htm

Stretching: The Truth

Here's a recent article from the New York Times about stretching. If you already know about the benefits of a dynamic warm-up then you can skip it. However, if your trainer (I'm talking about the guy at GB3's) is still prescribing a 20 sec static stretch or a 10 min jog around the block it would be a good idea to read the article.
I have been incorporating dynamic stretching in my client's warm-ups as well as my own for at least three years now. It does a much better job getting me ready for a workout than just doing a lap around the block. If you would like some more information or some dynamic stretching exercises, send me an email: info@180ft.com

Race for the Cure

Another running event is coming to town. This one is the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure, it takes place at The Satellite Student Union at Fresno State. The course includes a 1- mile run/walk and a 5k run/ walk. This is a great run filled with a ton of great people all running for a good cause, to end Breast Cancers, and support victims and survivors. Go here to register for the event, and learn more about the Komen organization.
The course itself is pretty flat and is a certified USA Track and Field course the only thing that'll slow you down will be all the participants.
While your signing up for this race don't forget to sign up for the Trail of Two Cities Marathon and Half.

CORTISOL, STRESS AND ADAPTATION DURING EXERCISE

CORTISOL, STRESS AND ADAPTATION DURING EXERCISE TRAINING
Journal: "Education. Physical Training. Sport"
Antony C. Hackney, Claudio Battaglini, Elizabeth S. Evans;
University of North Carolina, USA

ABSTRACT
Cortisol is a corticosteroid hormone produced by the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex in the adrenal gland. It plays vital roles in the bodyfs defense mechanisms when dealing with stress, as well as being important in blood glucose regulation. Regrettably, misconceptions regarding the actions of this hormone have been created around the sports and exercise arena. For example, cortisol most often is viewed as having a counter-productive role in exercise that can lead to a mal-adaptation to the exercise training process, due to the catabolic nature of this hormone with respect to protein turnover. Therefore, the intent of this article is to present an overview and to offer commentary on the necessary and critically important functions of cortisol during exercise, and in the adaptation process associated with exercise training. This is being done to specifi cally correct several of the misconceptions and misunderstandings that are portrayed within some literature (in particular on the Internet) regarding endocrine responses to exercise and exercise training.Stress has been a topic of study for over 100 years. It is well accepted that the paramount early leader in such study was Hans Selye. Classic observations and studies by Selye during the early part of the last century lead to the development of the gGeneral Adaptation Syndromeh theory of stress response (Selye, 1950). This theory proposes an intimate involvement of the adrenal gland, specifi cally the cortex, in the adaptation and mal-adaptation process to all forms of stress. Exercise and the exercise training process are classified as a stress to the human body (Hackney, 2006). Specifically, for sedentary individuals, exercise is a distress (negative), but as the body accommodates and adapts, exercise transitions to a eustress (positive) (Selye, 1950; Viru, 1976; Hackney, 2006). Selye viewed the adrenal cortex response (i. e., in humans the primary adrenal cortex hormone is the glucocorticoid cortisol) as critical to the positive adaptation to stress.The view by some exercise specialists that increases in cortisol can lead to a predominance of catabolism in the body which results in undesirable aspects within the adaptation of athletes in sports training is an over-simplifi cation of the hormonal rolesactions of cortisol. This simplified and incomplete notion regarding the role-action of cortisol during exercise training has even resulted in the development of nutritional-pharmaceutical supplements and dietary strategies which attempt to suppress cortisol levels at rest and in response to exercise(Duclos et al., 2007; Viru A., Viru M, 2001, 2004). Such actions may in fact actually compromise the ability of select physiological systems to respond and adapt to the stress of exercise.A. Viru and M. Viru (2004) report that this misconception of the role of cortisol seems rooted in the research focusing upon the testosterone/ cortisol ratio and how it changes in response to exercise training. In the 1980s, Adlercreutz and associates were the fi rst to focus attention on the testosterone/cortisol ratio, proposing its use as an indication of excessive stress in athletes during their training (Adlercreutz et al., 1986). These authors actually suggested the use of the ratio based upon free testosterone, not total testosterone, to cortisol. This latter fact seems to have been lost to some researchers who have calculated the ratio using the alternative testosterone value (Kuipers, Keizer, 1988; Viru A., Viru M., 2001, 2004).Cortisol plays such a role physiologically by stimulating several processes that are instrumental to increasing and / or maintaining blood glucose (i. e., euglycemia) (Bender, 1993; Brooks et al., 2005; Tortora, Derrickson, 2006). These processes include:œ Stimulation of gluconeogenesis particularly in hepatic tissue. This pathway results in thesynthesis of glucose from non-carbohydrate substrates such as amino acids and glycerol from triglyceride breakdown.œ Enhancing the expression of enzymes involved in the gluconeogenesis pathway is a key metabolic function of glucocorticoids.œ Mobilization of amino acids from extra-hepatic tissues: These serve as substrates for gluconeogenesis (see later discussion on the free amino acid pool).œ Inhibition of glucose uptake in muscle and adipocytes as a glucose and glycogen sparing action.œ Stimulation of lipolysis in adipocytes. Glucocorticoids, specifically cortisol, are considered stress response hormones, which in an overly simplified view, are often portrayed as being entirely negative in their infl uence on physiological function. The glucocorticoids are in fact vital hormones in the normal physiological functioning of humans and are necessary in dealing with different stress challenges to the body. With respect to exercise, they play an important regulatory role in metabolic responses. Additionally, the regulation of protein turnover during the recovery from exercise, which is instrumental to the myo-plasticity response of skeletal muscle in training, is dependent upon appropriate glucocorticoid actions. In other words, cortisol and the other glucocorticoids are not the gbad guysh of exercise endocrinology as some have made them out to be. Researchers, athletes and sports coaches need to be aware and conscious of the critical nature of glucocorticoids to normal health and development, especially relative to exercise training adaptations.

