In Useful Shame: Countering Junk Food and Smartphone Addiction, I looked at how social norms, manners, and shame have successfully guided cultural behavior with far more fluidity, elegance, and success than legal intervention. As society sprints towards an era of tech-addicted sedentary living and mass obesity (a 2016 Harvard study predicted that of those between ages two and 19, 57% would be obese by the time they were 35), culture is the only force with the power to pull humanity towards fulfilling behavior. We’ve seen this develop in regard to alcohol and can use that model to build more constructive social norms.

Alcohol abuse peaked during its prohibition. Since becoming legal again in 1933, culture has adopted a broad array of norms and expectations that guide behavior and pull most sub-cultures towards contained, less destructive drinking habits.

There are still alcoholics and drunk drivers, but social pressure pulls mature adults away from drinking and driving, drinking before 5, drinking alone, or regularly abusing alcohol. In fact, any pattern of these behaviors would likely evoke judgments that said-drinker was immature, reckless, or that he “had a problem.”

Likewise, society needs a language of norms to combat the modern threats pulling the masses towards self-destruction. In a very real sense, society is facing an explosion of chronic drunkenness on junk food and smartphones.

Regardless of norms, there will still be the defiantly addicted users, yet unhealthy behaviors can become appropriately ignoble and socially unacceptable with a willingness to identify broadly constructive habits of responsible use.

People want to be happier, healthier, and in control of their smartphone use. They intuitively sense that their devices are isolating and that they need to get their eating habits under control.

Destructive habits aren’t from a lack of interest, but a lack of direction. People have no model or education to prompt better living habits. This is the brilliance behind our cultural aphorisms surrounding drinking norms.

The excesses of drinking weren’t combatted by studying cirrhosis and the effect of alcoholism on relationships. We detected these issues all on our own. Solutions came from clearly defining broadly good and broadly bad behaviors.

By nature, aphorisms will be overly broad. There are occasions where I drink alcohol before 5 pm. After all, I’m in bed by 8 pm and I prefer happy hour margarita prices. Still, the wisdom of this proverb serves most people on most occasions and it informs a very real understanding in all of us that drinking at breakfast might be a serious issue.

But yet, again, on rare occasions I love a brunch bloody mary. The rare exception does not disprove the proverb’s wisdom. This is actually a perk of the aphorisms. Their overly simplistic nature allows each local subculture to adopt them adaptably allowing more or less flexibility depending on their value structure.

Likewise, the social norms we’d create for eating and smartphone use will not always mark hard and fast optimal courses of action. Yet, overall, society would benefit immensely by adopting simple socially reinforced expectations for responsible eating and technology use.

We need to clearly define the best overall behaviors if we want to see positive changes. Even if these new norms are overly simplified they’ll be socially constructive and, thus, beneficial to anyone not so narcissistically hypersensitive as to expect their feelings to trump a social discourse on human flourishing.

Now, without further ado, here are my, admittedly simple, proposed norms for responsible technology use and eating.

Responsible Technology Norms

1. No phones at the dinner table or any community meals. If a call or message comes in, ignore it. There could always be an emergency and yet, there never seems to be one. The off chance someone is calling or texting about something they deem time-sensitive does not warrant a habitual phone availability that interrupts connection and mindfully living your life.
2. No phones out during social activities. Watching a television show, entertaining guests, or even a casual evening watching the sunset should be protected from the all-encompassing phone vortex. You’ll probably be amazed at the quality of conversation and the games that spring from this mental space. Use for pictures is an obvious exception.
3. No phone scrolling while in locomotion. Enjoy a phone call or a podcast while driving or walking, but these seem like reasonable activities to partake of without looking down at your phone. Certainly, it seems that, most often, an inability not to check your phone in the walk from your car to the office might indicate an unhealthy degree of smartphone addiction.
4. No work email on the phone while at home. By requiring that we go through the process of logging on to the computer to check work email, we can ensure that only necessary, previously planned work emails pull us away from being present at home. Furthermore, you reduce the likelihood of a work email infecting your evening with anxiety when there is nothing that can be done before you return to work.
5. Create settings where the phone is silenced to all but your “favorites” an hour or two before bed. I’m 30. When I was growing up, in the age of landline phones, there was a general rule that you didn’t call people after 8pm. Likewise, we don’t ring doorbells late at night. This rule is simply the modern equivalent, creating necessary boundaries to allow us essential time unplugged.
6. No phones in bed. They are deeply disruptive to quality sleep and general relaxation. Engage in conversation with your spouse or read without the compulsion to comment, share, or scan.
7. Wait until 8th grade. Today we have a legal drinking age, but it is probably hardly necessary for most. Without one, culture would police the age kids drank to a more natural age where the privileges of use were slowly extended with maturity. If you were giving your 11-year-old access to the liquor cabinet, society would respond with resounding disapproval.

Likewise, there should be some sense of an appropriate age for smartphone use. My friends who have fourth and fifth-grade children report constantly having to hear whines about how everyone in their class has a smartphone. While nine-year-olds are certainly capable of hyperbole, the fact that they perceive this is terrifying.

As I’ve explained on many occasions, the smartphone is Pandora’s box. Early use will be deeply disruptive to activity levels, communication skills, creativity, ability to focus, and the development of a personality. Smartphones are an inevitability in their lives, but the great thing about being a parent is you get to dictate when they are given this addictive device.

I am a strong supporter of the Wait Until 8th Initiative. I’m confident that nearly all teachers, psychologists, and occupational therapists would agree that our youth would be far better off with social pressure dictating that kids did not get a smartphone until 8th grade.

Responsible Eating Norms

Confronting eating norms is far trickier because these destructive habits have been ingrained for so long. To raise the idea of publicly condemning a daily Pop-Tart or Frosted Flakes breakfast is to ignore the reality that push-back will be tremendous.

We should face it anyway. The costs are too high and the only avenue for change is a willingness to stand against the insanity that currently entrenches most in lifelong nutrition-related strife.

The most practical steps seem to be to promote education and empower people to defend their beliefs. Tell your school board you think their cafeteria options are disgraceful and that selling fast food and cookies in the halls is irresponsible. Most of all, adopt these broad norms and begin to insist on how logical they are.

1. Don’t eat factory-produced chemistry projects, except on occasion. The majority of foods and beverages that you eat should be minimally processed, whole foods that are available in nature. Preferably they come without a wrapper and if they have a wrapper, preferably there are very few ingredients, all of which you can pronounce. Also, if sugar is in the first three ingredients it is probably better defined as dessert.
2. Dessert is not daily. Dessert is a wonderful, occasional treat. Daily use is abuse. Pop-Tarts, most cereals, most granola bars, and anything you put syrup on is a dessert/sweets.
3. Don’t eat sweets alone—don’t have chips alone. This is similar to the norm of not drinking alcohol alone. Frequent compulsion should have some social inertia that pulls people up.
4. Drink mostly water. Water accompanies each meal. Soda, juice, Gatorade, and the like are all desserts.
5. There is no such thing as kid’s foods. Kid’s foods are probably deceptively unhealthy, inferior products. Certainly making them staples of our children’s diets seems to be a recipe for distortion.

To many, my norms will seem extreme, but for those willing to examine the issues closely, I’m confident these will strike as obvious. They are common sense for the common good.

Critics might counter, “What if people feel shamed by eating or using their smartphone in ways that deviate from these norms?” Well, that would be wonderful! They will either be pulled to more socially constructive behaviors or develop the ability to act in defiance of popular notions and not care what everyone thinks. Both are necessary developments for the good of all. Hypersensitivity can’t be honored if we wish to move society upward.

For all their vices, honor-shame cultures admirably identify values and pull behavior in that direction, whereas modern moral apathy celebrates how special everyone is independent of conduct. This is to our detriment. We must strive. Manners and norms can harness the power of honor cultures constructively.

The post Never Eat Sweets Alone appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Youth is spent in a constant quest for new experiences and fewer rules. We pine for the day we can watch R rated movies, stay up late, drive wherever we want, or go have a drink at a bar. Every new freedom is just a stepping stone to the day we are finally independent of any restrictions of parental dependency. The cruel twist is that if we are ready for this day, we’ll know that good living can only come from our own discipline. We are going to have to create our own rules or watch as mindless consumption and immaturity lead us down a path of regret and missed opportunities.

Most rebel from making these rules, however, believing them to be prison bars. Paradoxically, they are the opposite. Intentional guidelines and willpower free us from the common impulse enslavement where short-term pleasure is prioritized over long-term satisfaction and fulfillment.

As Jocko Willink has famously said: “discipline equals freedom”. Sacrifice is a non-negotiable of life. Discipline means choosing what really matters and intentionally sacrificing in the prioritization of a greater purpose.

Every successful person has rules they live by, whether that means daily exercise, having family dinners without TV, or always doing the day’s hardest task first. Personal rules are more important now than ever, as brilliant marketers embed themselves into every corner of our lives selling cars, sweets, drugs, television shows, or anything we could possibly be made to believe we “need”, or “deserve”. Even the digital media world this article exists within is predicated on a model of selling “human brain time”. Mindless consumption rules the day. As pleasures are promoted everywhere and society constantly tells us you have to do this or that, sanity can only come from boundaries.

With a biology inclined to gorge and rest and a world that makes this easier than ever, health can only follow a set of personal rules. Success is not restricted to only one path. We must personalize and prioritize based on our unique personality and needs. Still, there are a few boundaries I think are most freeing:

Nutrition Rules

Don’t Count Calories – This sounds like the opposite of good advice. I’ve basically started off the health rules section by eliminating restrictions. Yet, in all my time working in the fitness industry, I have never seen someone lose weight by counting calories and then keep it off for more than a year. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but it isn’t the norm.

This includes weight watchers, counting your macros, or any diet that revolves around meticulous tracking, especially when they are set up as 20 or 30-day fixes. These guess at daily calorie expenditure and ignore the metabolism X-factor while trying to manipulate calorie totals rather than grow to understand lifestyle habits conducive to long-term health. Nutrition is complicated and emotional. For most, my Only Diet that Works approach is all the health advice they need, at least until their habits have become a lifestyle of a few years.

No Added/Artificial Sugars – The evidence is in and added sugar is killing us. Despite its ubiquity in U.S. society, particularly around kids, It is as addictive as a drug with tremendous negative consequences. Want to make long-term health easy? Don’t count calories, but eliminate added sugars. You’ll eat mostly real food and the rest takes care of itself.

Intermittent Fasting – This is not for everyone, but I have found it most freeing and not just for the health benefits. Most people intermittent fast by finishing dinner and not eating again for 16 hours. For me it means dinner is done by 7 and I don’t eat lunch until 11 or 12. In the mornings I only drink black coffee.

At one point, I’d have thought this impossible, but I became intrigued after repeatedly noticing top performers, like Tim Ferriss and Pavel Tsatsouline had adopted this lifestyle. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to strike at a very human experience for which I’d never let myself become comfortable. I’d always been a hunger wimp convinced that I would melt if I didn’t eat every 4 hours.

Humans throughout history have faced food scarcity and had to operate, usually hunt, after significant periods of time without food. I am amazed how my relationship with food has changed. I now understand that hunger is a feeling that comes and goes. Jumping into a project almost always eliminates any consciousness of hunger and when I do eat, flavors pop like never before.

