Many times people completely misunderstand what weight training is and how it works.  The key component of weight training is that it is never static.  You don’t simply come in a perform the same routine day in and out indefinitely.  It MUST have progression worked into it whether it is more reps, a heavier weight, or a more advanced movement.  The ONLY way muscles or body fat levels will changes is if you increase the demand from your current state.  Recycling the same thing over simply maintains what you are.

Here is a lifestyle example:
Complaint: “I work on my feet and perform heavy manual labor for 8 hours per day but I am still heavy.”
Problem: It is either not as hard as you proclaim OR your diet is simply replacing all the calories you burned.
Solution: Not only is it important to work your job, but ALSO add in prescribed daily exercise and clean up the diet to cause a change.  Yes, this is ON TOP of what you are already doing.  And yes, taking the steps and parking farther away when shopping is nice too, but if THIS is your exercise plan you will forever remain frustrated and please come see me so I can slap you into reality.

Training example:
Complaint: “I workout an hour everyday by walking 3 miles and then doing 3 sets of 15 reps in a full body circuit and can’t seem to lose any weight.”
Problem: Same as above, this persons current fitness level is equal to their current body fat level, strength, and cardiovascular fitness… you ARE what you eat and you ARE what you do…don’t like it?  Try some change.

To change try pushing the walking either by: a) walking longer or b) try to run a portion of those miles (to push your fitness level and allow for new challenges in training).  Also, for your ‘full body circuit’ try doing sets of 1: 15 reps with your current weight  2) add weight and perform 10-12 reps  set 3: add more weight and perform 8-10 reps.  But, this change will only work for so long…

Below is a very great article by a strength coach I don’t always see eye to eye with, however THIS article is brilliant!  It will explain to you why you may not be getting what you want out of your fitness routine (and you can apply this to your weight training or cardiovascular exercise programs).

Enjoy this Majuscule!

Don’t Lighten Up!
By Mike Boyle

Every time someone in a social setting finds out that
I’ve worked with PGA golfers, the response is always
the same. “I guess you guys do light weightsand lots
of stretching.” It drives me nuts. One thing I hope to
do over the next few months is tell the truth about
training.

Point 1 – No one ever got better lifting light weights.

Light weight is an oxymoron. A weight should be
appropriate to the goal but, rarely, if ever, intentionally
light. The load should be based on the strength levelof
the person. The reality is if you are lifting a weight ten
times, numbers nine and ten should be difficult. If you
can lift a weight 20 times but choose to do only ten,
you are wasting your time. Period.

Point 2 – The essence of effective strength trainingis
a concept called progressive resistance exercise. This
means that that even if the resistance may be light to
begin with, it should not stay that way.

I go crazy when someone tells me about the routine
they’ve been doing with their eight-lb hand weights.
(P.S. Call them dumbbells. Calling them hand weights is
a dead giveaway that you are clueless.)

‘Pink hand weights’

My first question is this. How long have you been doing
this? Often, people respond with something like, “I’ve
done this three times a week for three months.” The
doctrine of progressive resistance says that the first two
weeks were beneficial and that 10 weeks were wasted.
It’s no wonder people stop working out.

Point 3 – Once you have passed the first three weeks of
training, you should lift a weight that is heavy but allows
perfect form. Be wary, however, of another all-too-common
mistake. When we say the load should be heavy, people
begin to cheat. We are not encouraging cheating. Strive
for perfect technique in all exercises AND progressively
increase the resistance.

‘NOT Pink hand weights’

Point 4 – Work on basic strength in basic exercises. If your
trainer has you practicing your golf swing with a dumbbell
in your hands, get a new trainer. Do not wave dumbbells
around and call it strength training. Learn to body weight
squat, learn to do a push-up. Good basic training should
strongly remind you of the calisthenics you used to do in
high school.

Here’s the truth. The secret is, there is no secret. If you
want to hit a golf ball further, you need to get stronger.
You will not get strong lifting a five-pound dumbbell.

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Hello Again,

The Diet Diva is back with more tips and advice to make a healthy lifestyle taste great!  Below is some of the best advice possible when t comes to optimize your lifestyle for HEALTH and PERFORMANCE.  Below The Diva talks about how fruits and vegetables can be your secret weapon for weight loss.  Another awesome thing about fruits and vegetables is all the amazing chemicals in them that do more than any of our science even currently understands.  You will be hearing about new findings and health benefits from fruits and vegetables until the day you die.  There is just so much packed in their we don’t know about and NO vitamin or supplement can replace these key nutrients.  In the meantime read below to see how something so simple can help you shed the pounds!

This reminds of my days in undergrad when I would eat 1lb of broccoli EVERYDAY.  Sitting in class I would get very hungry and having to keep my body weight down for competitions I would chew on broccoli like popcorn to keep me satisfied…hence, the undergrad nickname, ‘broccoli boy.’