Lance Armstrong IN Clovis!

Well it is official, Lance will be coming to Clovis next February. He made his announcment after finishing the 22nd in the CrossVegas ride. He will be racing with team Astana which has a couple of his old teammates already riding for them.

Armstrong's comeback is to provide awareness to cancer, and raise money to help find a cure.

Go ahead and read the article from VeloNews here.

Rumble in the Park, Back in Fresno

From the FresnoBee;
Cage fighting will return to Fresno with "Rumble in the Park II" at Woodward Park's Rotary Amphitheater.
The event, scheduled for Nov. 1, had a successful debut with mixed martial arts fans when it was staged here in August. More than 4,000 people turned out and organizers estimated another 1,500 were turned away.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championships champion Tito Ortiz and Josh Koschek, ranked No. 2 and fighting out of Fresno, will be on hand to help promote the show.
The card features Jason Von Flue and Jesse Taylor in a middleweight clash, along with Cage Combat champions Jeremiah Metcalf (welterweight) and David Mitchell (middleweight), and Fresnan David "Kid Dynamite" Espinosa, a bantamweight.
Some controversy surrounded the first Rumble in the Park. A few residents complained the public park was an inappropriate place for a violent contest. But there were no protesters at the park the night of the event.
A security force of 12 contracted police officers and six reserve officers circulated the venue and dozens of private security guards helped search patrons as they entered. Mayor Alan Autry and Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer were among those watching the fights from ringside seats.
Tickets for Rumble in the Park II go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at Ticketmaster, select Save Mart Supermarkets and Ritmo Latino.
09/22/08 http://www.fresnobee.com/sports/story/886261.html

Fresno Cross City Race

A few weeks ago I mentioned a couple of running races coming up in Fresno. I just wanted to remind everyone that the Fresno Cross City Race is this Sunday! This is probably the best run that Fresno has to offer, and this year they'll be making it even better by adding live bands. If you haven't signed up yet, go over to Sierra Run Co. over on Friant Ave near the Gold's Gym and Bentley's.
Don't forget about the Trail of Two Cities full and half marathon coming up in November. This is Fresno's first full marathon in a long time. The half marathon has been very well done the last couple of years that I've participated in it.
Also the MASH Fun Run is coming up in October.

Lance Armstrong in Clovis?

Is Lance Armstrong coming to Clovis? Maybe reports the VeloNews, a cycling magazine. According to Velo, not only is Lance planning to race in the upcoming Tour de France, he'll be warming up by racing in a couple road races including the Tour of California. That's right the same Tour of California that has a stop-over in Clovis.

