The Incredible Benefits of Regular Exercise

"If exercise could be packed in a pill, it would be the single most widely prescribed and beneficial medicine in the world" - Robert N. Butler, M.D. - Former Director, National Institute on Aging.  That is a pretty bold claim, but as we will see below it is true.

We all have experienced having a “good” day versus a “bad” day and it all starts with your attitude.     Exercise immediately affects your attitude towards yourself, your day and everyone you meet in an extremely positive way!  Exercise directly and measurably affects your brain chemistry, and has been shown in several studies to be more effective than anti-depressant medication in treating depression.     

Proven Benefits of Exercise and Consequences of Inactivity

Exercise is very helpful for preventing and treating anxiety.

Exercise boosts brainpower, ability to learn and memory and helps create new brain cells by increasing levels of brain derived neurotropic factor.

Exercise helps prevent age related cognitive decline by boosting chemicals that support and prevent the degeneration of the hippocampus.

Exercise boosts productivity - studies show that workers who take time for exercise on a regular basis are more productive and have more energy than their more sedentary peers.

Exercise can help control addiction by boosting release of dopamine, the reward chemical.

Exercise reduces stress response and increases your ability to relax.

Lack of activity is the single most significant modifiable risk factor for all causes of disease!   

According to the CDC “more Americans are at risk of heart disease through physical inactivity than through high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or smoking.”

6 out of 10 Americans are at risk for heart disease because they do not get enough physical activity!

Exercise reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes and can help reverse the condition if you have it.

Exercise strengthens your muscles and bones and is very important for preventing osteoporosis.

Proper exercise can help prevent falls which are a leading cause of injury and death in seniors.

In the Harvard Alumni Study the data showed that exercisers between the ages of 35 – 79 increased their longevity by .7 years for each increment of 500 calories per week in leisure-time activity they performed.

Exercise is proven to improve sleep both in terms of making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep through the night.

Exercise is proven to help prevent and treat impotence in men, and lack of sexual desire in men and woman.

Exercise is one of the only ways proven to increase HDL (Good) cholesterol.

Exercise can help to lower blood pressure.

Exercise helps control the symptoms and pain of arthritis and helps reduce the need for pain medication and anti-inflammatory medication.

Exercise improves many cases of low back pain.

Regular exercisers automatically do a better job of matching calorie intake to calorie output – meaning they tend to naturally not overeat.

The fitter you become the easier exercise gets so unlike diets the results of exercise improve over time!

Although diet without exercise can result in significant weight loss – ALL diets become less effective over time as the body always adjusts resting metabolic rate down in response to any and all forms of calorie restriction so without the addition of exercise all diets ultimately fail!

So get started today and remember doing something is way better than doing nothing!   Just a short walk is a start and if you can make it a habit it will start to make a difference in how you feel which can help provide the motivation to do more exercise.    Exercise has proven to be a keystone habit meaning many people who start exercising find it much easier to make positive changes in other aspects of their lifestyle as well!

The Incredible Benefits of Regular Exercise

"If exercise could be packed in a pill, it would be the single most widely prescribed and beneficial medicine in the world" - Robert N. Butler, M.D. - Former Director, National Institute on Aging.  That is a pretty bold claim, but as we will see below it is true.

We all have experienced having a “good” day versus a “bad” day and it all starts with your attitude.     Exercise immediately affects your attitude towards yourself, your day and everyone you meet in an extremely positive way!  Exercise directly and measurably affects your brain chemistry, and has been shown in several studies to be more effective than anti-depressant medication in treating depression.     

Proven Benefits of Exercise and Consequences of Inactivity

Exercise is very helpful for preventing and treating anxiety.

Exercise boosts brainpower, ability to learn and memory and helps create new brain cells by               increasing levels of brain derived neurotropic factor.

Exercise helps prevent age related cognitive decline by boosting chemicals that support and               prevent the degeneration of the hippocampus.

Exercise boosts productivity - studies show that workers who take time for exercise on a                     regular basis are more productive and have more energy than their more sedentary peers.

Exercise can help control addiction by boosting release of dopamine, the reward chemical.

