Energy Clinic Bulletin

An Active Workplace VS Working Out

2009-10-26T00:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

It’s been a while since I last wrote to you all. I have been reasonably busy in my literary absence however, putting together a new home for The Energy Clinic and I’m happy to say, that we are very much up and running with only a few little odds and ends still on the building ‘To Do’ list. If anyone out there has ever renovated a house you’ll know what I’m on about.

The last few months have definitely seen me putting in some big hours and my own training has certainly suffered as a result. What would have been a reasonably difficult sweat session 4 months ago, has been leaving me lying in a pool of my own mental misery, especially after each hard Sunday Session. (My hard workout of the week with my team)

Anyway, this loss of overall fitness has got me to thinkin… Have you ever wondered why people who have a very active and physical job can and dare I say, often are, a little on the overweight or at least very unfit side? Surly working all day, banging nails into lumber, climbing ladders, rolling paint on walls, carrying heavy gyp-rock and all the other activities that make up being a trady, should be enough to keep someone flat of abs, fit as a fiddle and looking terrific.

One would think…

There are a few possible answers as to why so few of the tradesmen out there look like they do on a beer commercial. You know the ones; fit, bronzed and oozing sex appeal. Besides the obvious reason that they are hired actors and models, why doesn’t a typical trady, who works hard all day long, achieve the fitness or the look of an athlete like a football or even a tennis player?

As per usual, I believe there are a few important reasons for this.

Always, the first and foremost reason why people develop and/or can’t get rid of their ample figures is poor nutrition habits. The best scientifically designed program or workout in the world can’t make up for really poor nutritional choices and unfortunately, tradesman are well known for their questionable dietary practices. This is probably due to constantly changing work venues and too many trips to the corner deli where pies and chocolate ice coffees are the staple fare. Planning ahead and preparing your own lunch can be a great way to overcome the temptation to eat this sort of food too often.

After spending 3 plus months building our new gym, I can easily relate to the overwhelming desire to minimize any extra effort required to do… well just about anything other than sleep. Up for work at 6am then working through till lunch at 1pm and then again often to 9pm at night 6-7 days a week can leave little chores like laundry, cooking dinner or preparing lunch seem like mammoth tasks. This would often result in a short stroll on down to the local café for eats. I know how much my nutrition suffered over those three months.

All I can say is thank you modern science for high quality supplements like Juice Plus+ (www.energyclinicnutrition.net). Supplementing is a great way of taking a really bad nutritional scenario, that can occur when you’re over worked or even out of your normal routine, like being on holiday and turning it into something that just needs to be tweaked back into place when things settle back to normal. Remember though, like poor nutrition and exercise, supplements can only do so much.

Another key factor is what’s called adaptive response, where the body does its best, which in most cases can be really quite remarkable, to change and adapt to whatever external stresses are placed on it. For example, lifting heavy objects like gyp-rock or perhaps working your muscles for a long period of time such as framing a house with a hammer or heavy nail gun.

The problem with your body being so efficient at adapting to its stressor environment is that after a very short space of time, i.e. a few weeks or a couple months at the very most, your body stops adapting. It has reached an efficient enough level of strength or fitness to successfully accomplish all the tasks required of it. Your body is smart, efficient and effective, which is why we have to be a little tricksy if we want to really induce some physical adaptations or changes.

Now compare that to an athlete who regularly changes their program, often every week, in order that the body doesn’t ever get the chance to adapt fully or more to the point, is continually having to adapt. Constant adaptation means constant progression. Unfortunately, very few occupations need change their physical requirements consistently or significantly enough to keep the improvement curve moving upwards. Most of us work really hard at staying where we are, even with our gym programs.

There is another significant reason why adaptation doesn’t quite work as well on a construction site as it does with a specifically designed training session. Any ideas?

Duncan

Taking A Look At Average Nutrition

2009-06-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

Another Energy Bulletin...