Enjoy this Majuscule!

Eating Your Fruits and Vegetables… and Losing Weight!

By Jennifer McDaniel, MS, RD, CSSD, LD (The Diet Diva!)

Summer sees the arrival of all sorts of delicious fruits and vegetables! Most of us know that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables provide vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber that are good for our health.  Increasing your diet with fruits and vegetables can also be used as a strategy to lose weight.  Fruits and vegetables are categorized as low-energy dense foods. Low-energy dense foods can be eaten in larger portions; however, don’t add up to a large amount of calories.  High-energy dense foods would be foods such as bacon, cookies, and butter.

High Energy Dense Foods: 4-9 calories per gram (cookies, crackers, bacon, butter)

Medium Energy Dense Foods:1.5-4 calories per gram (bagels, dried fruit, hummus, skim cheese)

Low Energy Dense Foods: 0-1.5 calories per gram

(most fresh fruits and vegetables, fat-free yogurt, broth-based soups)

Sticking to low-calorie diets can be difficult, especially if you don’t feel full or satisfied after eating. Research shows one of the most important factors to helping one feel full is the volume or amount of food we eat. Lower dense foods such as fruits and vegetables allow us to eat more, feel full, and feel full on a lower amount of calories.  The secret behind low-energy dense foods is the higher amount of fiber and water these foods contain. Weight-loss related research studies show that individuals with high fiber diets lose the most weight.

The key, however, is SUBSTITIUION. Fruits and vegetables do have calories, so if you simply add them on top of what you are already eating, you will not lose weight. BUT, if you substitute an 80 calorie apple for a 200 bag of chips, or 2 cups of diced strawberries at 100 calories for 1 cup of regular ice cream at 300, you will definitely lose weight!

Here are some additional tips for making fruits and vegetables part of your weight maintenance or weight loss plan.

-      Choose whole fruit over juice. Fruit juice does not contain the fiber that whole fruits do. Plus, juice is higher in calories.  For example, you could choose an 8-ounce cup of grape juice OR 3 cups of grapes for 170 calories.  For most individuals, eating 3 cups of grapes would be more satisfying. (Try freezing your grapes for a sweet snack on a hot afternoon.)

-       Eat fruits and vegetables the way nature intended. Try steaming your vegetables and adding herbs and spices to them. Overcooking produce will decrease the amount of nutrients. Some vegetables, such as sugar snap peas, are great eaten raw, especially in the summer.

-       Frozen fruits and vegetables can be just as healthy as fresh.  Frozen fruits and vegetables are usually packaged shortly after harvest.  The quick packaging process retains more vitamins and minerals.

-       Buy more than you need and freeze your favorite summer produce for the winter months.

–       I like to clean fresh blueberries and throw them into the freezer to add to morning cereal (keeps the milk extra cold) or microwave them with light maple syrup to top whole-wheat pancakes (allows you to use less syrup).

-       Get creative. Try thinking of ways you can substitute more veggies and fruits into your typical meals.

-        For example, right before you drain your pasta, throw in cut up vegetables to the boiling water.  Blanch the veggies for a couple more minutes, drain, and add sauce.  This gives you more volume to your pasta dish, as well as less calories.

-        For a summer entertainment idea, use a blender, combine watermelon and fresh mint, and pour into ice trays and freeze.  Add the tasty cubes to spark up a summer drink.

Enjoy your summer fruits and veggies!

If you follow these guidelines your everyday foods will be much improved!

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Hello Again,

I have been doing this for a LONG time now and I am always surprised about how fearful people are of weight training or a simple exercise program.  It also never ceases to amaze me how mental this truly is.  People work up monsters in their heads about how bad or difficult something is or is going to be…all built up FEAR (you know, false emotions appearing real).

Anyway, an interesting quote to consider: people over estimate what the can do in a year, but under estimate what they can do in a decade.  Likewise, consider you or someone you know who thinsg the ycan fix or erase a lifetime of an unhealthy lifestyle in just 30-90 days.  While that is enough to get your started that is merely the first step in this lifetime journey.  But, back to what I said earlier,dont let that journey seem to daunting.  It all begins with one step.  And not All will be forward steps there are and will be set backs, what is important is you keep taking steps.   Finally, don’t wait for the perfect time to start your journey, there is NO perfect time for anything.  If you are waiting until you ‘feel good’ your are fooling yourself!  You wont feel good until after you put a little work in…next thing you know you will be looking back at all the little steps you took and see that they actually have added up…Below you will see why it is NEVER to late to take these steps.  I have heard every excuse in the book and one of them that pisses me off more than any is, ” I am to old for this,” or ” it just gets harder when your old.”  If you ain’t dead, you are still L-I-V-I-N!  I will be wiping my own butt in the next 50 years thank you very much.  This stuff is never ‘easy.’  If it is then please cancel your membership at Smellbridge and swing by The Lab and we can fix that for you by setting you up on a progressive program that will deliver real world results.