Exercise reduces stress response and increases your ability to relax.

Lack of activity is the single most significant modifiable risk factor for all causes of                     disease!

According to the CDC “more Americans are at risk of heart disease through physical inactivity than through high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or smoking.”

6 out of 10 Americans are at risk for heart disease because they do not get enough physical activity!

Exercise reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes and can help reverse the condition if you have it.

Exercise strengthens your muscles and bones and is very important for preventing osteoporosis.

Proper exercise can help prevent falls which are a leading cause of injury and death in seniors.

In the Harvard Alumni Study the data showed that exercisers between the ages of 35 – 79 increased their longevity by .7 years for each increment of 500 calories per week in leisure-time activity they performed.

Exercise is proven to improve sleep both in terms of making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep through the night.

Exercise is proven to help prevent and treat impotence in men, and lack of sexual desire in men and woman.

Exercise is one of the only ways proven to increase HDL (Good) cholesterol.

Exercise can help to lower blood pressure.

Exercise helps control the symptoms and pain of arthritis and helps reduce the need for pain medication and anti-inflammatory medication.

Exercise improves many cases of low back pain.

Regular exercisers automatically do a better job of matching calorie intake to calorie output – meaning they tend to naturally not overeat.

The fitter you become the easier exercise gets so unlike diets the results of exercise improve over time!

Although diet without exercise can result in significant weight loss – ALL diets become less effective over time as the body always adjusts resting metabolic rate down in response to any and all forms of calorie restriction so without the addition of exercise all diets ultimately fail!

So get started today and remember doing something is way better than doing nothing!   Just a short walk is a start and if you can make it a habit it will start to make a difference in how you feel which can help provide the motivation to do more exercise.    Exercise has proven to be a keystone habit meaning many people who start exercising find it much easier to make positive changes in other aspects of their lifestyle as well!

How to Manage the Work/Rest Ratio in HIIT Training

High Intensity Interval Training aka HIIT training is all the rage and there are many different HIIT training protocols circulating, but to produce the best results it is important to understand how to manipulate the Work/Rest Ratio.    The Work/Rest Ratio is the ratio of time spent working in the high intensity interval to the time spent in the recovery interval and there is no one ideal Work/Rest Ratio. In fact there are three different methods you can use to design interval training programs based on how you manipulate the Work/Rest Ratio.

Fixed Work, Fixed Recovery

This is the most common method and often used for group training because it keeps everyone working together.   In this method the amount of time spent in the work phase is fixed as is the amount of time in the recovery phase.   For example the ever popular “Tabata” Protocol is a fixed work, fixed recovery protocol using 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of recovery done 8 times.    Another example is the “Peak 8” protocol which uses 30 seconds of work and 90 seconds of recovery.   Needless to say there are endless variations of fixed work, fixed recovery interval protocols and each one feels different and allows for a different level of relative intensity.    The advantage of these type of protocols is that they are very simple to design and very easy to track using a simple timer, and if using heart rate monitoring you can adjust the actual work intensity and recovery intensity based on individual heart rate response.   Also this is a very easy way for a trainer to manage a group as mentioned previously.

Fixed Work, Variable Recovery

In this method the amount of time spent working is fixed, but recovery time varies based on heart rate response.  This method is a more precise way to do HIIT training where each work interval begins after the heart rate slows to a predetermined point correlated with a specific level of individual recovery.  The advantage of this method is it can be customized to each person based on their goal, age and current fitness level.   An example would be doing a 1 minute work interval with a fit 20 year old and setting the recovery threshold at say 120 beats per minute (a relatively low exercise heart rate for a fit 20 year old).  So he would work as hard as he can for 1 minute then go into recovery and stay in recovery until his heart rate slows to 120 beats per minute.

Variable Work, Variable Recovery

This method varies work time AND recovery time based on preset work heart rates and recovery heart rates.   For example using the same example of a fit 20 year old you might set a goal work heart rate threshold at 180 beats per minute – meaning that you keep him working hard until his heart rate hits this work threshold and then immediately begin recovery.    Then you would keep him at a reduced work rate until he hit a predetermined recovery heart rate threshold such as 120 beats per minute.    This is a highly sophisticated and highly individualized way of exercising with precise management of work and rest customized to the individual.

