From Scott Sonnon's blog on some research done by the Joslin Diabetes Center and reported in March 2008

http://www.rmaxinternational.com/flowcoach/?p=199

Many people know that I don’t use refined sugars - the world’s most popularly abused drug. Since the fitness industry is finally collapsing and reforming into the wellness revolution, understanding the global impact of drugs on your health, performance and aging is of critical importance. I for one intend on hitting at least 3 digit age. If you want a long, high-quality life, then pay attention!

“Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have shown that insulin has a previously unknown effect that plays a role in aging and lifespan, a finding that could ultimately provide a mechanism for gene manipulations that could help people live longer and healthier lives.

The paper, published in the March 21st issue of Cell, reports that insulin inhibits a master gene regulator protein known as SKN-1, and that increased SKN-1 activity increases lifespan. SKN-1 controls what is called the Phase 2 detoxification pathway, a network of genes that defends cells and tissue against oxidative stress — damage caused by elevated levels of free radicals (byproducts of metabolism) — and various environmental toxins. The new finding was demonstrated in experiments on the digestive system of C. elegans, a microscopic worm often used as a model organism.

“We’ve found something new that insulin does and it has to be considered when we think about how insulin is affecting our cells and bodies,” said Dr. T. Keith Blackwell, senior investigator at Joslin and author of the paper. “This has implications for basic biology since under some circumstances insulin may reduce defense against the damaging effects of oxidative stress more than we realize.”

Finally a really nice day, warm & sunny.

Since we only had 5 people today and it was so nice we played outside,

Here's the workout.

Prowling for Pukie!!

each station is 30 secs. for 1 handed work and the prowler, switch at 15secs

Prowler

box jumps

swings 1 handed

press

snatch

 This was tough but not brutal, everyone did  well. The prowler didnt make too much noise on the asphalt. Next time I think I'll make it 1 minute rounds.

I wish I had a camera, we would have had some good pics. 

 Went to Bernheim, what a wonderful afternoon!!!

Walked 3 trails, 2 were strolls basically, the 3rd was the IronOre trail, still not much. All the people I passed going the other way seemed pretty tired. Next time I will walk it the other way. About 1.5 hrs & 2.5 miles

Muscle & Fitness (M&F), THE magazine for body-builders sent a writer to a CrossFit affiliate and he wrote a 15 page article on CrossFit.

Here is a video clip of part of a workout

Ignore the overhead swings please......

Look for it in the May issue of M&F on newstands April 7th. 

No foolin' here. This one is tougher than it sounds

You are going to do a descending ladder of snatches alternated with an ASCENDING ladder of burpees.

It looks like this:

10 snatches L&R / 1 burpee

9 snatches L&R / 2 burpees

8 snatches L&R / 3 burpees

7 snatches L&R / 4 burpees

6 snatches L&R / 5 burpees

5 snatches L&R / 6 burpees

4 snatches L&R / 7 burpees

3 snatches L&R / 8 burpees

2 snatches L&R / 1 burpees

1 snatch L&R / 10 burpees

If you don't know what a burpee is:

From a standing position squat deep, put your hands on the ground and kick both feet back. You should now be in a pushup position. Do a pushup. Quickly bring both feet back under you. Don't bring the feet together, you want them where they are when you a squat. With your weight on the back part of the foot begin to stand and as you come up JUMP!!!. The easy way is to jump high but point the toes down, keeping the legs straight. The hard way is to do a tuck jump, or knees to chest.

To make the burpee harder, drop from a standing position straight to the top pushup position. That is, don't break the movement down into a squat then hands to flor etc. One motion.

To make it even harder, drop to the BOTTOM pushup position, pushup then finish it off.

 Next up, (because the 1st part wasn't enough work) is a descending Turkish get-up ladder. 

TU 5/4/3/2/1 

That is 5 TGUs starting from the floor on each arm, then 4,3 2,1. You may choose to do a floor press each rep, if you so desire. Don't go too heavy and focus on proper form.

 For you die-hards, do some abs. We did some ab work with clubbells, however you can use a medicine ball too. Or you can do ab wheel rollouts if you don't have a clubbell.

Now all I need is a good name for it.

Enjoy

A very inspirational video clip. This guy lost 130 lbs in 270 days using the Yoga For Real Guys system. It doesnt really matter what form of exercise you use, what matters is your determination, dedication and willingness to work hard.

This is from Steve Maxwell, former Sr. RKC instructor and Champion Brazilian JuJitsu competitor. Steve has been doing kettlebells for years, even before Pavel started teaching them in the U.S. Visit Steve'sBlog at http://maxwellsc.blogspot.com/

Ten Reasons I Don't Do Aerobics

I spend my days at a corporate gym. It's a sweet gig and a temporary livelihood.