Enjoy this Majuscule!

Weight Training Boosts Satellite Receptor Growth in Older People…and That is Good.

Dr. Donald Suggs Deadlifting 225 for the 10th rep at age 76 and 155lb body weight.  Substantially stronger than when he STARTED weight training 3 years ago.  He has since squatted and deadlifted 225 for 15 reps, performed 80 pushups, and leg pressed over 600lbs.  He did not START there.  He built himself up over a 3 year period with progressive resistance training.

Did you know that most people lose about 20 percent of their muscle mass between the ages of 40 and 60.  By age 70, more than two-thirds of people cannot lift 10lbs overhead.  Loss of muscle with age is a serious health issue that significantly impacts the quality of life.  Not only are you more likely to fall or become injured with low muscle mass but research has also shown that having a higher BMI late in life can improve your outcomes when suffering from a chronic disease (BMI is a measure of height and weight that is increased from lean mass weight, which is highly desirable tissue when suffering from chronic disease, not necessarily fat tissue).

Danish scientists reported that loss of satellite cells might account for some of the muscle deterioration that occurs with aging.  During hypertrophy (muscle development from weight training), the muscles create satellite cells (muscle cells consisting of just a nucleus).  Muscle growth factors can cause the satellite cells to combine with muscle cells that when stressed or damaged during weight training can assist in cell repair and adaptation (yesss, adaptation!: that is why this is hard at FIRST, but you ADAPT if you are NOT a yo-yo exerciser.  And why we will never keep your training in the same place or plan forever. If you did that you would never change from what you currently are and are maintaining your current state…you must push it to the next level-ALWAYS, unless you are completely content with what you are).

Satellite cell formation is important because it maintains a balance between the number of nuclei and cell mass.  Cell nuclei are the centers for protein synthesis and muscle tissue formation.  The Danish study showed that 12 weeks of weight training increased satellite cell formation in older adults.  SEE!  YOU ARE NEVER TO OLD!  YOU CAN ALWAYS ADAPT AND IMPROVE AT ANY AGE!!!  That is amazing information!

Dr. Suggs pushups with 25lbs on his back (age 76)

With training and progressive resistance old muscles will respond positively too and can become stronger.  Likewise, an individual with no prior weight training could arguably become stronger and more fit than they ever have in their ENTIRE LIVES AT ANY AGE!  In fact we have a handful of clients just like that.

Yes it’s true your sex hormones decrease at a relatively younger age, however weight training can actually simulate them to higher levels.  And yes, your metabolisim drops every decade, however weight training INCREASES your metabolism (not to mention appropriate diet and cardiovascular exercise = excuses gone).  Likewise, if that is your excuse consider this.  If your testosterone begins to peak and drop off between ages 25-30 and you live to the average 67.2 years old (current world average) you have over half your life still left to live!  So why hang up the hat so soon when research has proven you can do something about it?  Or, will you be one of those blaming your age for the fact that EXERCISE IS DIFFICULT?!  Remember, its called WORK-out for a reason!

Weight training might be the most important type of exercise for older people because it improves the quality of life, by keeping you strong, functional, mobile, independent, and can even improve your sex hormone levels. I will drink to that!

(Scandanavian Journal of Medicine Science Sports, 17:34-42, 2007)

Dr. Suggs doing bench dips with 90 extra pounds on his lap (age 76)

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Hello again!  Hope your 4th of July was fun!  I had the pleasure of taking a bit of time off from work and resting from my preparation for the the 2010 National Weightlifting Championships at which I took 2nd place:

USAW National Championships highlights

It was very nice to take the time off and refresh a bit.  Sometimes I like to travel to other gyms and see what other places are like when I have the time and see what else is out there.  I thought I was in for a real treat, however boy was I unpleasantly surprised with my experience and found myself damn thankful I ever opened up this little piece of heaven on earth called The Lab.  I will never understand why some gyms exist and what their purpose is other than socializing.  It’s amazing people even break a sweat in these places…oh well. All I know is I don’t mix business with pleasure or weightlifting.  What I mean is if I was going to a place to simply socialize it certainly wouldn’t be a gym.  Don’t get me wrong some of my closest friends and family on earth I know through gyms but when we are at the gym we are here for a communal purpose…and that’s not socializing.  So if anyone would like to go grab a beer and socialize any place else I am all for it.  Maybe ‘Smellbridge’ wouldn’t mind if I brought my own Budweiser next time?  I mean there isn’t anything else productive I can do there;)

Congrats to Voy Andrews who has no lost 145lbs!

Congrats to Dr Dave Jaques and his wife Annie who have just completed a triathlon !