Have some fun and experiment with each of these to prevent plateaus in your workout progress!

Egg Yolks vs No Egg Yolks

Eggs in general and egg yolks in particular have gotten a bad rap for raising cholesterol and increasing the risk for heart attack and stroke.     This is not the case and in fact US Dietary Guidelines have been changed as per this quote from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) “cholesterol is not considered a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.”

Not only are eggs and egg yolks not bad for your health the fact is that egg yolks are full of essential nutrients including cholesterol!  That’s right you heard it here – cholesterol is an essential nutrient.   In fact it is so essential that every human being manufacturers cholesterol in their liver every day.   The more cholesterol you take in from food the less you have to make because make no mistake if we eliminated all cholesterol from your body you would soon die!  For the vast majority of people intake of cholesterol and saturated fat have little impact on circulating levels of cholesterol and of the “bad” types of cholesterol including LDL.   In fact high egg consumption (including the yolk) has been linked to increases in the HDL (good cholesterol).

Egg whites are primarily albumin which is a highly absorbable from of protein, but unlike egg yolks, no one worries about egg whites being unhealthy.    Besides cholesterol egg yolks contain several key micronutrients.  For example, yolks (but not whites) contain vitamins A, D, E and K along with omega-3 fatty acids. Egg yolks also contain more beneficial folate and vitamin B12. The yolks also contain far more of the nutrient choline than the whites, and all of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin.

So why all the negative press on egg yolks and why do bodybuilder always choose egg whites only?   It all started with the research of a guy named Ancel Keys.   In his famous “7 Countries Study” Ancel Keys deliberately elected to only base his analysis and conclusions on 7 countries vs the 22 countries he actually looked at.   Why?  Because this is the only way he could show a link between dietary fat intake and coronary artery disease aka heart disease.    Once you add in all 22 countries the supposed link disappears!

This deception is a fact and easy enough for anyone to verify by taking a little time to look at Key’s research and the research refuting his conclusions including long term longitudinal research studies like the Framingham Study which are the gold standard.   Even in the case of the Framingham Study people tried to twist the facts.  However this quote from William Castelli, the former director of the Framingham Heart study, says it all:  "In Framingham, Mass., the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person's serum cholesterol. The opposite of what… Keys et al would predict…We found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active."  It has taken a while but the facts are finally starting to penetrate the American Nutritional Recommendations.  Now we are in no way suggesting you deliberatly eat more saturated fat and cholesterol or that eating more will make you more healthy - but clearly cholesterol is not something to be afraid of!

As to body builders not eating egg whites they are focused on maximizing protein and minimizing calories so while yolks are not bad for you they do have more calories and fat than the whites which are mostly protein.   However you should keep in mind that a whole egg (yolk and whites) has about 78 calories with the vast majority coming from the yolks.   Make no mistake calories DO count, and a little fat goes a long way because fatty foods contain twice the calories of non-fatty foods!

Eggs are a very healthy food choice with high levels of protein and nutrients (if you eat the yolks!), and if you choose free range, organic eggs you are eating a veritable nutrition powerhouse.    Another good compromise is to eat say one whole egg and mix in more egg whites to maximize protein without loading up on fat!  Like all things it is probably best to eat them in moderation, but egg yolks are not something to be afraid of!

Mastering the Kettlebell Swing

Kettlebells are all the rage in fitness, and when used properly they are fantastic tool!   However not everyone needs or should do all the exercises possible with a kettlebell and like all things a mastery of the basics is the necessary foundation for advancement.     For the kettlebell that foundation is all about mastering the Kettlebell Swing.

The swing is a hip hinge movement NOT a squat!    Most people do not know the difference which is the first challenge.    The following shows an unloaded hip hinge using a dowel (can use a broomstick or anything light) to keep the spine in perfect alignment which is key!

 Start by doing hip hinges holding a rod held at hips and head to groove hip hinge pattern – you should feel it in hamstrings (back of your leg) and butt! Also notice how the knees do NOT move forward over the toes showing that all the movement is occurring at the hip joint.  Do NOT progress until you can do reps like this correctly and have fully grooved the movement pattern.