One morning, while observing a female member endlessly running the treadmill-to-nowhere-fast, I realized I see the same people returning day after day, iPods silently blaring or, worse, mindlessly captivated by one of the ten wall-mounted television screens, while grinding away on those steppers and treadmills.

The drudgery of their Sisyphean tasks compels their attempts to lose self-awareness by inundating themselves with external stimuli. Often, their bodies reflect this lack of self-awareness in skewed gaits and other imbalances.

These same people come in religiously to get the feel-good fix, believing somehow their mindless, movement addiction is in some way benefiting them. Interestingly, they stay fat, show no progress, and sometimes even get fatter, especially after holidays. Most of these people are loathe to touch a weight, much less engage in any kind of productive strength-training. You see this same phenomenon in gyms all over the country.

Some will say, "Well, some exercise is better than none,"

But I say, if you're going to spend the time, why not produce something worthwhile?

Here are ten reasons why I don't do aerobic exercise:

But first, what is aerobic exercise? Any steady state locomotion elevating the heart rate into the zone for twenty minutes or more. The zone is determined by formulas based on age and resting heart rate.

Now, ten reasons why it not only doesn’t work but is a poor use of exercise time:

1. Oxidative Stress
   Which causes a breakdown of tissues. It also predisposes one to cancer and heart attack.

2. Elevated cortisol production
   Which causes a breakdown of muscle tissue and increases fat storage or depot fat. People do aerobics to alleviate stress yet end up creating more stress.

3. Lowered testosterone and HGH levels
   For men, aerobics are a form of chemical castration. Low T-levels are associated with lowered libido, depression, anxiety, increased body fat and decreased muscle tissue. This contributes to muscle-wasting and lowers the basal metabolic rate.

4. Increased appetite and a tendency toward binge eating patterns
   Aerobic exercise makes people hungry!

5. Excessive Muscular Fatigue
   Making it difficult to do other more productive forms of activity. Aerobics creates muscular weakness.

6. Conversion of fast-twitch muscle fibers to slow-twitch
   The loss of fast-twitch muscle fibers contributes to aging and the loss of explosive power and speed. People become slower and slower.

7. Burns a relatively small amount of calories vs. the time spent
   One large meal completely offsets the pitiful amount of calories burned in an hour aerobics session.

8. Overuse injuries to the feet, ankles, and knees from excessive, continual force transmitted throughout the body
   This is exacerbated by over-engineered running shoes which cushion the feet in such a way to create a neural amnesia.

9. Shortening i.e., deformation, of the muscle tissue from repetitive mid-range (partial range) movements
   This creates inflexibility, immobility, and muscle imbalances. Besides being tight, the bodies postural alignment becomes compromised. Aerobics create tight, inflexible bodies that are in chronic pain.

10. Adrenal burnout
    A consequence of the “feel good” neurotransmitters which also stimulate the release of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the fight or flight hormone. Excessive adrenaline creates an addictive response and people going routinely for the so called “high” of running end up with adrenal burnout, e.g., chronic fatigue and depression.

Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the father of aerobic exercise (and the person who coined the term) completely recanted his assertions regarding aerobic exercise. After observing a disproportionate number of his aerobic-enthusiast friends die of cancer and heart disease, he reversed his ideas on the benefits of excessive aerobic exercise. He now claims anything in excess of 20 minutes has greatly diminishing returns. In fact, he's now an advocate of scientific weight training.

In strength and health,

Steve

No more grunting, moaning, breathing heavy, dropping weights, yelling or anything else that others might find intimidating......

 It also has a "lunk alarm" - an actual alarm that goes off when someone grunts, groans, pounds their chest or does any other obnoxious gym behavior - and a staff trained to shoo away bodybuilder types.

"We don't cater to the big guys, the bodybuilders. Our whole thing is a non-intimidating atmosphere," said co-owner Ron Huling, who owns the local Planet Fitness franchise with Mahdi "Andy" Abro. "Eighty percent of our members have never been in a gym before. It's our judgment free zone - no body builders, no power lifters, no grunt and groaners.

"We simply are regular people and we guard that environment."

Not everyone who grunts and groans during workouts is a bodybuilder or powerlifter. Generally, making noise means you are working hard. 