I now work out in a fasted state and feel far more alert and focused. Like good rules tend to do, it has freed me of some dependency. I’ve poked holes in the belief that I must have food to operate, thus allowing me to live in more flow.

Own the first 30 minutes of Your Day

This is essential for staying on vision and keeping sanity in the 21^st century. If you are like most people, you wake up and check your phone. Immediately you are being pulled by the tricks of the attention economy rather than your own intent. More than likely there is an email or a message and you are thrown into reactionary mode. My suggestion is no phone in the first hour. Whether you use this time for movement, meditation, reading, or journaling, it has tremendous potential to set the momentum and intention for your day.

Email and Messaging Boundaries

We waste a lot of time checking email and messages. Like moths to the flame, we’re subconsciously drawn to them, often unwittingly. Our neurobiology has been hacked. We crave the dopamine from scratching the messenger itch and exacerbate the issue by keeping our message alerts dinging and vibrating against us all day.

Other than the mental and emotional health consequences of our constant partial attention, they also rob our productivity as we never get into a state of deep work. The solution is to silence all the message alerts. Go to phone settings and eliminate sound and visual pop-ups. If people really need you, they will call. Then set up specific times in each day for email, phone messaging, and social media.

By batching these items in a couple time frames, you will waste for fewer mental calories transitioning in and out of reaction mode and will be far more focused on the tasks that really matter.

This isn’t about being rude, it is setting boundaries to reinforce how you want to live your life. What would you do if you weren’t addicted to social media? Read more? Go on more walks with your wife and dog? Talk to your kids about their homework? Mindful tasks usually trump the mindless.

Rules for Kids

Here I just want to list a few that I think have been lost from most parenting and yet have tremendous benefit to creating autonomous, inquisitive, balanced citizens:

1. Homework done first when they get home from school.
2. No TV until after dinner. Go outside!
3. Weekly chores must be done to earn privileges such TV and eventually the phone and driving.
4. Save 10% of income.
5. No phone until 8^th grade. No phone zones: outside, in car, in bed, at dinner, in group activities

Break the Rules

Be sure to think outside the box and don’t blindly accept other people’s rules-including mine!. There is no shortage of peer pressure telling you to act a certain way and most of it is just the imposition of other’s interests. You can quickly find yourself miles away from where you wanted to be if you live only to make satisfy expectations.

Why do you have to go to every 5 years old’s birthday party in your kid’s class? Why does your child need dessert every day? Why do you have to put your 9-year-old on a select baseball team that practices 30 minutes away and travels every weekend in the summer?. Be a critical consumer and question other people’s view of reality.

Also, unless you have a full-blown addiction of some sort, it’s a good idea to break your own rules occasionally. I like to plan these times and days. Friday I’m going to have pizza and drink wine. When I visit my brother next month, we are going to a diner for breakfast and crushing pancakes. On a random rainy Sunday, my wife and I might binge a couple episodes of Game of Thrones. Sometimes you’ve got to break the rules.

The post Simple Rules for Crushing Health and Life appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Getting fitter isn’t a punishment. Health and wellness should always be the priority. [Photo credit: Rx’d Photography]

After doing this in a PT setting for over a decade, I’ve noticed the most common observations discussed are:

• Performance goals, i.e. get fit, get strong, run a marathon, etc.
• The myriad of health issues and injuries they have.
• That they want to “feel better about themselves, by “toning” up or losing weight, etc.

Look at that list again and think about the order for a second. Do you see a problem?

If you roll up to my club with a smoke in one hand, donut in the other, reeking of alcohol, and wanting to train, then you don’t have a fitness problem, you have a health problem. If you are chronically injured or in pain, you don’t have a fitness problem, you have a health problem. The reality is people who are often overweight or in pain actually need to get healthy first. Some people, whilst they may think they do, really don’t know what they need first or truly know why they are going to a trainer to begin with.

Somewhere along the line, we have got health (and I mean mental health, too) and fitness all mixed up.

Fit Doesn’t Mean Healthy

I was fortunate to be one of the first Circular Strength Training (CST) Instructors with Coach Scott Sonnon in Australia back in 2010. One of Coach Sonnon’s philosophies with CST is “health-first fitness.” This really inspired me when I first started personal training people in large commercial gym settings over a decade ago. What I saw in the commercial environment was exactly like Coach Sonnon discussed online – people were building aesthetics (or, even worse, were there to just to mindlessly burn calories) at the expense of athleticism. Everybody wanted to have the body of the athletes they aspired to without being the athlete. Aesthetics were being developed whilst mobility, flexibility, flowing graceful movement, coordination, balance, speed, power, agility, and other athletic attributes were being sacrificed. They were building fitness on dysfunction and frequently getting injured, all just to look good.

While I was keeping my body healthy doing all my “weird” joint health stuff (between 2001-2004, this stuff wasn’t cool or in vogue like it is now), ground-based bodyweight yoga flows (now in vogue too) and coincidentally lifting more, these athletes were walking away from weight training. Of course, they were looking great, but were in chronic pain. Ruining your health to look good just didn’t make sense to me. I thought, “Why not get a great body as the by-product of being healthy and training intelligently, and not the other way around?”

I started to notice that being fit (whatever that means) didn’t equate to being healthy. If we extrapolate this further we can look at the chemical cocktails that many pre-workout and post-workout supplements contain, and they are quite simply toxic. Most people haven’t got healthy eating happening, but will spend hundreds of dollars on supplements instead. We could look at the nutritional programming some adult females follow that have the caloric intake of a child or small teenager while they do HIIT to try and look like an insta-bikini model that has the genetics and a body type they will never have. I have even worked with trainers that would consume around one kilogram of red meat per day, doing testosterone replacement therapy in their twenties, whilst claiming to be healthy.

It’s clear many people value how they look more than whether they are healthy or not. I am not sure what pisses me off more – the fact that these people are clearly unhealthy whilst claiming to be clean-eating health advocates or that other people are so stupid as to follow them. Hey, that’s totally ok, as long as you are cognizant of what you are doing and it aligns with your values of aesthetics before health. But let’s be clear: it certainly isn’t healthy.

External Validation, Self-Worth, and Other Monkeys

Body image is a big, big problem. This means there is a breakdown in how we are thinking and the quality of our thinking.

My experience has ironically shown me that many people actually need to feel better about themselves first before they “get fit.” Yes, it’s a little like the chicken or the egg dilemma. Sure, once people start moving and get into their fitness journey, it can be a great catalyst; they do start to feel better as a result. But, oddly enough, it’s often the case that when people first feel better about themselves that they start to gravitate towards the things that are healthier for them – not the other way around. Let me give you an example.

Look at the emotional eating cycle. Enter negative thought and then emotion, deal with emotion X by self-medicating with food or drugs, self-judge and criticize for not sticking with the diet, and then feel further guilt or emotion X, and then catastrophically self-sabotage and self-medicate again with food and drugs. Or punish with exercise. Then rinse and repeat. It is a real vicious cycle. And it’s conditioning we even do to our kids by rewarding or soothing with food.

What this example indicates is that perhaps the quality of our thinking and our ability to process our emotions in a healthy way, rather than using food and drugs to self-medicate, is really the issue for a lot of body composition goals. A trainer coming in and saying the obvious, like “you need to eat better and move more,” as their best advice is just infuriating. The bigger question is, with all the information out there, why aren’t they?

In my opinion, some people would be better suited to start with a counsellor, not a personal trainer.

“Healthy thinking = perfect body.” This is a quote from self-help guru Byron Katie. In other words, when the quality of your thinking is better, then your experience of yourself and your body is, too. When you stop trying to be a perfectionist, stop self-judging and being so self-critical about your body and start to accept and love yourself, your focus changes. You just can’t ever be happy in your own skin if you are constantly comparing and competing with others, judging yourself and others, or obsessing over every little region of your body or your training program. This mental shift takes people away from poor self and body image, the “Adonis complex” and an unhealthy obsession with exercise and the perfectionist pursuit of the perfect body (which simply doesn’t exist). It means unconditionally loving your body right here and now regardless of where you are on your health and fitness journey – if you are even on one. It means your self-worth isn’t dictated by your weight, clothing size, how much you squat, or what your straddle-press handstand is like.

Rather than inquire into our thoughts and where they come from, or looking to deal with our emotions in a healthier way, we have become masters of self-medication. I have often heard “you don’t hate yourself enough to do something about it.” Maybe that has helped some people get off the couch to do something about their health, but the reality is it’s probably the very reason why they aren’t.

Longevity, Health, and Hobbies

What I have found is that when client’s motivation is health, they are more likely to adopt a long-term lifestyle of moderate physical activity and movement. I don’t mean exercising for the sake of burning calories either. I mean finding pursuits and hobbies that create passion, interest, and excitement – ones that are about learning, self-development, play, movement. Health will often trump aesthetics as a long term motivator, and finding sports and physical pursuits, passion, or practice. Why? Because they are intrinsic. Intrinsic motivators are often better for creating long term success and results than extrinsic ones such as external validation.

My guess is that training purely for aesthetic reasons is often driven by external validation and gratification, which is the stuff you should be giving yourself. As Byron Katie says, “It’s your job to like yourself, not others‘.”

What the Longest Living Cultures on the Planet Can Teach Us

In his book The Blue Zones, Dan Buettner identifies longevity hotspots in Okinawa (Japan), Sardinia (Italy), Nicoya (Costa Rica), Icaria (Greece), and Loma Linda (Seventh Day Adventists in California). Buettner offers explanations on empirical data and first hand observations as to why these populations live healthier and longer lives. In fact, the first three allegedly produce a high rate of centarians, suffer a fraction of the diseases that commonly kill people in other parts of the developed world, and enjoy more healthy years of life.

The people inhabiting Blue Zones share common lifestyle characteristics, and Buettner provides a list of lessons that contribute to their longevity. Excluding family, social, and spiritual factors (which were big players) they are:

• Less smoking
• Semi-vegetarianism. Except for the Sardinian diet, the majority of food consumed was derived from plants.
• Constant moderate physical activity as an inseparable part of life (several hours daily).
• Legumes being commonly consumed
• Stress reduction
• Moderate caloric intake
• Low alcohol intake, especially wine.*

* I’d also add fresh air and water and enough quality sleep.

How many people do you know get all this correct before they start training or have got this right on their current training program?

The best results I have had with changing body composition and overall fitness have come from getting these exact things on track. It hasn’t been from “smoking” them in workouts. It’s been from getting their thinking right. It’s been from removing the negatives and the things that got them to where they are. It hasn’t been from giving them the next wiz-bang training program or supplementation plan.

It’s not the daily increase but the daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.

– Bruce Lee

The more I train people, the more I realize we need to focus less on adding things to our lives and more on what negatives we can remove to improve our physical and mental health. Say no to working longer hours. Say no to more alcohol and indulging (read: self-medicating with food and alcohol). Say no to the TV, computer, tablets, phones, and staying up late. Say no to the self-judgment and that little voice inside your head that says you aren’t enough or are unlovable. Say no to punishing yourself in your workouts and guilt Mondays in the gym. Say no to the negative internal dialogue and self-talk.

For many people about to embark on the getting fit journey or those who are currently training and not getting results, my advice is this: try taking a step back, first to getting your head right, and second to getting your health right.