                               

Next drop the rod and pick up the kettlebell holding it to your chest and repeat the hip hinge – if you feel it in your back you are doing something wrong!    See the picture below:

To insure you really feel the proper mechanics put toes/ball of foot up on thin board which forces weight into heels and repeat movement – you should really feel it now in hamstrings and glutes and be hinging NOT squatting!  This should really help to lock in the right technique.    See picture below:

Then progress to kettlebell deadlift – stand over kettlebell with bell between heels – hip hinge (do NOT squat) to grip kettlebell handle with arms straight and shoulder retracted.  Stand-up squeezing glutes and drive hips forward but do not hyper-extend.   Repeat until they have this movement grooved.    See picture below:

Once you have mastered the deadlift you are ready to do swings!  Start with kettlebell on the floor in position like you are going to hike a football then  hip hinge with back flat, hips back knees NOT flexed forward with hands holding top of kettlebell handle in hook grip and head in neutral position.  Head neutral shoulder back and down with lats tight like the picture below. 

 “Hike” kettlebell back between legs bracing core so that kettlebell is ABOVE the knees! Should brace core as kettlebell hits bottom position and drawn in belly button slightly.

 Then extend the hips – arms DO NOT lift kettlebell – it should go up from the hip snap – keep shoulders down away from ears and retracted and lats tight – bell should not rise above shoulders.

 Let kettlebell fall back and as it reaches the hips hinge the hips back again.

At end of swing replace bell in front of body in hike position THEN relax body and release bell – VERY important to keep hinge position and brace until bell is back in starting position.   To see a great video on this progression click here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYHbu2LRqD0   This video made by Mike Boyle is one of the best there is to teach a kettlebell swing progression.

Once you have mastered the swing movement begin to link your breathing with the movement: Inhale as you swing down and exhale sharply at top of swing.     Remember to brace you core as you hit the bottom of the swing.    Recommended starting weights are about 36 pounds for men and 25 pounds for woman or if you have access to kettlebells marked in kilograms use 12 for woman and 16 for men.   Then slowly progress.

Once you have the movement do big sets of 20 – 40 reps and build to the point where you can complete 200 – 300 repetition in a workout 2 – 3 days per week.      When you get here you and everyone around you will start to notice a difference!

Blackberries – The Unsung Berry!

Fresh blackberries were recently identified as a top cancer fighter.  Blackberries are actually cluster of fruits, similar to grapes, and the seeds inside contribute to the berry’s nutrient value.

Blackberries have one of the highest antioxidant contents per serving of any food tested. In a 2006 study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, scientists indicated that blackberries’ antioxidant content was far above that of other foods. This means that regular consumption of blackberries may have a positive impact on health, athletic performance and disease risk.

One of the many phytochemicals in blackberries is Anthocyanins. This flavonoid gives blackberries their dark color.   Anthocyanins have been shown to protect the brain from oxidative stress and may even reduce the effects of conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Blackberries have also been shown to have beneficial health effects in the fight against many forms of cancer.

Blackberries have a sweet, tart flavor, making them a perfect for salads or smoothies. They are also great as a topping for yogurt.  Blackberries are also great all by themselves!

Blackberries are also easy to store.  Just wash the berries, cut off the hulls, and seal in a Ziploc bag and freeze.   The other option is to purchase frozen blackberries which are prewashed.   In addition organic blackberries are always the best option, and frozen organic blackberries are much easier to find then fresh ones!

Health Benefits of Blackberries

Blackberries are a nutritional powerhouse loaded with vitamin C, low in calories (only 43 calories per 100 gram serving) and sodium. They are also high in both soluble and insoluble fiber.   A 100 gram serving of blackberries contains 5.3 g of fiber which is about 20% of the RDA!   Blackberries are also rich in vitamins A, E, K, and B vitamins, as well as the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin which are important for eye health and play a role in helping to prevent several chronic diseases. Blackberries also contain other minerals and nutrients including copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid.