We've already heard how much of a boost the Tour of California has on it's host cities. Now just imagine if Lance actually competes in the race. This would bring quite a few more spectators into the city and would have quite a bit more press. It would be a nice little boost for our city.

Armstong, who turns 37 this month, is going to be racing again to raise awareness for cancer.

Read more about it in Vanity Fair, and the Fresno Bee.

Chocolate Protein Pie

Ingredients:
2 boxes of sugar-free fat-free instant Jell-O pudding mix
2 cups Calorie Countdown milk or skim milk
1your favorite chocolate protein bar

1 tub fat-free, sugar-free, or lite Cool Whip
2 scoops your favorite chocolate protein shake

1 reduced-fat graham cracker pie crust

Chop up the protein bar. In a big bowl, whisk the milk with half of the Cool Whip. Now whisk in the pudding mix and protein powder. Pour into the crust, spoon other half of Cool Whip over the top, and add the chopped protein bar.

I like to mix up some of my protein bar chuncks in with the cool- whip filling to have a chuncky filling.
Refrigerate for awhile and enjoy.

This should have around 20 grams of protein per slice.

Ideas and Options
• You have two ways to make this into a totally different pie: Change the protein flavor and change the pudding mix flavor.
Try white chocolate pudding mix and vanilla protein powder.
The vanilla protein works with any pudding powder really: pistachio, butterscotch, lemon, etc. You can also use banana cream or strawberry protein powder with vanilla pudding.

Top it with walnuts, pecans, almonds and fresh sliced banana or strawberry.

Top a vanilla pie with a cookie dough protein bar for even more variety.
• Use two scoops of protein powder for a thicker, cheesecake-like texture. Use one scoop for a lighter, fluffier texture.
• Want to add some fiber? Toss in a serving of Benefiber or Fibersure, both gritless fiber supplements.
• Want to maximize the chocolaty goodness? Pour some Smuckers sugar-free hot fudge topping into a squeeze bottle and drizzle over the top.

Exercise trumps obesity gene, U.S. study finds

Vigorous physical activity can help even people genetically prone to obesity keep the weight off, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
They said a study among a group of Amish people found those who had an obesity-related gene called FTO but were very physically active weighed about the same as others who did not carry the gene.
"When we looked at the Amish who were the most active, there is suddenly no effect of that gene," said Dr. Soren Snitker of the University of Maryland, whose study appears in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The findings, which suggest physical activity can overcome a genetic predisposition for obesity, may help inform the debate over whether changes in diet or physical activity will make the biggest difference in fighting obesity.
Consumer groups have pushed for laws such as July's moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in certain Los Angeles neighborhoods, while the food industry often maintains that a lack of exercise is more to blame.
Researchers focused their study on a group of 704 Old Order Amish men and women in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a religious group whose members often do not drive cars or have electricity in their homes.
Snitker said the group offered a unique mix of activity levels, with some farmers in the community still using horse-drawn plows while others holding more conventional jobs, including factory work.
He and colleague Evadnie Rampersaud of the University of Miami were looking to see if physical activity in this group might offset the effects of the fat mass and obesity associated with the FTO gene, found in more than half of all people of European descent.
RISK OF OBESITY
People with two copies of the FTO gene on average weigh nearly 7 pounds (3 kg) more and are about 70 percent more likely to be obese than those who do not have the gene.
The volunteers wore a device called an accelerometer to track motion for a week.
The researchers compared body mass index or BMI, a measure of weight to height, and found those who were less active and had the FTO gene variant were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese.
But among the most physically active, the FTO gene made no difference.
Snitker said the study gives some perspective on how the obesity epidemic has evolved, as modern conveniences have reduced the need and opportunity for physical activity.
People in the most physically active group expended about 900 more calories per day than the low-activity group. That would equal three to four hours of moderately intense physical activity such as brisk walking, house cleaning or gardening.
"We probably carry genes that 150 years ago were not risk factors for obesity, but because of changes in our environment, they become liabilities," he said.
Snitker believes societies should step in to make more opportunities for what he called "free" exercise, making it easier to walk or bike to work, or to use public transportation that requires some walking.
The World Health Organization estimates 1.6 billion adults worldwide are overweight and at least 400 million adults are obese. That includes a third of all U.S. adults.
By Julie Steenhuysen http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080908/hl_nm/obesity_gene_dc

MASH Fun Run

Here's another local race, this one being put on by a group called MASH. MASH, which stands for Medical Aid Supplying Hope, was created as a means of introducing the community to a local non-profit organization called Medical Ministries International. This run takes place in Woodward Park on Oct 4 and they will be having a 4, or 2 mile run, and a kids fun run.