The key to longevity in health and fitness? Remove complications:

Simple Does Not Mean Ineffective

The post Inside-Out-Health Before Fitness appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

There are many reasons for their resistance. Let’s see how you can be more effective at making a difference.

Reason #1: They Are Intimidated by Your Hardcore Routine

Working out isn’t natural for most people. Barbells, torn up hands, sweat, soreness, and Facebook posts about a vomit bucket don’t appeal to them. And those kettle balls look dangerous. Even a perfectly reasonable strength program can seem intimidating to someone who doesn’t lift.

The solution: Break down the barrier by explaining that while exercise is essential for health, for some people it can be a hobby as well. Discuss that it doesn’t have to take over their life, and there are certain exercises that can help them without sweat and tears. You need to convince them that making small changes can pay big dividends. Otherwise, why would they bother if they aren’t planning to commit to a big program?

Reason #2: Talking About Training Makes Them Defensive

Nobody likes to be called out. It immediately brings up a defense shield. They know they are overweight, or weak, or whatever the problem may be. It’s a sensitive issue.

“You don’t have to be a trained coach or therapist to make a difference. Just be helpful, non-judgmental, and leave the door open for people to ask for help.”

The solution: Just be helpful and leave the door open for them to ask for assistance. People will hint at topics that they want to talk about but may not be ready to hear your answer. For example they may say, “I would give it a go, but I’m too overweight. Maybe in some other life.” Instead of agreeing or saying anything too direct, a good response would be, “I struggle with these kind of things too. If you ever need help or guidance I am here for you.” They may want to talk about it immediately, or it may take time. At least you gave them confidence that you will not judge them and just want to help.

Reason #3: They Feel They Don’t Have Time

Time is just a barrier. It may be a real issue, or it may be an excuse to change the subject. Either way, you can help them gain confidence by showing them that there are things they can do.

The solution: They may ask you for help, but don’t pour it on them. “I would exercise but I have no time” is an invitation for you to say, “Sure, it can be time consuming, but you can still get a benefit by doing a few minutes each day.” I love giving people five push ups a day. By accomplishing this, they win (who doesn’t like to accomplish what they said they would), and it can lead to more confidence. The person will find more time because it is something that makes him or her feel good, and so they naturally want to do more.

Reason #4: Bad Experiences in the Past

I’d like to talk specifically about diets here. Almost everyone has tried a stupid diet at some point. They are not ready for the thought of doing another diet. However, doing something proper and reasonable is a tough sell because it will take too long to see results, or so many people think.

“By relating to their issue, you can become a source of support rather than an outsider who is way beyond what they can feasibly envision themselves doing. “

The solution: Don’t sell anything. Get them to come up with the solution. Ask questions and listen. Something like “What is the main thing holding you back?” can lead to answers such as “too much sugar,” “no time to cook,” “cookies at the office,” or whatever. Take their answer and ask another leading question such as, “What easy change can you make to start to chip away at this issue?” If a person comes up with a solution his or herself, they are much more likely to do it because they own it. Just keep asking questions that will break the problem down to a few simple solutions.

Reason #5: Just Not Sure They Can Stick to Something

This problem is basically a summary of what we already discussed. It comes down to self-confidence and support. Previous failed attempts at exercise or diet can raise some serious barriers. Give people the opportunity to win. The 10,000 swing challenge may not be the best program to convince someone that lifting is cool. Ten hip raises a day may be the best program for them.

The solution: You don’t have to be a trained coach or therapist to make a difference. Just be helpful, non-judgmental, and leave the door open for people to ask for help. By relating to their issue, you can become a source of support rather than an outsider who is way beyond what they can feasibly envision themselves doing.

You’ll also enjoy:

• The 5 Most Annoying Fitness Questions I Get Asked at Parties
• Let’s Talk About Diet, Part 1: Quantity Versus Quality
• The Max Effort Black Box Program for the Family Man (or Woman)
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post 5 Reasons Your Friends and Family Don’t Listen to You About Health appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

As a former professional baseball player, my whole life is centered around fitness, but I am willing to admit I am right there with most of you when I say I have taken time to indulge. But I also take the time to reboot and crack down on my diet and fitness and give my body the attention it deserves, and so can you.

Over the next twelve weeks you are going to detox like you’ve never detoxed before, and in the end you will have built a toned muscular base, eviscerated most of your unwanted body fat, and achieved an emotional state that leaves you energized, pain-free, and happier than ever. Pretty neat, huh?

Being a beach bum was fun, but now it’s time to get back on track.

Detoxing. Isn’t That Some Naturopathic Doctor Gimmick?

While you may find “detox” supplements all the rage on your favorite daytime television programs, this is far from the meaning of detox in relation to this training program. When you think of detox, think of removal of unnecessary toxins and bodily waste and not miracle supplements that simply do not exist.

For example, taking a cranberry supplement may or may not make you urinate more as it is a natural diuretic, but so will drinking more water. What we need to focus on in this detox is promoting optimal hormonal output of testosterone and growth hormone, in both men and women, that may have been hindered by a bad diet and drinking excess amounts of alcohol. Women produce testosterone too, and if you’re looking for the firm glutes that you see on every fitness magazine, you’re going to need your hormones at optimal levels.

What’s the Big Deal About a Few Beers?

Scientifically, alcohol has been proven to inhibit protein synthesis necessary for maintaining muscle and building new muscle in response to both acute and chronic consumption. The muscular degradation from alcohol continues in that it interferes with both male and female hormonal output. In men, acute consumption of alcohol can lower testosterone significantly and further when chronically consumed because it is toxic to the testes.

“This program was designed to remove the bad from your system and give you a well-rounded base of health in the nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal systems.”

In women, acute consumption of alcohol can cause menstrual irregularities by lowering progesterone and chronic consumption can cause infertility and the disappearance of a menstrual cycle altogether by raising levels of prolactin. Furthermore, just a few drinks every night can cause alcohol withdrawals upon cessation of drinking that leads to severe insomnia for a majority of alcohol users.

Disruption of hormonal levels in men and women combined with poor sleep due to alcohol have a terrible effect on the body and muscle tissue quality. Because tissue repair occurs during sleep, alcohol throws a wrench into the amount of quality tissue we can build and maintain. Feeling flabby, weak, and in pain is a direct result of less muscle being built and more fat being stored. In order to overcome this pattern of bad choices and a questionable diet from eating out, barbecues, and the fats and simple carbohydrates that come with it, a detox plan is necessary.

Alcohol consumption can even inhibit the building of strong bones and can lead to osteoporosis, so you’ll be taking shots of compound lifting instead of whiskey to increase the quality of bones throughout your body.

Whiskey led you astray? Exercise is a proven remedy.

Workouts That Boost Liver Function

In order to return your body to an optimal physical state, the function of the liver must be returned to normal. Your liver filters your blood, removing and neutralizing toxins such as alcohol. Higher than normal alcohol intake and consumption of dense fats can stress the liver and elevate levels of enzymes circulating in the blood because a liver cell has died.

“In order to obtain optimal liver function, you must decrease the amount of fat stored in your liver and abstain from further impairment by eliminating alcohol from your diet.”

The good news is that exercise, if performed correctly, can lead to a better functioning liver and, thus, better filtration of toxins. Oxidizing fat by working out will lead to less fat content in the liver and lower liver enzyme levels. The goal of a workout beneficial to the liver should be to oxidize fat, and early on that is the first and foremost objective of this workout. Once a significant amount of fat is oxidized, the liver will function better and lead to a healthier you with lower levels of bodily toxins.

Connective Tissue Is Important, Too

If you have been on a catabolic (muscle wasting) diet of high fats and alcohol consumption, chances are your joints aren’t feeling too good. That’s reduced protein synthesis not only affects your muscle tissue, but also your ligaments, tendons, and cartilage. Decreased protein synthesis affects collagen production, too. Collagen is responsible for healing and repairing your battered joints. A significant amount of joint-mobility and flexibility work is essential to restoring healthy joints.

The Program

By now you’re probably sick of hearing about the damage you have done and want to know what you can do to improve the situation. This program runs in three phases – a liver boosting phase, a general fitness phase, and a strength building phase that will leave you feeling incredible.

Phase One: Liver Boosting Phase (3 Weeks)

In order to obtain optimal liver function, you must decrease the amount of fat stored in your liver and abstain from further impairment by eliminating alcohol from your diet. In this phase, I recommend consuming 20 oz. of water every hour, as you will be losing a lot of water from sweat.

I also recommend that you lower your dietary fat intake to between 10-15% per day with a high percentage of your diet coming from complex carbohydrates you will need for energy and lean proteins you will need for tissue repair. Because the alcohol withdrawal effects may include insomnia, make sure you give yourself enough time to get at least 8-9 hours of sleep per night, not including time in bed awake. If needed and not contraindicated for you, you may want to use an over-the-counter sleep aid during the withdrawal period.

“The post-exercise boost in endorphins will leave you feeling happy, and you will notice in this phase that you find that feeling becoming more prevalent throughout your days.”

The workouts are performed in high-intensity circuit style, with a mix of resistance training for muscular endurance and calorie burning and anaerobic/aerobic exercise. Limiting rest periods coupled with high-intensity bouts will produce optimal levels of growth hormone, which is ideal for muscle tissue growth and fat oxidation.

The post-exercise boost in endorphins will leave you feeling happy, and you will notice in this phase that you find that feeling becoming more prevalent throughout your days.

Restoring joint flexibility and range of motion is also of critical importance so that you not only feel better but as an injury preventative measure. Mobility work will be done pre- and post-exercise.

Regular mobility work will help restore lost flexibility and range of motion.

Warmup and Mobility – Performed Every Day Before Training

Choose One Warm Up:

• C2 rower (2km for varied times) Do not use the C2 on Wednesday due to overlap.
• Stair Master (10 minutes, moderate intensity)
• Elliptical (10 minutes, moderate intensity).

Mobility:

• Leg Swing Forward and Back
• Leg Swing Side to Side
• Walking Straight Leg Kick (5 on each side)
• Walking Quad Stretch (5 on each side)
• Yoga Plex (5 on both sides of the body)

Workouts (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

Monday

A1. Barbell back squat – 3 sets of 12 reps, 3/0/1/1 tempo, 15s rest

*use light weight or 50% of your 1 Rep Max (1RM)

A2. Cable lat pulldown – 3 sets, of 10 reps, 2/0/x/0 tempo, 30s rest

*use light to moderate weight or 60% of your 1RM

A3. Suitcase Squat (heels elevated) – 3 sets of 10 reps, 2/0/x/1 tempo, 15s rest

*use light weight or 50% of your 1RM

A4. Inverted Row – 3 sets of as many reps as possible (AMRAP), 1/0/x/0 tempo, 60-90s rest

*use only your bodyweight

B1. Lateral lunge – 4 sets of 5 reps to the left, 5 reps to the right, 1/0/x/1 tempo, 15s rest

*use only your body weight or a light kettlebell held against your chest

B2. Neutral-grip bench press – 4 sets of 10 reps, 2/0/1/1 tempo, 60s rest

*use light to moderate weight or 60% of your 1RM

Note: A1-A4 means perform all exercises in sequence as a compound set. Do one set of back squats, rest 15s, one set of lat pulldowns, rest 30s, one set of suitcase squats, rest 15s, then as many reps as you can complete of inverted rows. After that, rest 60-90s before performing the same sequence twice more.