In addition blackberries contain high levels of other powerful phytochemicals including ellagic acid, tannin, gallic acid, pelargonidins, quercetin, cyanidins, kaempferol, catechins, and salicylic acid. These plant chemicals help prevent aging, inflammation, cancer, and other neurological diseases.

Studies on Blackberries

Ellagic acid, found in generous amounts in blackberries, has been shown to inhibit cancer formation.   The beneficial combination of chemicals in blackberries may effectively prevent cancer more than any one of the individual phytochemicals by itself.

Blackberries can also have beneficial effects on brain health.   The high anti-oxidant levels in blackberries may help prevent age-related memory loss!

The Dumbbell Snatch - Your Key to Power

The Barbell Snatch is unquestionably one of the most amazing exercises you can do to develop power – the ability to produce lots of force quickly! Power is king in athletic performance and it helps us mere mortals in many situations as well. There are several popular power exercises, but the barbell snatch is thought by many professional conditioning coaches to be the best way to develop total body power. Unfortunately it is not an easy exercise to learn, and it can take months of work with an experienced Olympic Lifting Coach to master the movement. More importantly, if you do not do it correctly or if you have issues with shoulder, hip, or ankle mobility; you can hurt yourself trying to do this lift. Enter the dumbbell snatch!  

Start with feet apart and feet rotated out slightly from your hips. Feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width. Hold a dumbbell with one hand in front of your thighs with your knuckles facing forward. Squat down keeping torso upright and maintaining a slight arch in your lower back. Arm holding dumbbell is kept straight with dumbbell between the legs with knuckles still facing forward.   Do not let the shoulder slouch forward or down! The movement is initiated by driving up quickly by extending the knees and hips. Picture yourself jumping up in the air holding a dumbbell. As you come up shrug your shoulders and pull the dumbbell upward, allowing your elbow to pull up and to the side of your head. Keep the elbow over the dumbbell as long as possible. Then pull your body under the dumbbell, catching it at arm’s length while moving into the squat position. Once you catch the dumbbell over your head, stand up with dumbbell overhead. Lower dumbbell to your shoulder then down to the original position in front of your thigh and repeat.

Simply put think: jump, shrug, drive elbow, and catch the dumbbell overhead!

Here is a great video of the dumbbell snatch from Michael Boyle:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRA_8jrlT3U and another view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpE1ZtbZQpQ

Start with a relatively light weight – 20 – 25lbs men – 15 – 20lbs woman. However, once you get a little feel for the movement, you need to go up in weight – you want to use enough load that you have to use the power of your legs and hips to generate the power to throw the weight up – your upper body just guides the dumbbell – it does not do the heavy lifting!

After a dynamic warm-up do sets of 3 – 5 reps on each side starting with 2 – 3 sets each side to 5 sets each side with sufficient recovery between sets so that you can focus on doing each repetition with good form!

Is Fish Really a Healthy Food?

For years we have been told that fish is a healthy food, but that is not always the case!   Unfortunately, both freshwater and saltwater fish are increasingly loaded with toxic chemicals making a very healthy food very unhealthy.    The good news is that you can find fish that is not toxic and provides all the many health benefits of fish without the toxins.      The key is knowing how to ask the right questions to know what you are eating.

First it is important to understand that predator fish like shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tuna can be very high in toxins such as mercury.   Also fish that live for extremely long periods of time accumulate more mercury like Tilefish.  Mercury is not something to play with – it is one of the most if not the most potent neurotoxin on the planet.   The larger one of these predator fish is the more mercury it contains.  For these reasons it is best to completely avoid shark, swordfish, Pike, and tilefish because they always have large levels of mercury because of their size or longer lifespan.  Smaller and younger line caught tuna is much lower in mercury, and there are brands available that line catch tuna and insure that they have lower levels of mercury including “Wild Planet” and “Safe Catch” Tuna.    