I've never done the run before and really haven't heard anything about it before, but ran across one of their flyers today. For more information check out their website at http://www.mashrunners.org/.

It's Never to Late for Exercise

Interesting study that shows it's never to late to start strength training.The below study suggests that in elderly women moderate and prolonged resistance training: (1) can determine similar adaptations in MHC distribution of skeletal muscle to those expected in young subjects; (2) can improve function of muscle fibres.

Long-term resistance training improves force and unloaded shortening velocity of single muscle fibres of elderly women.Eur J Appl Physiol. 2008 Aug 2. Parente V, D'Antona G, Adami R, Miotti D, Capodaglio P, De Vito G, Bottinelli R.
Four elderly women (78 +/- 4.3 years) were resistance trained (RT) for one year and needle biopsies of the vastus lateralis muscle were taken pre- and post-RT. A training intensity of 60% one-repetition maximum (1RM) was adopted for the entire duration of the study. Following RT, significant gain in isometric force of the quadriceps muscles was observed and MHC isoform distribution of vastus lateralis muscle showed a very significant shift from MHC-1 and MHC-2X towards MHC-2A, i.e. a bi-directional shift. A large population (n = 310) of individual skinned muscle fibres were dissected from biopsy samples and used for determination of cross-sectional area (CSA), specific force (Po/CSA) and unloaded shortening velocity (Vo) at 12 degrees C and maximum activation. Fibres were classified on the basis of their MHC isoform content determined by SDS-PAGE in three pure fibre types (1, 2A and 2X) and two hybrid fibre types (1-2A and 2AX). Whereas the CSA of individual muscle fibres did not change, Po/CSA was significantly higher in both type 1 and type 2A fibres post training. Vo of type 1 fibres was significantly higher post-training, whereas no change in Vo was observed in type 2A fibres. The number of pure type 2X fibres was very low especially post-training and did not enable a statistically significant comparison. The data suggest that in elderly women moderate and prolonged RT: (1) can determine similar adaptations in MHC distribution of skeletal muscle to those expected in young subjects; (2) can improve function of muscle fibres.

The Aerobic Fallacy

For all of you spending countless hours on the treadmill doing steady state cardio, I have found a great article for you to read. This article by Kyle Newell published on EliteFTS.com does a great job discussing why aerobic training is not the best type of training when looking to lose fat mass.
Read on:

I believe that it’s part of my job as a fitness expert to bring the science to you. Much of what is currently out there is based on nothing but tradition and acceptance. You can do what you want with the information I’m going to present, but all I ask is that you at least give it some thought.
This may come as a shock to you, but to sculpt a lean, muscular, athletic, and toned body, aerobic exercise is one of the worst ways to achieve this desired look. Aerobics means “with oxygen” and in terms of exercise, much of what is seen in the gym on the “cardio” equipment is aerobic. The reason I’m quoting “cardio” is because cardio is not the same thing as aerobics, yet the two are used interchangeably every day.

All aerobic exercise is cardiovascular in nature, but not all cardiovascular exercise is aerobic. Cardio simply means any mode of exercise that stresses the cardiovascular system so weight training is cardio too. Some other forms of aerobic athletics include bicycling and marathons.
Before I get into the science of this topic, just realize that aerobics did not become hugely popular until the late 70s/early 80s. The studies that were coming out regarding the benefits of aerobic exercise were funded and put out to the public by the companies that were making the “cardio” equipment to put in all of the gyms going up around the country. Think about the timing of everything. Gyms did not start to become popular until this time when fitness was brought to the mainstream by none other than one of my heroes, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hmm, so all of a sudden when gyms started exploding in this country, aerobics became great for us, and studies just “happened” to coincide with this time period? I have no problem with aerobics if the person truly enjoys it. It can be a very stimulating experience. My problem is with the misapplication of aerobics to sculpt the lean physique that so many of us are after.