Make sure you follow tempo requirements to make the workout more challenging and effective. For example, the back squat tempo “3/0/1/1” means to start the exercise by lowering the weight (eccentric) for three seconds, pausing at the bottom for zero seconds (no pause), pushing the weight up (concentric) in one second, and then holding the weight at the top for one second before doing your next rep. If you see an “x” that stands for explode on the concentric portion of the lift – lift the weight as fast as you can.

Not all exercises begin with weight lowering (eccentric), like the back squat, so if your lift starts with the weight pushing/pulling (concentric), like the inverted row and lat pull, start with the concentric part of the tempo (third dash mark). Once you have performed all of the “A” exercises, proceed to the exercises in part “B”, which are also performed in the same sequence as A1-A4 (one after the other, repeat two times).

Wednesday

A1. C2 rower 500 meters, as fast as possible, no rest

A2. 10 burpees, no rest

A3. 30 second front plank hold, 60s rest

B1. Dumbbell push press, 3 sets of 8 reps, 1/0/x/0 tempo, rest. 30s

*use light weight or 40-50% of your 1RM

B2. Lateral Raise, 3 sets of 12 reps, 2/1/2/0 tempo, rest 30s

*use light weight and squeeze deltoid at top of each rep

B3. Rear delt fly 3 sets of 12 reps, 2/1/2/0 tempo, rest 60s

*use light weight and squeeze deltoid at top of each rep

C. Seated russian twist 3 sets of 20-30 reps, rotate in a controlled manner but at a quick pace from side to side, rest 60s

*use 10-25 lb. plate, perform on a pilates mat

Note: Wednesday is conditioning day. You will start on the C2 rower which will tax your cardiovascular system, then perform burpees with a maximal heart rate, then do an isometric contraction of the abs for time while you are very fatigued. Use your willpower to push through this hard complex as fast as possible and you will burn a maximal amount of fat.

Shoulder maintenance work is performed for the health of the shoulders in complex “B” after the complex “A” conditioning circuit. Finally, some working of the oblique and transverse abdominus are performed with seated Russian twists which should be performed on its own, after complex B.

Friday

A1. Barbell deadlift – 3 sets of 12 reps, 3/0/1/1 tempo, 15s rest

*use light weight or 50% of your 1RM

A2. Dumbbell incline bench press – 3 sets of 10 reps, 2/0/1/1 tempo, 30s rest

*use light to moderate weight or 60% of your 1RM

A3. Dumbbell Romanian deadlift – 3 sets of 10 reps, 2/0/1/1 tempo, 15s rest

*use light weight or 50% of your 1RM

A4. Decline push ups (feet elevated 12”) – 3 sets of as many reps as possible, 1/0/x/0 tempo, 60-90s rest

*use only your bodyweight, put your feet on a bench, your hands on ground

B1. Box step-ups – 4 sets of 5 reps to the left, 5 reps to the right, 1/0/x/1 tempo, 15s rest

*use only your body weight, alternate reps between left and right

B2. Neutral grip dumbbell row – 4 sets of 10 reps, 2/0/1/0 tempo, 60s rest

*use light to moderate weight or 60% of your 1RM

Post-Exercise Mobility – Performed After Every Training Session

• Iron cross – 5 per leg
• Kneeling hip flexor stretch (left and right, hold 30 seconds, squeeze glutes)
• Split-stance kneeling adductor mobs (left and right, 8 reps each, hold for 3 seconds)
• Child’s pose – hold for 30 seconds, repeat

The General Fitness Phase (5 Weeks)

Your body should be well on its road to purification now and will continue to purify over the course of this next phase. You will now force it to adapt to increased stressors (resistance) in order to promote hypertrophy, or growth, of the muscle tissue itself. Growth of lean mass will lead to a firmer and more toned appearance and will also decrease the amount of fat present in the body.

Men and women will increase muscle cross-sectional area size, but women need not worry as the hormones present in the female body are not sufficient to give them the bulky look of a man. Men can expect more bulk due to increased testosterone output and women can expect better muscle tone. Greater muscle cross-sectional area will give both men and women the capability to develop more strength and feel better as a result. Combining strength training with high-intensity interval training (H.I.T.T.) finishers will produce greater results than either of these techniques produce alone. The use of supersets will cause even more muscle growth as well as provide a different stimulus for the body to adapt to, helping to avoid plateaus in this phase.

Warm Up and Mobility – Performed Every Day Before Training

Warm Up:

Bike, Stair Master or elliptical for 10 minutes at moderate intensity

Mobility:

• Leg swings forward and back
• Leg swings side to side
• Walking straight leg kicks (5 on each side)
• Walking quad stretch (5 on each side)
• Yoga plex (5 on both sides of the body)
• Arm circles (forward, backward, and cross-body until you feel loose)

Workouts (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday)

Monday

A. Barbell back squat – 4 sets of 8 reps, 3/0/1/1 tempo, 60-90s rest

*use moderate weight or 65-75% of your 1RM

B1. Chest dip – 4 sets of 8 reps, 2/0/x/1 tempo, 30s rest

*use your bodyweight only

B2. Wide-grip pull-up – 4 sets of 8 reps, 2/0/x/0 tempo, 60s rest

*use your bodyweight only

C1. Dumbbell hammer curl – 3 sets of 10 reps, 2/0/1/0 tempo, 30s rest

*use moderate weight, squeeze bicep at peak contraction

C2. Cable rope tricep extension – 3 sets of 10 reps, 2/0/1/0 tempo, 60s rest

*use moderate weight, squeeze tricep at peak contraction

D. Hanging pike – 3 sets of 10 reps, 2/0/1/0 tempo, 60s rest

*use your body weight only

Tuesday

A. Barbell seated military press – 4 sets of 8 reps, 2/0/1/1 tempo, 60-90s rest

*use moderate weight or 65-75% of your 1RM

B1. Dumbbell alternating lunge – 4 sets of 8 reps per leg, 1/0/x/1 tempo, 30s rest

*use light to moderate weight

B2. Dumbbell iso-lateral Romanian deadlift – 4 sets of 8 reps per side, 2/0/1/0 tempo, 60s rest

*use light to moderate weight

C. Lateral lunge with kettlebell held to chest – 2 sets of 5 reps to the left then 5 reps to the right, 1/0/x/1 tempo, 30s rest

*use light to moderate weight

D. Alternating dead bug – 3 sets of 20 reps total (left and right combined), 1/0/1/0 tempo, 60s rest

*use your body weight only

E. High-Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T.) – 6 sets of 20 second sprint/40 second slow peddling, moderate resistance level

*Use the bike set to a middle level resistance (so for a bike that has level 1 to level 20, select 10) and do a 2 minute warm up of moderate paced cycling. After the 2-minute warm up, perform six “sets” of 20s pedaling as fast as possible followed by 40s of light pedaling to recover. Repeat five more times, then finish with a moderate to easy cool down for 2-3 minutes.

Thursday

A. Barbell deadlift – 4 sets of 8 reps, 3/0/1/1 tempo, 60-90s rest

*use moderate weight or 65-75% of your 1RM

B1. Cable lat pulldown – 4 sets of 8 reps, 2/0/1/0 tempo, 30s rest

*use moderate weight

B2. Cable crossover (chest fly) – 4 sets of 8 reps, 2/0/1/1 tempo, 60s rest

*use your bodyweight only, squeeze chest at peak contraction

C1. Dumbbell seated Arnold press – 3 sets of 10 reps, 2/0/1/0 tempo, 30s rest

*use moderate weight

C2. Cable seated supinated grip row – 3 sets of 10 reps, 2/0/1/0 tempo, 60s rest

*use moderate weight

D. Seated Russian twist 3 sets of 30 reps, rotate in a controlled manner but at a quick pace, rest 60s

*use 10-25 lb. plate, perform on a pilates mat

Friday

A. Dumbbell neutral-grip bench press – 4 sets of 8 reps, 2/0/1/1 tempo, 60-90s rest

*use moderate weight or 65-75% of your 1RM

B1. Machine leg press – 4 sets of 8 reps, 2/0/1/0 tempo, 30s rest

*use moderate weight

B2. Barbell Romanian deadlift – 4 sets of 8 reps, 2/0/x/0 tempo, 60s rest

*use moderate weight

C. Lateral lunge with kettlebell held to chest – 2 sets of 5 reps to the left then 5 reps to the right, 1/0/x/1 tempo, 30s rest

*use light to moderate weight

D. Leg lifts – 3 sets of 20 reps total (left and right combined), 2/0/1/3 tempo, 60s rest

*perform lying on a mat. Squeeze abs for 3 seconds and the lower slowly.

E. High-Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T.) – 6 sets of 20 second sprint/40 second slow rowing, moderate resistance level.

*Use the C2 Rower – Do a 2-minute warm-up of moderate paced rowing. After the 2 minute warmup perform six “sets” of 20 seconds rowing as fast as possible followed by 40 seconds of light rowing to recover. Repeat five more times after the first “set” and then finish with a moderate to easy cool down for 2-3 minutes.

Post-Exercise Mobility – Performed After Every Training Session

• Iron cross – 5 per leg
• Kneeling hip flexor stretch – left and right, hold 30 seconds, squeeze glutes
• Split-stance kneeling adductor mobs – left and right, 8 reps each, hold for 3 seconds
• Child’s pose – hold for 30 seconds, repeat

The Strength Building Phase (4 Weeks)

By now, you have oxidized a large amount of fat and boosted your liver function and cardiovascular system health. In the strength building phase, you will increase hormonal output, improve bone density, and feel your strongest and most confident.

Tissue may not change much in size during this phase, but it will become harder, firmer, and as a result you will appear healthier and stronger. After this four week phase I recommend that you take a week off of lifting and participate in active recovery. Active recovery can be playing recreational sports, going for bike rides outdoors, walking leisurely about town, anything so long as you’re not sitting in a chair all day.

“[R]emember to try new programs after your week off, such as a sprint program combined with lighter loaded strength work.”

This phase will push your limits, so your joints will appreciate a week off at the end of this program to catch up to the awesome strength and muscle you have built. Plyometrics are introduced in supersets with compound core lifts to build maximal strength and power. Due to the amount of weight being lifted, it is wise to do only three workouts a week in this phase to allow maximum recovery of both muscle and joint.

Congratulations for making it this far, and remember to try new programs after your week off, such as a sprint program combined with lighter loaded strength work. Or, go back to the general fitness phase and repeat for more muscle growth and added strength.

Warmup and Mobility – Performed Every Day Before Training

Choose One Warm Up:

• C2 rower (2km for varied times) Do not use the C2 on Wednesday due to overlap.
• Stair Master (10 minutes, moderate intensity)
• Elliptical (10 minutes, moderate intensity).