The Dangers of Farm-Raised Fish

Farm raised fish (which is most of the fish in the super market) is the most toxic food on the planet!   This includes most catfish, salmon, and tilapia you see in super markets and restaurants!    Farmed raised fish are fed a concoction of pesticides, antibiotics and other drugs and chemicals.     According to researcher Jerome Ruzzin Ph.D., from Norway, farmed salmon is one of the most toxic foods in the world and contains over 5 times more toxins than any other food product tested!  Most of the toxins in farmed fish are from the food used to feed these fish.  The pellets they are fed contain dioxins and PCB’s to name a few of the worst toxins.    Bottom line:  avoid all farm-raised fish like the plague!

What about Freshwater Fish?

Unfortunately many freshwater rivers, lakes, and streams are highly polluted and fish from these waterways are chock full of toxins like their farm-raised brothers.    Most large rivers in the US are highly polluted including the following top 10 most polluted waterways in the US:  the Ohio River, the Mississippi River, the New River, the Savannah River, the Delaware River, the Muskingum River, the Missouri River, the Shonka Ditch, Tricountal Canal, and the Rock River.   Lakes are often no better including all the Great Lakes which are highly polluted.    So unless you know for sure where a freshwater fish was caught and know the body of water is clean you are best to avoid freshwater fish.  

What fish should you eat?

Despite the challenges in finding healthy fish it can be done and it is definitely worth the effort.     Healthy varieties of fish include Alaskan Salmon often referred to as “Wild Alaskan Salmon”.     Alaska watches how companies throw their name around so if it says “Alaskan Salmon” it is indeed from Alaska and it is some of the healthiest fish there is and none of it is farm-raised.    Alaskan Salmon is high in omega 3 fatty acids and other nutrients such as astaxanthin (a potent antioxidant in salmon that helps give them their red color).   Canned Alaskan Salmon is easy to find and allows you to obtain the benefits of eating this healthy fish when fresh caught is not available.    Best products include BPA free cans like “Wild Planet” or “Vital Choice” brands.  For the record "Atlantic Salmon" is a code word for farm raised salmon so avoid it and only eat "Alaskan Salmon".

Smaller tuna is also a great choice and there are brands that only use smaller line caught tuna including “Wild Planet” and “Safe Catch” brands.   Both use BPA free cans as well.     Like Salmon tuna is chock full of protein and Omega 3 fatty acids.

Smaller fish such as sardines and anchovies are also fantastic – loaded with omega 3 fatty acids, calcium, protein and very low in toxins because of their small size and very short lifespan!   They are also very easy to find and brands with BPA free cans include “Wild Planet”, “Crown Prince”, “Ocean Prince”, and “King Oscar”.    

The Infamous Tabata Protocol!

Of all the many protocols available for High Intensity Interval Training by far the most famous is the Tabata protocol.  Izumi Tabata (a Japanese Researcher at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports) tested a protocol that had been developed and used for several years by the Japanese Speed Skating Team.

Tabata tested two groups of male college students who were majoring in physical education who were fit at the beginning of the study.     Before starting each subject in each group was tested on a bicycle ergometer to determine their maximum oxygen consumption and workload at that level.     Then one group trained 5 days each week for 6 weeks at 70% of their individual maximum oxygen consumption for 60 minutes.    The other group trained using a unique high intensity interval protocol on the bike.   This group exercised at 170% of their maximum oxygen consumption (this is an all-out sprint!) for 20 seconds followed by a 10 second recovery period for a total of 8 times done 4 days per week for 6 weeks along with one day per week of moderate intensity cycling for 30 minutes.

The results this unique interval training protocol produced – which is clearly a major anaerobic exercise stimulus – were quite amazing!   The interval training group had a 28% improvement in anaerobic capacity along with a 7% improvement in maximum oxygen consumption compared to no improvement in anaerobic capacity and a 5% increase in maximum oxygen consumption for the group training at 70% of maximal oxygen consumption for an hour!   So the group doing the “Tabata Protocol” (as it is now known) trained for a total of 16 minutes of interval training and 30 minutes of steady training for a total of 46 minutes of training per week compared to 5 hours of training per week for the lower intensity training group yet had superior results!

The key is that the Tabata Intervals were truly all out — 170% of maximum oxygen consumption means they had to truly pedal as hard and fast as they could so this protocol is not for the faint of heart.  But the results speak for themselves and particularly amazing considering the subjects were fit BEFORE they started the study so you can expect even better results with less fit individuals!