For those of you who have seen Pumping Iron, notice that Arnold was in the best shape of his career, yet he performs no aerobics, just intense weight training and dieting. When Arnold made his comeback to the bodybuilding stage in 1980, he had bought into the aerobics revolution also, and the physique he brought to the stage was the smallest, softest, and out of shape of his entire career.

Aerobics train the nervous system and musculature system to become slow. It stresses our type I muscle fibers (slow twitch and red ones—remember this for later on). These are not the fibers that we want to stress if our goal is to gain some muscle and lose body fat. Those fibers are the type II fibers (fast twitch and white). So already you can see that if you’re performing intense resistance training and hours a week of aerobics, you’re stressing two different systems, which is not a good thing.

Let’s examine the chicken and the duck. Now, you know that dark meat has a lot more fat than white meat. The chicken is predominantly white meat, and the duck is predominantly dark meat. Myoglobin, which carries oxygen molecules to the muscle for work, is what makes the meat dark. The duck can fly for thousands of miles while the chicken can’t even get off the ground for more than a few seconds. Yet, the chicken is much more muscular and lean. Ducks are aerobic, and they store fat for very effective use.

Aerobics trains the body to become very efficient at using fat and storing fat because the predominant fuel source in aerobic exercise is fat. Did you ever hear of the “fat burning zone?” Throw it out the window. It is quite possibly one of the most misleading pieces of fitness information ever! If your car is more efficient at using fuel, is it going to use more or less of it? The correct answer is less of it, which is great for your wallet but not your body if we’re talking about efficiency of fat use for exercise. We want the hummer engine, the big gas-guzzler, the most fuel inefficient car we can find to burn body fat.

To equate this to exercise, we want high intensity exercise with rest interspersed. We want a very large oxygen deficit. In a study by Tremblay and colleagues, it was demonstrated that high intensity exercise, specifically intermittent, supra-maximal exercise, is the most optimal for fat loss. There were two groups—the long, slow distance aerobic endurance group (LSD) that was on their program for 20 weeks and the high intensity interval training (HIIT) group that was on a program for 15 weeks. The amount of energy utilized (calories) by the LSD group was DOUBLE that of the HIIT group. However, six skin fold measurements demonstrated greater loss in the HIIT group than the LSD group. When this was expressed on a per energy basis, the HIIT group’s reduction in skin folds was nine times greater than the LSD group. That is what you call more bang for your buck (Willey 2007).

The HIIT group created large post-exercise oxygen consumptions (EPOC), which can take up to 48 hours for your body to fully recover from. This is where fat loss occurs, not during the hours spent on the treadmill. In another published study by R. Bahr and performed at the Department of Physiology at the National Institute of Occupational Health in Oslo, Norway, it was demonstrated that low intensity (defined as 65 percent of maximum heart rate for less than one hour) led to a total EPOC of only five calories. On the other hand, intensive exercise where the heart rate was above 85 percent of the maximum, led to EPOC values of up to 180 calories (Staley 2005).

As I have said in the past, the body is incredibly adaptive. What used to take 30 minutes on the cardio equipment to burn 300 calories will soon take 40 minutes, then 45, and then 50. What you are doing is creating the body to be a fat storing, super efficient, fat burning machine! Think about it. Do all those people at the gym who slave on those machines ever seem to change? Maybe when they first start, but it has been shown that with this type of exercise, the body becomes almost completely adapted after the first eight weeks. Go to any 5K, marathon, or bike race and 60–70 percent of the people who cross the finish line are fat.

If the body is more efficient at burning and storing fat, this will also equate to a lowered metabolism, which, again, is not a good thing. We are looking for exercise that takes the body hours to recover from (large EPOC). You will not even be aware of this recovery, but if you were put in a lab, oxygen debt would still be elevated for a few hours to 48 hours! Did you ever notice that even after running a few miles, you could hold a conversation during it or immediately following it? The human body recovers very quickly from aerobic exercise. This is not optimal for fat loss.