Mobility:

• Leg Swing Forward and Back
• Leg Swing Side to Side
• Walking Straight Leg Kick (5 on each side)
• Walking Quad Stretch (5 on each side)
• Yoga Plex (5 on both sides of the body)

Workouts (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

Monday

A1. Barbell back squat – 3 sets of 4-6 reps, 2/0/1/1 tempo, 30s rest

*use heavy weight or 80-85% of your 1RM

A2. 30” box jump – 3 sets of 5 reps, 1/0/x/0 tempo, 90-120s rest

*use only your bodyweight

B. Push press – 4 sets of 5 reps, 1/0/x/0 tempo, 90-120s rest

*use moderate to heavy weight or 75-80% of your 1RM

C. Wide-grip pull-up – 4 sets of as many reps as possible, 2/0/x/0 tempo, 90-120s rest

*use only your bodyweight

D. Dead bug with plate – 3 sets of 10 reps, 2/0/1/1 tempo, 60s rest

Wednesday

A1. Dumbbell bench press – 3 sets of 4-6 reps, 2/0/x/0 tempo, 30s rest

*use heavy weight or 80-85% of your 1RM

A2. Clapping push-ups or medicine ball chest pass – 3 sets of 5 reps, 1/0/x/0 tempo, 90-120s rest

*use bodyweight for push-ups or 10-20lbs for med ball

B. Suitcase deadlift – 4 sets of 5 reps, 2/0/x/0 tempo, 90-120s rest

*use moderate to heavy weight or 75-80% of your 1RM

C. Dumbbell alternating lunge – 4 sets of 5 reps (10 total reps per set left and right leg combined), 1/0/x/1 tempo, 90-120s rest

*use moderate to heavy weight or 75-80% of your 1RM

D. Landmine oblique twist – 3 sets of 10 reps (5 to the left, 5 to the right, alternating side to side), 1/0/1/0 tempo, 60s rest

*use 25 to 45lbs

Friday

A1. Barbell Deadlift- 3 sets of 4-6 reps, 3/0/x/1 tempo, 30s rest

*use heavy weight or 80-85% of your 1RM

A2. Broad Jump– 3 sets of 5 reps, 1/0/x/0 tempo, 90-120s rest

*use only your bodyweight

B. Barbell bent-over row – 4 sets of 5 reps, 1/0/x/0 tempo, 90-120s rest

*use moderate to heavy weight or 75-80% of your 1RM

C. Chest dip – 4 sets of as many reps as possible, 2/0/x/0 tempo, 90-120s rest

*use only your bodyweight

D. Front plank holds – 3 sets of 60s, squeeze abs until time is up, 90s rest

Post-Exercise Mobility – Performed After Every Training Session

• Iron cross – 5 per leg
• Kneeling hip flexor stretch – left and right, hold 30 seconds, squeeze glutes
• Split-stance kneeling adductor mobs – left and right, 8 reps each, hold for 3 seconds
• Child’s pose – hold for 30 seconds, repeat

Closing Thoughts

After completing this program you have restored liver function through oxidization of fats, improved gas exchange and oxygen uptake/waste removal in the cardiovascular system, built strong connective tissue, muscle, and bone, and even improved your hormonal output.

Your body has been purified of questionable summer health choices and is ready to take on any physical task you choose to progress too. You have built a sound base of fitness and strength. This program was designed to remove the bad from your system and give you a well-rounded base of health in the nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal systems.

Remember, progress can only be made in the program with proper nutrition and a healthy balance of complex carbs, lean fats, and lean proteins. Do not be afraid to have a cheat meal or even a drink or two along the way, but remember that you started this program because you know those foods and alcohol are bad for you.

You will feel your best if you optimize your nutrition over the course of this workout, and I promise you this: it always gets easier as you go along. Make this your lifestyle and reap the everyday rewards of optimal fitness and health. I think you will be happy that you did.

-Dan

More Like This:

• Body and Mind Detox: 3 Simple Tips to Spring Clean the Body
• Cleanses, Detoxes, and Juice Fasts: Do They Work?
• 6 Ways to Detox Without Fasting
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos 1-3 courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Detoxify, Reset & Restore – 12 Weeks to Return to Peak Function and Strength appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Emerging research is attempting to deliver a sunscreen pill. Basically, something you can swallow and get protection from the inside out. While that pill doesn’t yet exist, we can look at what that research is showing and take a whole-food approach. There is also a supplement that has potential to be a major solution.

How Sun Damage Works

But before we dive into what to do, let’s go through a brief discussion of the mechanisms behind skin damage from the sun. The skin is the largest organ of the body. When the sunlight hits our skin, there are two main types of dangerous rays involved:

1. UVB rays can directly damage cellular DNA and cause inflammatory markers to be released.
2. UVA can cause free radicals to be formed, leading to cell damage and premature aging of the skin.

Something called Langerhans cells exist in the skin to be a security guard for our immune system. When we get too much sun exposure, these cells can be damaged. Without a properly functioning immune system, DNA damage can go unchecked, leading to cancer. To highlight this point, consider that 25% of liver transplant patients who survive more than three years end up dying from skin cancer. This is because these patients take drugs that lower their immune systems.

“Think of it as an insurance policy in case you missed applying sunscreen to one particular area, had a sweat or water runoff, or simply got a little more sun exposure than you thought.”

Having something to help scavenge free radicals and prevent DNA damage is essential if we are to be protected. While no single compound can do this, research is pointing to a combination of things that can help. Think of it as an insurance policy in case you missed applying sunscreen to one particular area, had a sweat or water runoff, or simply got a little more sun exposure than you thought. Also, by using less sunscreen, we can potentially get more benefit from vitamin D synthesis.

Note: Keep in mind that the intensity of radiation increases 4% for every 300m above sea level, so take extra care when training at altitude.

Cocoa

Polyphenols in cocoa, specifically flavanols, are strong antioxidants. They help inhibit enzymes that produce free radicals and boost your body’s ability to neutralize the ones that are formed. A study performed on women showed that cocoa intake desensitized skin to UV rays by 25% after a 326mg/day intake. It also increased circulation within the skin, which helps temperature control and nutrient delivery.

So, it appears cocoa can have a protective effect when it comes to sun exposure by limiting the redness from sun exposure, as well as preventing damage from free radicals. More research is needed to confirm the results, as well as determine the mechanism and dose.

Omega 3 PUFA

When we get sunburn, an entire inflammation cascade happens at the cellular level. Fish oil supplements (containing 1.8g EPA and 1.2g DHA) were shown to significantly lower this inflammation response after exposure to UV rays. It appears to do so by competing for metabolism with inflammatory markers, therefore reducing the inflammatory response.

“[T]he bottom line is that having adequate omega 3 PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) is essential to keeping our skin healthy by helping prevent painful sunburns and the cascade that happens afterward.”

There is also some evidence that fish oil, specifically EPA, helps with preventing the immune system collapse that happens when we are exposed to too much sun. Further study in this area is needed, though. But the bottom line is that having adequate omega 3 PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) is essential to keeping our skin healthy by helping prevent painful sunburns and the cascade that happens afterward.

Green Tea

Polyphenols in green tea, specifically EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), seem protective against damage from the sun. In mice, the results are extremely positive in preventing skin cancer from UV exposure. Early studies appear to show inhibition of enzymes that degrade collagen and prevention of free radical damage. Besides protecting against cancer, this also has the potential to prevent the sagging of the skin that ages us so quickly.

While these are promising mechanisms, the studies are only in mice. Researchers estimate the equivalent dosage in humans would be five to six cups a day of green tea. Further research is warranted, but the health effects of green tea have a long history.

Polypodium Leucotomos

This is a plant extract from a fern native to South America. Taken orally, it appears to protect Langerhans cells from damage and prevents the formation of sunburnt cells. In one study, there was a fifteen-fold decrease in intensity of sunburn from UV exposure compared to placebo.

Doses in studies have been between 480 and 1200mg daily, and no adverse effects were reported. Long-term studies have yet to be completed, but it appears polypodium leucotomos is safe and quite effective in preventing physical damage from sun exposure in the short term.

Polypodium Leucotomos is extracted from the phlebodium aureum plant, pictured above.

The Takeaway

This is an exciting area of research, considering our increasing exposure to sunrays, the increased incidence of skin cancer, and the amount of sunscreen we consume in attempt to counter the sun’s negative effects. While the emerging evidence is not 100% conclusive, we do have some takeaways:

• Considering cocoa, green tea, and fish oil already have well-documented health benefits, it may be wise to increase consumption seasonally. While training outdoors, you can add a teaspoon of pure cocoa, cold green tea, and 2-5g of fish oil to a shake. The cocoa has an added benefit of dulling the oversweet taste of some protein powders.
• Polypodium leucotomos is something you can experiment with, but still take care to wear protective clothing and sunscreen.

Think of these changes as a backup in case you forget sunscreen. If it works for you, perhaps using less sunscreen is an option. Hopefully, in the future, we can take a pill and go train worry free in the sun.

Further Reading:

• The Wrong Sunscreen Can Increase Cancer Risk: What You Need to Know
• Vitamin D: Is Sunlight Enough?
• What’s Best for Vitamin D: Sunshine, Tanning Bed, or Supplement?
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Mogollon, Jaime Andres. “Chocolate Flavanols and Skin Photoprotection: A Parallel, Double-blind, Randomized Clinical Trial.” Nutrition Journal 13, no. 66 (2014).

2. Katiyar, Santosh K. “Green Tea Prevents Non-melanoma Skin Cancer by Enhancing DNA Repair.” Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 508, no. 2 (2011): 152-58.

3. Skotarczak, K. “Photoprotection: Facts and Controversies.” European Review for Medical Pharmacological Sciences 19, no. 1 (2015): 98-112.

4. Pilkington, Suzanne M., Rachel E. B Watson, Anna Nicolaou, and Lesley E. Rhodes. “Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Photoprotective Macronutrients.” Experimental Dermatology 20 (2011): 537-43.

5. Scapagnini, Giovanni. “Cocoa Bioactive Compounds: Significance and Potential for the Maintenance of Skin Health.” Nutrients 6 (2014): 3202-213.

6. Mendes, KD. “Photoeducation and Photoprotection among Liver Transplant Candidates: A Cross-sectional Study.” Gastroenterol Nurs. 36, no. 3 (2013): 215-21.

7. Nestor, Mark S. “Safety and Efficacy of Oral Polypodium Leucotomos Extract in Healthy Adult Subjects.” J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 8, no. 2 (2015): 19-23.

Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 3 by Derek Ramsey via Wikimedia Commons.

The post 4 Ways Your Nutrition Can Help Prevent Sunburn appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I haven’t eaten one of those things since the Halloween days of my childhood, but last I checked on the Tootsie Roll website, it was determined by a group of junior high students at Swarthmore Junior High School in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania that it took an averaged total of 144 licks to get to the center.

The Tootsie Pop experiment got me thinking about our food, and how we enjoy it. When was the last time you savored a meal, like a Tootsie Pop? When was the last time you took the time to taste the flavors, enjoy the food on your tongue, and nourish your body one bite at a time?

(Crickets. Crickets.)

That’s what I thought.

In our fast-paced, busy lifestyles, many peoples’ approach to mealtime looks something like this: chew, chew, swallow, chew, chew, swallow, guuuuulp.

So much to do, so little time. And, while this is great for getting things done – not letting mealtime get in the way of your to-do list or instantly feeding the machine when you are starving – it is not as great for your digestion.