Congrats to Dr Michael Evans who has lost over 85lbs!

Congrats to DeDee Catsavis and Tom Major for NEVER quitting no matter what they may have broken, tore, or shattered…we can always work around it if we can’t work through it!

Congrats to Penney Kols for losing over 20lbs!

Look out for Do-Do below!

Enjoy this Majuscule!

Did you know that you have an unlimited ability to store triglycerides as fat cells ON and IN your body?  This explains the 600lb virgin or recently the 1000lb man I saw on TV.  While we have a limited warehouse to store carbohydrate in the muscles, liver, and blood stream fat cells can expand literally forever if we let them.  If you really think about it this explains why certain diets do what they do and why an athlete can eat a certain way that would make a couch potato overwhelmingly jealous…more on that in a later issue.

We all know body fat increases by enlarging existing fat cells, also known as fat cell hypertrophy. Fat cells may also take up space on that 600lb virgin body of yours by increasing the number of fat cells fat cells, also called fat cell hyperplasia.  Until recently, scientists thought that the number of fat cells was fixed in adults, but could be influenced by exercise and diet during childhood.

Perfect example of calorie balance and why rabbit diets and caloric diet restriction SUCKS!  If you remember interviews about his diet, the “Eat whatever I want as long as it equals 12,000calories diet.”

Now, scientists are realizing that things are not that simple…hmmm, surprise, surprise the scientists missed something again!?  Excuse the sarcasm, however, many times science can cause some severe limitations on constructive and rational thought, as if we lived in a black and white vacuum world.  And the paralyzed by the ‘show me your evidence’ crowd remains stuck in no progress land stuck behind their glasses and expanding waste lines while never stepping into the field making anything REAL happen.  Go ahead, run along and play with your mice.  Don’t get me wrong, I love science and even Scientists but at The Lab we combine a mixture of 80% evidence based rationale with a healthy dose of 20% common sense real world now how that the other ‘Labs’ will never be able to prove in their controlled settings…END OF RANT.

About as practical as the info from many ‘experts/scientists’

Soooo, where were we? Scientists have discovered that overeating combined with decreased physical activity can trigger increased fat cell production (must have been Einstein).  This makes people more prone to obesity, because they have more places to store fat.    Scientists have long known that yo-yo dieting (repeated weight loss followed by overeating) increases the risk of obesity.  Yo-yo exercising (periods of exercise followed by weeks of no physical inactivity) has the same effect (also, why you shouldn’t put all of your eggs in one basket…diet and exercise are BOTH crucial pieces of your plan.). Overwhelming one side of this too much will lead to fallout and increase likelihood of failure.  The best strategy for weight control is to maintain a long term, sensible diet and exercise plan that you can do for a lifetime! So, scratch off the quick fixes of liposuction, and yes even bariatric surgery (of course there are exceptions, but these methods do not change long term BEHAVIOR or healthy HABITS, and based on the above you now know that weight maintenance or loss is simply a measure of your LONG term diet and exercise BEHAVIOR/HABITS…when utilizing these methods no behavior is changed and soon the weight is regained, wasting thousands of dollars!), likewise the same can be said about crash diets or pathetic exercise programs (my new fav: the 500 calorie HCG diet…sounds like fun, please shoot me, life is not worth living on 500 calories per day).

Your inconsistency and flakiness are not only ineffective at reaching your goals but creating an even bigger problem for yourself.  Your cells are expanding and replicating…stick to the plan!

This research reinforces exactly what the Lab has been preaching to you about SHOWING up, getting in your 6 days of exercise religiously no matter what.  Even on the hard days when you don’t feel like it (and trust me, for most people, there will be more days you don’t want to do it, then do-do it…I said do do!).  Especially at FIRST, as with anything, this gets easier with time, and much more fun! Then turns into a normal lifestyle habit.  And that is today’s take home message, you don’t simply do this for 30 days or 3 months even, you commit yourself to a lifestyle of  appropriate diet and exercise that achieves and maintains your goals.  And once you achieve it, the game isn’t over, it has to be maintained or this program was no better than the above crash approaches. This is for life.

Do Do or Doo Doo?

You don’t have to hit a home run every time, but you must show up to bat!  If you don’t show up to bat you are always out.  You just have to ask yourself what is better, a half ass workout because you don’t feel great or NO workout because you decided NOT TO SHOW UP.  Those half ass workouts will do more for you in the long run then you could ever realize (but don’t get me wrong., ONLY half ass workouts will only give you half ass results!).  It’s official: that is the record for the usage of the word ‘ass’ in any of the Majuscules.  No asses were hurt in producing this newsletter and I hope it wasn’t a pain in yours.  Now get off your ass and get moving before you yo-yo yourself into the next fad!

(Journal of Applied Pysiology, 102:1308-1309, 2007)

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