For those of you aerobic athletes, there was another study done by Tabata in Japan that showed anaerobic interval training actually caused greater increases in AEROBIC capacity, more so than the group that actually performed aerobic running! That is just a piece of information to use when you want to switch up your training and do some shorter duration type of stuff.

Which is leaner and more muscular—the marathon runner or sprinter?

Sprinters such as Ben Johnson of Olympic infamy were known to go to McDonalds and see how many Big Macs they could eat, often downing 5–6 without a problem and staying shredded. These athletes have created those big gas-guzzling machines that I was talking about earlier. Look at gymnasts. They never do aerobics, yet it can be argued that they have the best physiques of any group of athletes out there. Their training consists of explosive high intensity bouts of exercise often with nothing more than their body weight.

In a different capacity, aerobic athletes, most notably marathon runners, are the most injured group of athletes in the world. Every time the foot strikes the ground, 3–5 times the body weight is applied in force up through the skeletal system. Ouch! The stress hormone cortisol is also produced in very large amounts when the body is constantly performing aerobics. Despite what you see on those silly commercials, cortisol is essential to the human body. However, high amounts will cause the accumulation of body fat, most visibly around the mid-section. High cortisol will also negatively impact your adrenal glands over time. Distance runners who train upward of 100 miles per week do not expend more than 800–1300 “extra” calories each day above their normal energy requirements (McArdle 2001). Does that sound like it was worth their time investment?

How do you make sure your exercise is intense enough? If you can hold a conversation once a set or interval is completed, you are more than ready to go again. Remember, you are trying to create a deficit. What about the really heavy person who lost massive amounts of weight from their aerobics program? They would have lost weight doing any form of activity that took them out of their sedentary state. The composition of weight lost also needs to be looked at. If you are just performing cardio, your precious muscle is being used as a fuel source, thus it is completely common for people to lose tons of weight yet be a fatter, smaller version of their former self. This will happen because the composition of weight lost will come from muscle and fat, not predominantly fat.

I know that many of you will be resistant to this idea, and this concept may not even catch on in my lifetime. However, I did enjoy making you aware of this information! If you like to run and jog and ride bikes, great. Go for it. I’m all for it. As I said before, I am. Activity is awesome, any kind. Just realize what benefits you are trying to get from it. I have been studying and trying systems of resistance training that allow me to get as “shredded” as I need to without stepping foot on any more cardio equipment.

Kyle Newell is a strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) located in New Jersey. He is a physical education teacher and high school strength and conditioning coach at South Brunswick High School in New Jersey. He specializes in body transformation and sport specific conditioning and is pursuing his master’s degree in exercise science through the University of Texas Pan American. He is also a competitive bodybuilder in addition to being a certified sports nutritionist (CISSN). Kyle is available for online consulting. Just remember that proximity has nothing to do with expertise. He can be reached through his website at http://www.bodyperformancecoach.com.
source: http://www.elitefts.com/documents/aerobic_fallacy.htm

Upcoming Events in Fresno

Coming up in Fresno we have some of my favorite fun runs.

First up is the St. Agnes sponsered Cross-City Race on Sept 21 '08. This event takes place downtown and starts in front of City Hall. You can register for either a 10k or a 2 mile run. They also have short races for the kiddies including a 1 mile, 1/2 mile, or a 1/4 mile run. Race proceeds benefit Saint Agnes Cancer Services. There's usually a pretty big group of people for this one with lots of booths set up, bounce houses, a good amount of post race food to eat, always fun. For more information go to http://www.samc.com/.

Next is the Trail of Two Cities coming up on Nov 9, '08. This should be pretty exciting because this year they are offering a full marathon in addition to their usual 1/2 marathon. They've also changed the course this year with the start being in Woodward Park. They are also having a Health and Fitness Expo, and a Post-Race party, plus all race finishers get a sundae in the finisher's area. For more information go to http://www.trailof2cities.com/

A Great Way to Start Your Day

Looking to start your day off the right way? Tired of having a boring breakfast? Well it's time to give up that sugar filled, cold breakfast cereal, and give this a try. A Breakfast Frittata.