Fun Facts About Digestion

Fun Fact: Digestion begins in your mouth. Your mouth is the place where the mechanical and chemical breakdown of your food occurs through the combined use of your masticators (i.e. jaw and teeth) and saliva.

Saliva contains enzymes critical to the chemical process of digestion. For instance, carbohydrate digestion begins with salivary alpha-amylase secreted by glands near the mouth. This alpha-amylase breaks down some of the chemical bonds connecting the simple sugars that comprise starches. Stage one of fat digestion also occurs in the mouth with the secretion of the enzyme lingual lipase by glands located at the root of the tongue.

If food is not properly broken down in the mouth, then your body has a longer way to go when it comes to digesting the foods you’ve just consumed. This is not the most efficient or effective way to feed yourself. For starters, when food is not fully chewed, you actually miss out on some of the nutrients.

“If food is not properly broken down in the mouth, then your body has a longer way to go when it comes to digesting the foods you’ve just consumed. This is not the most efficient or effective way to feed yourself.”

Additionally, any poorly chewed food also causes slowed transit time through your stomach and intestines. In fact, thorough chewing is directly connected with the relaxation of your stomach muscle – the pylorus – in order to move food through your digestive tract. This muscle must be relaxed for food to leave your stomach and pass on to your small intestine. The stimulation of saliva from optimal chewing helps relax the pylorus and aids the healthy progression of your food.

Lastly, poorly chewed food promotes bacteria build-up down the line in the colon. This leads to increased flatulence (gas), constipation, and indigestion.

The Power of Choice

Little did you know that before these autonomic processes take place, that you have the choice – and power – to determine how well you digest your food.

• Chewing thoroughly = Less indigestion. Regulated appetite. Decreased constipation and regular bowel movements. Win-win-win.
• Failing to chew thoroughly = Higher risk for stomach pain, bloating, constipation and indigestion. Poor appetite. Backed up bowels. Lose-lose-lose.

How Much Chewing Do I Need?

Okay, you get it. Chew your food. But how much? I mean it’s not like you don’t chew your steak at all. I don’t advocate a distinct number of times you should chew food. Instead, I advise people to use a more personal rule-of-thumb: chew your food completely, until it’s dissolved and small enough swallow with ease.

If you can tell the type of food you are eating from the texture in your mouth (not the taste), then you haven’t chewed enough. For instance, if you are chewing a Brussels sprout and you can still tell with your tongue that the sprout has some leaves on the outside, don’t swallow. You need to keep on chewing until you can’t distinguish the leaves from the base of the sprout. If you are chewing a piece of chicken, and it’s still in solid form, continue to gnaw on it, until it’s soft and mush like.

As gross as that may sound, your body (and your gut) will thank you.

Chew. Chew. Chew. Chew. Chew. Chew. And…swallow.

More Like This:

• Why Your Diet Can Make You Bloated (Even With Good Nutrition)
• 2 Tasty Tidbits to Get Your Best Results From Paleo
• Dissecting Anti-Nutrients: The Good and Bad of Phytic Acid
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post 1 Simple Step Anyone Can Take to Improve Digestion appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

This article is intended to assist health and fitness professionals to understand back pain and its characteristics, to then be able to train clients with a low-back injury history and to make educated and scientifically evidenced exercise choices.

Intervertebral Disc Structure

One of the most important things to understand is how pain behaves in response to exercise application. But before we go into those concepts, we first need a bit of necessary anatomy.

Note: I have to leave the in-depth anatomy aside for now, and this will be a basic introduction for illustration purposes. I’ll create some articles on lumbar spine and spinal disc anatomy in the coming months to improve the understanding of those people who don’t have an in-depth anatomical appreciation of the area. Today, though, just follow me as I take you through the most basic anatomical construct.

This illustration maps out the how the two main components of an intervertebral disc articulate with the vertebra.

Let’s get it straight – most low-back pain is caused by stress or injury to the intervertebral disc.¹ The Intervertebral disc is just as the name states. It is a disc that is placed between two vertebrae. In the lumbar spine, the disc is composed of two basic components.

1. Annulus
2. Nucleus

The annulus is a series of rings that surround the inner, more hydrated (fluid) nucleus. The annulus rings are woven into the ends of the bone (hence, why discs can never “slip”).

Now, consider the disc to behave similarly to a blown-up balloon. When you place pressure on one area of the balloon, the area furthest from the pressure will bulge out as the air moves away from the applied pressure. Your disc essentially behaves in that manner. If you bend forward and sustain that position, the nuclear fluid within the annulus will move backward away from the pressure source. As such, we can use this concept to understand the relationship between disc loading and pain behavior.

Centralization and Peripheralization

When a person has a pain that is due to injury of the intervertebral disc, then the location of that pain and that pain’s response to an exercise or posture can assist us in predicting the direction of movement we should apply to help the disc heal and prevent further injury.

So, in a disc injury that has referred pain, we consider the site of the disc pain to be central and the site of the referred pain to be peripheral. An example is the so-called “sciatic” pain, where a person may have pain in the gluteal, hamstring, or calf. This pain is considered the peripheral pain. The person may, or may not, have peripheral pain without having central or low-back pain.

“Centralization can help identify individuals with chronic low-back pain who may positively respond to exercise and training outcomes.”

There are two general directions that are most often applied to low-back injury. Lumbar flexion forces or lumbar extension forces. These are not the only two directions available, but for the purposes of this article, let’s use them for our demonstrations.

Let’s examine a situation where a person has pain in his hamstring that is due to sciatic nerve referral. But he has no low-back pain. This client is tested by making him stand and bend forward to touch his toes about ten times. Upon completion of the ten repetitions, he says his pain in the hamstring is now better, he has no back pain, and he has pain in his calf only, but it is less intense than the hamstring pain was.

WARNING: This is peripheralization. It is not the severity of the pain that is most important; it is the location. In this case, the pain has moved further from the spine. The injury has actually been increased.

Now imagine we test the same person by making him stand with his hands on his hips and bend backward ten times. This time, after completing the repetitions, he states his hamstring pain has gone, but he now has low back pain, and the low back pain is more intense than the hamstring pain was.

GREEN LIGHT – GO: This is centralization. The pain has moved from the periphery to the center. The intensity is not the variable we are following. It is location.

The origin of pain rather than its severity is the most important component in assessing a client’s movement.

<strong”>Here is your concept to understand. As a result of a movement or sustained posture, where does the pain move? Central or peripheral?

Note: I have used one example each of flexion and extension. Specifically, these were examples of standing flexion and extension. Flexion and extension can be applied in many ways and the effect of gravity and the center of mass upon the spine changes with their position. In my practice, I use a variety of positions and movements depending upon the movement and pain response. But this article is not about the variations of movement. It is only discussing pain response to imposed forces. I shall discuss exercise variations in the future.

The Importance of the Centralization Principle

Research has proven this principle is an astoundingly accurate predictor of the likelihood of a successful treatment outcome and that it reliably determines the appropriate direction of treatment exercise.² Centralization reliably differentiates discogenic pain from nondiscogenic pain, and it predicts the intact from ruptured annulus in symptomatic discs, being superior to MRI imaging in determining painful from non-painful disc injury.³

Imagine that. If you become proficient at exercise application and low-back pain, you can actually be more accurate at determining low-back injury than an MRI. I’ve executed this approach so often that I can often predict the MRI findings and exact type of injury simply through history taking and movement examination.

“Back pain, as with any physical condition, is a multifaceted and multi-influenced construct. As such, behavioral influences must always be considered.” 

The principle of centralization is an excellent diagnostic tool. Centralization and peripheralization are strongly associated with the symptoms associated with pain of discogenic origin. In a 1997 study by Donelson , centralization was strongly (91%) associated with competent annulus compared to peripheralization (54%). In a review of 87 patients with radiating symptoms, centralization occurred in 76 (87%).

The occurrence of centralization during initial mechanical evaluation is a very accurate predictor of successful outcome and it reliably determines the appropriate direction of treatment exercise. On the other side of the coin, the non-occurrence of centralization to imposed examination accurately predicts a poor treatment outcome and is an early predictor for the need of surgical treatment.²

In studies assessing chronic low-back pain, return to work, and centralizers versus non-centralizers before entry-to-work hardening programs, the outcomes showed centralizers had significant decreases in their maximum pain ratings and a higher return-to-work rate. Centralization can help identify individuals with chronic low-back pain who may positively respond to exercise and training outcomes.⁴

It is imperative to learn the source of your pain before attempting any sort of spinal loading through exercise.

The Complexity of Back Pain

Back pain, as with any physical condition, is a multifaceted and multi-influenced construct. As such, behavioral influences must always be considered. If you have the training to examine nonorganic influences, such as Waddell’s signs, it has been demonstrated that low Waddell’s scores and centralization predicts a strong return-to-work outcome. A high Waddell’s and non-centralization predicts a poor return to work outcome.⁴

 “[I]t is imperative you consider the location of the pain and its changes in response to your exercise, not simply the intensity of the pain.”

In clinical practice, I am constantly aware of behavioral influences that may impact upon my rehabilitation pathways. But it has been demonstrated that centralization is more significant than psychological factors in predicting long-term outcomes.⁵

Movement, Posture, and Pain

Now, how to differentiate between the different structures that can cause back pain, whether disc, joint, neural structure, muscle, psychological constructs, etc. That is a series of further articles to show the differentiation techniques and subjective history flags that are consistent with them. It is a lot of in-depth understanding. And perhaps we’ve covered enough already for one session.

So, for now, let’s just work on clearly understanding the relationship between movement, posture, and pain behavior as characterized by the centralization and peripheralization phenomenon. This is about pain, not structure. We are using the disc as an example, the most common example, to demonstrate a theoretical model of the cause of the phenomenon.

When you are prescribing and imposing an exercise upon a person with a history of low-back injury, it is imperative you consider the location of the pain and its changes in response to your exercise, not simply the intensity of the pain. And remember, these tools are predictors and benchmarks. Each actual case will be different and your influence as a professional can be one of the most important factors of all. Your ability to communicate your expectations, your prescriptive exercise requirements, and the client’s understanding of your approach often are the most important hinges upon which the case may turn.

Check out these related articles:

• Get the Low Down On Your Low Back
• 6 Steps to Heal Your Low Back Injury
• You Don’t Need Medication to Maintain a Healthy Low Back
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Kuslich, S.D., et al., “The tissue origin of low back pain and sciatica,” Orth Cl N Am 22:2, (1991): 181-187.

2. Donelson, R., et al., “Centralisation Phenomenon – It’s usefulness in evaluating and treating referred pain,” Spine 15:3, (1990).

3. Donelson, R., et al., “A prospective study of centralisation of lumber and referred pain as a predictor of symptomatic discs and annular competence,” Spine 22:10, (1997): 1115-1133.

4. Karass, et al., “The relationship between nonorganic signs and centralization of symptoms in the prediction of return to work for patients with low back pain,” Physical Therapy 77:4, (1998): 354-360.