If you want to give the Tabata Protocol a shot choose an exercise modality that allows you to quickly ramp up intensity at the start of each work interval and also quickly decrease intensity at the end of each work interval.    So fan based rowers and bikes are a great choice as are self-powered treadmills and running in place or on a track.    Powered treadmills are NOT a good choice because it takes too much time for the treadmill belt to speed up and slow down and this can cause falls!

Use a timer and there are many free interval timers for cell phones including “Tabata” timers.    Warm-up thoroughly for 10 minutes on the modality you will be using – you should break a sweat but not push to the point of difficulty breathing.  

Once warmed up set your timer for 8 intervals of 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off.    Hit start and go as hard as you can for the next 20 seconds!   Then ease up immediately at the end and go slowly (you will need every second of recovery you can get!).    Repeat 7 more times.    If you are doing this correctly, you will be wondering how you can possibly finish all eight intervals by the end of the third or fourth interval – those 10 second recovery periods feel like nothing!   Hang in there and finish!

When you are done the final work interval continue moving slowly until you are fully recovered – do not stand and stop because blood can pool in your extremities and make you feel faint if you do.   This protocol should not be done more than 3 times per week on a longer term basis – you will not fully recover if you do and overtraining is not a good thing!

The Importance of Sleep in Successful Weight Loss

Everyone knows that sleep is important to look and feel your best, but what many people do not realize is that lack of sleep directly and significantly reduces your ability to lose weight and keep it off!  In fact a recent study suggests that missing out on just 30 minutes of sleep per day can increase your risk of obesity and diabetes.

There are several reasons for this phenomenon, but on one level it is pretty easy to understand.    If you do not get enough sleep you will not have energy to live a healthy, active lifestyle, and when you are tired it is very easy to skip workouts and spontaneously reduce overall activity.

Sleep: Your Body’s Best Friend

Sleep is important for just about all the systems in your body, and lack of sleep reduces cognitive function including reduced reaction time, impaired decision making and memory.  Sleep is also essential for the repair and recovery of the body.

Even if you think you get enough shut-eye you may still be suffering from the symptoms of sleep deprivation.   Unfortunately just a little sleep deprivation can have a significant effect on weight gain.

How Lack of Sleep Causes Weight Gain

Lack of sleep increases the levels of a stress hormone called cortisol, and cortisol increases appetite significantly.  Sleep deprivation also saps willpower and decision making ability so not only are you hungrier – you are more likely to make poor food choices.     Sleep deprivation is a stressor and when you feel stressed you tend to choose high carb foods which boost serotonin.

At the same time the body’s ability to handle carbs properly is reduced.    Your cells become less sensitive to the effects of insulin called insulin insensitivity which is what type 2 diabetes is all about.   If lack of sleep is a chronic condition you quite literally can make yourself gain weight and become diabetic!

In addition when you are really tired, a hormone called Ghrelin is boosted while Leptin levels drop.   This is quite literally a double whammy because Ghrelin increases hungers and Leptin tells you when you are full and satisfied.   So you are hungrier and yet you do not feel as satisfied when you do eat so you eat more!

In fact, studies have shown increased calorie intake of over 300 extra calories per day in sleep-deprived people.

How To Improve the quality and time you spend sleeping

There are simple steps to keep lack of sleep from sabotaging your weight loss efforts.  The first step is to figure out your bedtime based on when you need to get up in the morning.    Count back a full 8 hours and set that as your bedtime.   You also want to wake up at the same time all the time because having a consistent bed-time and waking time helps set your body clock.

It is also important to avoid all sources of caffeine except for first thing in the morning.     Caffeine is not a horrible thing, but too much too late can really have a big negative impact on your sleep.     Also avoid alcohol because drinking reduces the quality of your sleep as well.    Just cutting down or cutting out alcohol and caffeine often makes a dramatic difference in sleep quality within a week to 10 days.

The other key is making sleep a priority.  Sleep is directly linked to higher quality of life and resistance to illness and disease.    Sleep is as or more important than diet and exercise so make getting a good night’s rest a priority.