What you're gonna need:

4 eggs (omega-3 if you got em)

1 small squash

1 small zucchini

1 tomato

4 oz fat free shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup low fat feta cheese, crumbled

Couple basil leaves, sliced up

Pam cooking spray

What your gonna do:

Pre-heat your oven to around 375 F.

Slice up your squash and zucchini, into bite sized pieces, throw then into the microwave 5-6 min or until nice and tender. Cut up the tomato into bite sized pieces.

Get a 9-in baking pan and spray it down with the cooking spray. Place the squash, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and feta cheese into the dish.

Whisk up the eggs, and then pour it over the veggies.

Bake it up for 45-50 mins.

Variations:

You can add just about any veggies you want I usually do spinach, green beans, peas, sometime broccoli. If you want you can also add some turkey sausage, or turkey bacon for a little extra flavor.

Runners Live Longer and Have Fewer Disabilities

Interesting article showing the benefits of running on mortality. I wonder if they would get similar results if the research was done with different exercise modalites, like strength training.

From: Archives of Internal Medicine.
Chakravarty E, et al "Reduced disability and mortality among aging runners: a 21-year longitudinal study"Arch Intern Med 2008; 168: 1638-1646.

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 11 -- Regular running in middle age and beyond may lengthen lifespans and retard the disabilities of aging, a longitudinal study showed.Runners ages 50 to 72 had a 40% reduced risk of being moderately disabled or of dying after a 21-year follow-up than healthy controls, Eliza Chakravarty, M.D., of Stanford, and colleagues reported in the Aug. 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.Disability and survival curves continued to diverge between groups after the 21-year follow-up as participants approached their ninth decade of life, they added.Action Points Explain to interested patients that the study authors concluded that the advantages in survival and disability found in runners supported recommendations for regular physical activity in all age groups.Point out that the study documents associations but cannot prove causality."Our findings of decreased disability in addition to prolonged survival among middle-age and older adults participating in routine physical activities further support recommendations to encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity at all ages," the researchers said.The study began in 1984, when 538 members of a nationwide running club for those 50 and older and 423 healthy controls -- Stanford faculty and staff members ages 26 to 70 -- were recruited to complete yearly questionnaires.At baseline, runners were younger (mean age 58 versus 62), leaner, more likely to be male, and less likely to smoke than the controls (P0.001 for all).Both groups had little disability -- measured using the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI), which asked the participants about their level of difficulty in completing eight tasks -- but runners had a significantly lower mean score compared with controls (P0.001).Two previous reports on this cohort showed that disability was decreased and survival was increased in runners at eight and 13 years of follow-up.A total of 284 runners and 156 controls completed the study through 21 years of follow-up, and the results extended the previous findings.Disability scores increased with time for both groups, but at a significantly greater rate for the controls (0.016 points/year versus 0.007, P0.001). Runners had significantly lower mean disability levels at all time points.Runners took longer to reach various levels of disability compared with controls -- for example, it took 2.6 years for controls to reach a mean HAQ-DI score of 0.075 and 8.7 years for runners, for a difference of 6.2 years (95% CI 3.9 to 8.9).Among participants who had a baseline disability score of zero, runners had a significantly lower risk of being moderately disabled (HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.84).Through follow-up, 15% of runners died compared with 34% of controls (P0.001). In a multivariate analysis, runners were 39% less likely to die than controls (HR 0.61, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.82).Rates of death were higher in controls than in runners for cardiovascular disease (P=0.001), cancer (P=0.004), neurological disease (P=0.007), infections (P0.001), and other causes (P0.001).The study's findings were similar when the participants were divided into ever-runners -- those who ran regularly for more than one month at some point in their lives -- and never-runners.The authors suggested several possible reasons for the disability and survival advantages found in runners, including "increased cardiovascular fitness and improved aerobic capacity and organ reserve, increases in skeletal mass and metabolic adaptations of muscle with decreased frailty, lower levels of circulating inflammatory markers, improved response to vaccinations, and improved higher-order cognitive functions."They acknowledged some limitations, including the self-reported data, possible self-selection bias, and potential confounding by unmeasured lifestyle variables.In addition, they said, the results of the study may not be generalizable beyond the mostly white and college-educated study population.The study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute on Aging.The authors made no financial disclosures.