5. Weneke, et al., “A descriptive study of the centralization phenomenon – a prospective analysis,” Spine 24, (1999): 676-683.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post How to Diagnose and Treat Low Back Pain Without an MRI appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

It is understood that the female athlete triad includes three distinct and interrelated conditions that affect you and your performance as a female athlete:

1. Eating Disorders – Obsessive eating or calorie counting; poor nutrition and the desire to restrict caloric intake, leading to athletic fatigue and decreased performance
2. Amenorrhea – Irregular menstrual flow or complete absence of menses for six or more months. (Of note, this symptom is commonly unreported among coaches and athletes.)
3. Osteoporosis – Nutritional deficiencies may lead to reduced bone mineralization and increased incidence of fracture risk (stress fracture being the most common).

In this article, we will focus on the hormone cycle as it pertains to physical performance in female athletes in non-sports-specific terms. The goal is to address metabolic concerns, such as:

• Which energy systems are most taxed during the cycle
• When during the cycle that maximal loading is safest
• When it is ideal to add in de-loading time during your training program

By examining the hormone cycle, we can discover ways to make you faster, stronger, and more resilient to injury. This will have positive training effects and increases the potential for setting personal records, either individual or team-based.

First, Some Perspective

Whether we like it or not, there is an unchecked societal pressure for the “ideal” body type that fosters the development of decreased self-esteem, as well as issues of negative body image and the desire to lose weight for sport. This can manifest during the high school years and become intensified during collegiate-level sports, especially where peer-pressure or scholarship money is involved. From here, female athletes become susceptible to the triad.

The prevalence of the female triad is unknown. A 1993 article in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise reported:

• Eating disorders in 15-62% of female collegiate-level athletes
• Occurrence in 3.4-66% of female athletes studied
• 60% of female athletes were classified as “at risk” (n = 669)

A 2010 study published in International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism looked at overall health in sport in elite female athletes, ages sixteen to 42. 44 elite endurance runners (n=44) participated in a cross-sectional study, and n=7 of those participated in a longitudinal study that measured the correlation between low bone density mineralization, menstrual status, training volume and disordered eating.

“Your cycle lasts roughly four weeks. It would serve you as an athlete, personal trainer, or coach to design programs with this in mind.“

According to the study, 34.2% of these runners had low bone mineral density (as measured at the lumbar spine) and osteoporosis was prevalent in 33%. 15.9% of the sample was determined to have menstrual dysfunction, disordered eating, and lowered bone mineral density.

Science Refresher

If you’re a little rusty on the hormone cycle, here is a quick video that gives you the rundown and will make the rest of this article less confusing:

Take Charge of Your Cycle

If we know the menstrual cycle and dietary intake have a significant impact on overall performance, how then can we influence the female cycle to maximize performance?

Becoming aware of your personal cycle is a great place to start. Not only does it serve as a barometer for normalcy, but it can help to identify if your athletic performance is conflicting with your body’s natural patterns. Maybe you are having a great training week, only to suddenly tank unexpectedly. Maybe there’s a not-so-unexpected reason for it if you look into your body.

First step: Know your cycle. The 28-day cycle is a statistical average. In reality, some women are under this at around 25 days, while others can go over 31 days.

Phase Overview

Here, we will discuss each individual phase of the menstrual cycle, coupled with nutritional strategies and exercise programming that will maximize results and minimize risk for injury.

The Follicular Phase: Ingest Carbs and Train Harder

This phase lasts from day zero to fourteen. It is identified with a higher-than-normal tolerance for pain, as well as greater force-generation capacity during lifting and training. You are best served to focus on training progress during this time.

“There are peak times of metabolic activity where strength gains should be attempted, and there is a reduction phase where it is wise to de-load and let the body recover.“

Also of note, your body trends toward using more carbohydrates at this phase as a fuel source. Meaning, you can proceed with more intense resistance and power training that will deplete your muscle glycogen stores. Ultimately, you can train through tough pain and go stronger for longer.

The Ovulation Phase: Attempt Your Personal Best

This phase occurs around day fourteen. Your relative strength levels will remain elevated and your ability to generate force will be sustained. According to research in the Journal of Physiology, this would be the ideal time for you to attempt personal records.

That being said, it would be wise to note that this phase also elevates your risk for injury. During this phase, the concentration of estrogen elevates, which can interfere with collagen synthesis and neuromuscular control. The American Journal of Sports Medicine reported that ACL injuries were four to eight times higher than at other times during the cycle.

This means you are able to train hard, but adequate form must be adhered to unless you feel like getting injured and spending some time on the bench. You may also experience a slight increase in your appetite that coincides with your increased metabolic activity. It would be prudent to add balanced protein, carb, and fats. Recall that your insulin sensitivity is declining, so listen to your body and respond to your best fuel source accordingly.

The Luteal Phase: Reduce Exercise Intensity and Lose Fat

This cycle lasts from day fifteen to 28. Here, you may be fighting an upstream battle when it comes to your athletic intensity and your output may not match overall performance. During this phase, your body trends toward higher-than-normal temperatures (a few degrees), which can alter cardiovascular output. You are less efficient during exercise and will fatigue sooner than normal. Bummer!

It is at this phase that PMS, or pre-menstrual syndrome, may begin. This may dampen your ability to comfortably participate in activities that favor high-intensity-interval training due to excessive water retention. If you are struggling through PMS, you may consider opting for low impact exercise, such as yoga, or taking this time to work on stretching and balancing exercises.

Metabolically, this is the point that trends toward using fat as a relative fuel source. In terms of athletic output, you would be wise to participate in reduced-intensity cardiovascular training coupled with moderate levels of strength-training – any athletic activity that promotes fat utilization over glucose utilization.

Relative to insulin-sensitivity, this phase will be your lowest. While you will be craving increased carbohydrate sources, your serotonin production will also be reduced. This can increase irritability and you may find eating carbs helps, as it promotes serotonin release. Just be careful not to overdo it. You may want to consider lower calorie options that will keep you satiated and promote fat burning.

Menstruation: Transition Back to Higher-Intensity Workouts

Water retention and PMS symptoms decrease as the body normalizes. This marks the time you can resume higher intensity and strength-training loads as you transition back into the follicular phase.

“Becoming aware of your personal cycle is a great place to start. [I]t can help to identify if your athletic performance is conflicting with your body’s natural patterns.“

The metabolism is still on the decline as insulin sensitivity slowly increases. You would be wise to adopt a diet that is moderate, but not too high in carbohydrates.

Finally, during the transition back to the follicular phase, an increase in carbohydrates is desirable. It will aid in providing the requisite energy for lean muscle mass development and reduce non-lean mass gains.

Hormone Recap

The hormone rollercoaster isn’t as scary as we want to make it out to be. Your body goes transitions from a predominantly carbohydrate to fat utilization fuel source. There are peak times of metabolic activity where strength gains should be attempted, and there is a reduction phase where it is wise to de-load and let the body recover.

Your cycle lasts roughly four weeks. It would serve you as an athlete, personal trainer, or coach to design programs with this in mind.

Check out these related articles:

• Women Are Not Small Men – Essential Info for Female Athletes
• Is My Birth Control Stopping My Progess at the Gym?
• What Women Need to Know About Growth Hormone
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today?

References:

1. Bolton, J. G., S. Patel, J. H. Lacey, & S. White. A prospective study of changes in bone turnover and bone density associated with regaining weight in women with anorexia nervosa. Osteoporos. Int. 16:1955–1962, 2005.

2. Byrne, S., & McLean, N. Elite athletes: effects of the pressure to be thin. J. Sci. Med. Sport 5:80–94, 2002.

3. Clark, S. “The Female Triad and Female Lifters” Accessed February 14 2015.

4. Greer, F. R. & N. F. Krebs. Optimizing bone health and calcium intakes of infants, children, and adolescents. Pediatrics 117:578–585, 2006.

5. Horvath, P. J., C. K. Eagen, N. M. Fisher, J. J. Leddy, & D. R. Pendergast. The effects of varying dietary fat on performance and metabolism in trained male and female runners. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 19:52–60, 2000.

6. Lauder, T. D., S. Dixit, L. E. Pezzin, M. V. Williams, C. S. Campbell, & G. D. Davis. The relation between stress fractures and bone mineral density: evidence from active duty Army women. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 81:73–79, 2000.

7. Nichols, J. F., M. J. Rauh, M. J. Lawson, M. JI, & H. S. Barkai. Prevalence of the female athlete triad syndrome among high school athletes. Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 160:137–142, 2006.

8. Placzek, J.D & Boyce, D.A. Orthopeadeic Physical Therapy Secrets: Your Physical Therapy Questions Answered by Experts You Trust (2^nd Ed). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Mosby, 2006.

10. Pollock, N., Grogan, C., Perry, M., Pedlar, C., Cooke, K., Morrissey, D & Dimitriou, L. Bone-Mineral Density and Other Features of the Female Triad in Elite Endurance Runners: A Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Observational Study. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 20:418-426, 2010.

11. St Lawerence County Branch. “History Of Women In Sport Timeline” Accessed February 28, 2015.

12. Yeager K.K., Agostini, R., Nattiv, A., & Drinkwater, B.L. The female athlete triad: disordered eating, amenorrhea, osteoporosis. [Commentary].Med. Sci Sports Exer 25:775-7,1993.

Photos courtesy of CrossFit Empirical.

The post Period Periodization: Harnessing the Power of Your Cycle appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

“If you think lifting weights is dangerous, try being weak. Being weak is dangerous.” – Bret Contreras

Strength occupies an interesting cultural space. While many of us respect it and see it as something worth having, it’s mostly possessed in large amounts by members of fringe cultures: weightlifters, bodybuilders, and CrossFitters. Strength isn’t something everyone is expected to have.

This isn’t good. Why? Simple, really. Strength is currency.

Life Currency

Generally speaking, currency refers to money or capital, the almighty dollar. In a bigger sense, currency is anything you trade or use in order to attain something else. People say, “Time is money,” and it’s true. Time is another form of currency.

One form of currency that often gets ignored is our health. Our health is just this thing that sort of revolves around whether or not we’re sick. As long as we aren’t dying, then our health is probably okay.

It’s unfortunate how common this perspective is as it leads to people constantly trading health away in the pursuit of other things. We eat garbage, miss out on sleep, and drink too much coffee instead of water. We tell ourselves that because we’re working too hard, we don’t have time for things like a healthy diet and exercise. We’re trading our health for our careers and social lives.

But the currency of health is not infinite. Staying up late every night to party or work on projects is buying life experience on credit. Eventually, that balance is going to come due. I think most of us have some understanding of this, but we ignore it. It’s an inconvenient truth.

The Normalization of Weakness

Every day I deal with people who can’t go up and down a flight of stairs, people for whom the simple act of sitting down and standing up requires an immense amount of effort. Some of them are fairly advanced in age, but many of them are younger than my parents.

Life is complicated and injuries are often unexpected, but I’m confident that without the presence of a disease or external trauma, nobody should need a joint replacement before they reach 65. The people that do, for the most part, did it to themselves through lifestyle choices.

“Not everyone needs to look like a Hollywood action lead. That’s not the point. The point is that weakness is an epidemic and it’s one no one talks about.“

This weekend I was sitting in my friends living room watching Pulp Fiction for the umpteenth time (because who’s going to turn off Pulp Fiction when it comes on?), and during a commercial break there was an advertisement for one of those mechanical chairs that goes up a flight of stairs. You know, the ones they install in the homes of the elderly.