If you want to be like normal people then you need to go to Planet Fitness, at IronBody Fitness we will scare you with our loud noises and dropping of weights.

 http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/02/planet_puts_new_spin_on_gym.html

There are four main health issues caused by coffee and the over-consumption of caffeine:

1) Exhausted Adrenal Glands: Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant. It causes the adrenal glands secrete adrenaline, the hormone your body depends on in emergencies to elevate your heart rate, increase your respiration and blood pressure for a rapid flight-or-fight response. When you overuse stimulants, the adrenals become exhausted. If your caffeine sensitivity has diminished or you’re one of those who claims you can drink 3 shots of espresso and go right to sleep, guess what? Your adrenals have given up responding. This means you have less resistance to stress, which leaves you vulnerable to health hazards such as environmental pollutants and disease pathogens. As we age, the adrenals become more and more important to us as the production center of the essential youth and sex hormones including DHEA, pregnenolone, progesterone, testosterone and estrogen. Many people in their forties find they can no longer tolerate the same level of caffeine consumption as they could in their twenties and thirties. The multiple effects of aging become apparent in the forties and the body frequently shows an increased variety of reactions to the toxicity of coffee and caffeine. The adrenals can be considered the storage center for the vital force, your inherited reservoir of energy. They need nourishing to keep them in optimal health. Think of your adrenals as a bank account. If you continue to make withdrawals without any deposits, you will hit bottom with a looming overdraft in the form of depleted energy and health.

2) Severe Blood Sugar Swings: Caffeine forces the liver to release glycogen into the blood stream. The pancreas responds to the sudden rise in blood sugar by releasing insulin, the hormone which causes excess carbohydrates to be stored as fat. Within the span of an hour or two, the result is a sharp blood sugar drop resulting in a state of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). That’s when you think it’s time for another cup of coffee and the whole cycle starts up again. As Barry Sears advises in his book, The Zone, achieving a hormonal balance and blood sugar stability allows you to maintain your natural weight and optimal energy level. He counsels that the breakdown of caffeine causes the pancreas to release too much insulin, thus creating a climate in which excess carbohydrates are stored as fat and are unavailable for use as energy by your brain. Although caffeine is a metabolic stimulant, the ultimate effect is to increase your appetite and contribute to weight gain and thus caffeine should be avoided by anyone working to reduce body fat.

3) Acid Imbalance: Over 208 acids in coffee can contribute to indigestion and a wide variety of health problems resulting from over-acidity associated with arthritic, rheumatic and skin irritations. Many people experience a burning sensation in their stomach after drinking coffee because coffee increases the secretion of acid in the stomach. Optimal health calls for an alkaline pH balance in the body. Caffeine breaks down into uric acid, which the body excretes through the kidneys. An excess of uric acid taxes the kidneys and can cause kidney stones and gout. Additionally, men have to be concerned about prostate conditions that may be aggravated by coffee consumption.

4) Essential Mineral Depletion: Coffee inhibits the absorption of some nutrients and causes the urinary excretion of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and trace minerals, all essential elements necessary for good health. Women need to be concerned about osteoporosis as menopause sets in. Studies show that women who drink coffee have an increased incidence of osteoporosis compared to non-coffee drinkers. Men are not immune to osteoporosis either. ¬There are a number of health conditions for which doctors advise their patients to eliminate coffee and all caffeine from their diet.

• Acid indigestion
• Anxiety, irritability and nervousness
• Candida or yeast problems
• Colitis, diverticulitis, diarrhea and other irritable bowel symptoms
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and other auto-immune disorders
• Diabetes or hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
• Dizziness, Meniere’s syndrome or tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
• Gout (Elevated Uric Acid levels)
• Heart disease or heart palpitations
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Insomnia and interrupted or poor quality sleep
• Liver disease and gallbladder problems such as gallstones
• Kidney or bladder problems including kidney stones
• Migraines or other vascular headaches
• Osteoporosis
• Skin irritations, rashes and dryness
• Ulcers, heartburn, and stomach problems such as hiatal hernias
• Urinary tract irritation

NY Times Article  

Correction Appended

One of the great unanswered questions in physiology is why muscles get tired. The experience is universal, common to creatures that have muscles, but the answer has been elusive until now.

Skip to next paragraph

Multimedia

Graphic

A New Explanation of Muscle Fatigue

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

 

Scientists at Columbia say they have not only come up with an answer, but have also devised, for mice, an experimental drug that can revive the animals and let them keep running long after they would normally flop down in exhaustion.

For decades, muscle fatigue had been largely ignored or misunderstood. Leading physiology textbooks did not even try to offer a mechanism, said Dr. Andrew Marks, principal investigator of the new study. A popular theory, that muscles become tired because they release lactic acid, was discredited not long ago.

In a report published Monday in an early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Marks says the problem is calcium flow inside muscle cells. Ordinarily, ebbs and flows of calcium in cells control muscle contractions. But when muscles grow tired, the investigators report, tiny channels in them start leaking calcium, and that weakens contractions. At the same time, the leaked calcium stimulates an enzyme that eats into muscle fibers, contributing to the muscle exhaustion.