I hate things like that and said so, much to the dismay of my company. They felt I was being overly harsh and maybe I was. I recognize there are situations that may call for such a device, but in most situations, you know what the right solution is? To teach a person how to walk up the stairs again – or better yet, to have never lost that capacity in the first place.

We have this cultural idea that once you’re over a certain age, you get a pass on putting effort into maintaining your health. Old people get sick. It’s what happens. But while older people are certainly more susceptible to a host of issues, the idea that it’s normal to be obese and in need of a bilateral knee replacement when you’re seventy is ridiculous. There is nothing normal about the idea that when you hit seventy, someone is going to cut out your knees and replace them with metal implants.

Strength Is the Foundation of Health

Joint replacements are considered normal, but a two-times bodyweight deadlift is considered excessive by the general population. That’s preposterous. For a healthy male who weighs 175lbs, that’s asking him to pull 350lbs once. Whenever I bring this up to my friends who don’t work in the fitness industry, the response is usually the same: “350 pounds is a lot, dude.” Is it, though?

Strength is the foundation of functionality. If you were to make a pyramid of athletic performance with sport-specific capacity at the top, the foundational layer would be strength. It doesn’t matter what sport. But when we talk about strength, people immediately conjure up the guy from the Planet Fitness ads. Strength is something for the weirdoes and the freaks. It’s not something normal people need, especially not if they work at a desk.

People don’t realize that the vast majority of outpatient orthopedic exercises are strength exercises. The vast majority of issues addressed in outpatient therapy are strength deficits. The therapy is simply so low level and so regressed that we don’t see the exercises for what they are.

Get a Little Better Every Day

Not everyone needs to look like a Hollywood action lead. That’s not the point. The point is that weakness is an epidemic and it’s one no one talks about. I’m not entirely sure why. Pride probably has a lot to do with it. Being called weak is insulting. People don’t get offended when we tell them their fasting blood glucose is over 125 mg/dl. Tell people they’re weak, though, and you’ve just wounded their pride.

“When you’re stronger, more of life is available to you. And just as with money, the earlier you start investing, the better off you’ll be in the long run.“

I’m not saying everyone needs to be a powerlifter or a competitive CrossFitter. Far from it. I’m saying there’s far more to exercise than aesthetics. Looking and feeling good is great, but strength really does make everything better. Here are some simple things you can try to be stronger everyday:

1. Posture and Breathing

Proper posture and good breathing patterns won’t immediately make you stronger, but they will give you access to more of your existing strength. Fully expressing the strength you possess relies on joint positions, alignment, and neurological control. Posture and breathing will improve all three.

2. Build Strength Before Power

It’s entirely possible to become immensely strong solely through doing highly technical movements like the Olympic lifts. That said, you would also need to be both naturally gifted and constantly under the watchful eye of expert coaches.

Failing those, building and maintaining a strong foundation of strength will help you learn those movements faster and protect you from injury. Sometimes when a movement is painful, it’s not your technique that needs work. You may not possess the strength to perform the technique with that load yet. “Yet” being the key word.

3. Practice Everyday Strength

Being stronger makes your life better, but the minimum amount of strength you need to stay healthy and functional long into your golden years isn’t that high. It can be maintained through simple methods like deliberately walking the stairs with proper form and posture a few times a day (even if you’re not going upstairs). Or if you drop something, take the opportunity to practice the bottom position of your squat as you pick the object up. Strength is primarily lost through inactivity and avoidance of difficult activities. The simplest solution is to embrace activity instead.

Start Investing In Your Own Health

When you’re financially stable and have disposable income, you have access to so much more in life because monetary barriers disappear. Strength is the same. When you’re stronger, more of life is available to you. And just as with money, the earlier you start investing, the better off you’ll be in the long run. Start investing in your strength now. Your older self will thank you.

Check out these related articles:

• How to Grow Old Disgracefully
• The Basic Week: A 7-Day Plan for Building Strength and Fitness
• 3 Easy Ways to Get Stronger and Better at Everything
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Emily Socolinksy at Fivex3 Training.

The post You Need to Be Strong: Investing In the Currency of Health appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Although those people were far from educated about health and physiology, they didn’t need to be. Their lifestyles toughened them by necessity, and if they could escape lethal threats to their lives – including famine – they were generally free of chronic disease.

RELATED: Running Is the Killer App of the Human Body

Because modern civilization has strayed far from that simple state, so too has the business of keeping yourself healthy. Most people don’t move enough unless they purposely resolve to do so. Most people don’t sleep enough or spend enough time outdoors regulating their circadian rhythms and soaking up sunshine.

This is where knowledge about staying healthy and a community of like-minded people are crucial. You need external stimuli and support to keep you on the healthy path to awesome.

And although the practice of health is not quite mainstream, there are plenty of passionate coaches, gyms, and organizations out there spreading the word – making a difference. We’re changing the world, slowly but surely.

Spontaneous Tradition: Natural Trial and Error

It is a travesty there is such widespread ignorance about health and fitness, but pioneers are pushing back the tide. Not just because of the statistics about public health, but because humans as a species, as living things, should be more in tune with their bodies. Like Erwan Le Corre of MovNat said – we are zoo humans, trapped by ingrained sedentarism and a lack of individual exploration.

RELATED: Free the Zoo Humans: Workouts and Wisdom From Erwan Le Corre 

In my high school history class, the teacher mentioned a phenomenon called spontaneous tradition. As opposed to deliberate tradition, where leaders explicitly devise and experiment with practices to bring the best results, spontaneous tradition arises from communities undergoing natural trial and error over time, remembering which habits served them best.

“Like Erwan Le Corre of MovNat said – we are zoo humans, trapped by ingrained sedentarism and a lack of individual exploration.”

We need more of a deliberate tradition regarding health and movement. This day and age is marked by unprecedented physical illiteracy. Innumerable women – including my own mom – think lifting heavy stuff will make females bulky and therefore unattractive and more masculine. People sit for hours, and then have trouble performing a basic bodyweight squat.

Yes, there are sports, health clubs, and even movement retreats the truly dedicated can partake in. All of these are examples of deliberate tradition, and they are good. But am I dreaming for too much when I hope that spontaneous tradition in physical culture may one day make a comeback? People, not even those with express goals of improving their health, using free time to move and explore rather than surfing YouTube? This would be ideal, but it doesn’t happen because the masses today are disconnected from their bodies.

“[A]m I dreaming for too much when I hope that spontaneous tradition in physical culture may one day make a comeback?”

The Hard Work of Movement Communities

I believe we can transition from deliberate tradition to spontaneous tradition in time. Most of the change will be achieved through the hard workers out there: coaches, physical therapists, gym owners, researchers, and athletes. Each organization that works with human health may have different specific goals, but their efforts have an overarching synergy.

Whether it’s Onnit and its message of “Total Human Optimization,” Gold Medal Bodies and their simple calisthenics philosophy, or Breaking Muscle, an amalgam of everything for the serious athlete and the average family, the curtain is being pushed back. The consummation of their work will be when we can look around and see spontaneous and joyful movement from everyone.

RELATED: 3 Basic Drills to Improve Your Strength and Movement 

This is why I look at strength and conditioning communities, as well as health communities, with respect and gratitude. They relentlessly practice their movement craft, slicing through troves of misinformation like a hot knife through butter. There are countless groups and people out there: MobilityWOD, Dragon Door, Mark Sisson, to name just a few. All together, they disseminate enough high-quality information for you to avoid injury and disease for a lifetime.

A Modern War Against Unhealthiness

Modern life has made being healthy a challenge, and we have public administrations in charge of health that are nonetheless presiding over decidedly unhealthy populations. They are doing the best they can, grappling with special interests and politics, but they need help. Sometimes, as with thehttps://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/, health officials come out with information that does not help everyone. Most of the time, there are those who don’t listen to their declarations: they come from far-away health officials who don’t know an individual’s history and seem to be backtracking almost constantly.

“Dedicated strength and conditioning professionals – who not only help athletes but also are excellent at aiding the general population – are the soldiers on the ground everywhere.” 

This is a war against unhealthiness that is profoundly hands-on. Dedicated strength and conditioning professionals – who not only help athletes but also are excellent at aiding the general population – are the soldiers on the ground everywhere. They are fighting not against a tangible enemy, but a debilitating, pervasive way of life. They are here to help and here to stay.

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 2 courtesy of CrossFit Empirical 

The post What Happened to Movement for Health? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

A recent study in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, the first of its kind, investigated a habit-forming model to improve diet.

What the research says:

• A habit-formation intervention model successfully changed dietary habits in kids.
• Subjects who met higher goal-setting standards did not have more success in habit formation.

Study Design

In the habit-forming model, you first choose a behavior you wish to enforce. Once the behavior is chosen, you then execute it during a specific event or at a specific time of day. The basic idea is to practice the behavior until it becomes an impulse that doesn’t require much thought to execute.

During four, hour-long home visits, which were separated by two weeks each, researchers discussed habit-enforcing processes with 57 parents. The parents were trying to enforce new dietary habits with their children, in three different categories. The parents chose one category to pursue in each of the first three visits. The categories were:

1. Fruits and vegetables
2. Healthy snacks
3. Healthy drinks

For each visit, the parents picked one goal they wanted to focus on. So, for example, in the healthy drinks category, the parents would get to pick any goal they had in mind to improve the consumption of healthy beverages for their child, like providing a glass of water after school. The parents were given a tick sheet to count how often they completed the chosen behaviors and how it felt.

RELATED: The Best Tactics for Teaching Your Kids to Eat Well

The researchers studied many aspects of the goal-setting process and how it related to forming new habits. Here are some of the factors they considered when they analyzed the goals set by the parents:

• Number of goals: A single goal makes habit forming easier. So, “Drink more water and less fruit juice” may not be as good for habit forming as just “Drink more water.”
• Frequency of goal: The important bit here was that a clear frequency was set for each goal. Having an ambiguous frequency was not considered optimal for habit formation.
• Absolute vs. relative: This aspect was enforced in order to set clear goals. Relative terms like “more water” are vague, and thus not as good as a specified amount.
• Increase vs. decrease: The researchers noted that promoting positive behavior is key for successful habituation. As such, for the goals to be optimally effective they had to be an increase of a healthy behavior, or the substitution of a healthy behavior for an unhealthy one. Simply reducing an unhealthy behavior was not considered as effective.
• Cue: Optimal goals were associated with a specific daily event, like a meal or after school. A lack of cues or ambiguous cues were considered sub-optimal.

Parents who set goals that met these standards were compared to those who set sub-optimal goals, or goals that did not meet the above recommendations. The researchers wanted to know if the parents who set sub-optimal goals were as successful as those who set optimal ones.

RELATED: Use Your Inner Coach to Set SMART Goals

Results

The model of habit formation used in this study was easy for the participants to use. Despite many of the goals being sub-optimal according to the standards listed above, the quality of the goal didn’t seem to have much effect on the strength of the habit formation.

The researchers found that it took about two weeks for the habits to sink in, during which time they saw rapid improvement, and afterward, a gradual improvement with time. So for new habit creation, make your goals specific and give them your all for at least two weeks before moving on to the next habit.

References:

1. Benjamin Gardner, et. al, “Putting habit into practice, and practice into habit: a process evaluation and exploration of the acceptability of a habit-based dietary behavior change intervention,” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2014, 11:135

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

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