The hardest thing about getting your nutrition right is just following

the basic rules, aka Compliance. I mean let's face it, nutrition isn't

difficult. Compliance to the relatively easy rules that govern good

nutritional practice however, seems to leave a whole lot to be... well,

improved on.

Most of us would already know that we are an overfed yet under
nourished nation. In common speak, this means we consume tons of
energy rich foods but very few foods that are rich in vitamins,
minerals and other health providing antioxidants and
phytonutritents.

Pasta, rice, bread, and most cereals are prime examples of energy
rich foods that only contain a small amount of good quality nutrients

that our body's use to maintain us in good health or even repair us

from day to day damage and ageing. Foods like meat pies, pasta

meals, hot dogs, hamburgers, most fast food, most pizza, most pub

meals and a lot of canned food can be placed in this category as well,

even though there are a few exceptions. (I make a delicious gourmet

pizza that's actually quite healthy ;o)

I've mentioned in previous bulletins that just because you're not
eating junk food doesn't make you a healthy eater. Cereal for
breakfast, bread bread and lunch meat for lunch and lasagna for
dinner is a classic example of how most people can get through a
day without any real 'junk food' but still not get any decent nutrients

at all, day after day after day. This lack on nutritional compliance to

what we know makes us healthy will inevitably make you sick and

most likely very, very sick in the end.

Ok, so we need nutrients throughout the day and I'm sure most of
you again will know that it's pretty much all gotta come from plant
matter, namely fruits, vegetables and yes, whole grains too.

So let's look at an average (real) food diary from a 43 year old
woman, who we'll call Sally and see where we're at.

Sally weighs in at 66 kilos and stands approx 5'5. She trains twice

a week with a trainer and walks on the weekend with friends. Her

basic goal in to lose body fat and tone up.

Bk fst. 7am. 2x Weetbix, glass of OJ, x2 slices of wholemeal toast
with jam.

Snack 1. 10:45am. Small tub of fruit yogurt. 240ml water.

Lunch. 1pm. Turkey sandwich on wholemeal with marg, lettuce

and tomato.

Snack 2. 3pm. x3 Ryvita with cheese. 250 ml water.

Dinner. 7pm. Lamb steak Dianne with potatoes, broccoli and

mushrooms with. 250ml water.

Snack 4. 7:45pm. 2 glasses red wine, small chocolate mousse, x5

crackers with cheese.

So the good thing with this diary is the regular eating schedule. This

will help to keep Sally's metabolism high and keep the fat storing

hormone Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL) from kicking in throughout the

day.

There are a few down sides with this nutrition day however.

Bk fst. Lots of carbs in the morning. Sally's ca rb requirement per
meal for her height, weight and activity level would be about 120g
per day. So lets say 30 per meal and 10 for a snack.

Wbx2 = 15g, OJ = 20, Toast x2 = 30, Jam = 10 for a grand total of
75g of Carbs FOR BREAKFAST!

Do you think 75g will effect her hormones over the next 30 min?
You betcha! Insulin will be introduced heavily into her system to
lower the rapidly elevating blood sugar. This will leave her
hypo-glycemic (low in blood sugar) tired and craving sweet food by
10am. It will also stimulate LPL for fat storage which means even
if she trains today, she is likely to burn very little in the way
of body fat. You'll also see there is no protein anywhere to be
seen.

Snack 1. There really isn't much in the way of fruit here but at
least there is some. Protein also will be negligible but at least

present. Carbs for a small tub is usually pretty high, esp fruit yogurt,

so we'll generously say about 30g.

Lunch. Yay... we have our first sourse of protein which has come
quite late in the day. Protein only resides in our blood serum for
a few hours at the most. Without protein you will have depressed

plasma levels of the hormone glucagon which is in part responsible

for increased fat metabolism. Protein also stimulates the hormones

responsible for muscle growth and repair. Two pieces of whole meal

bread = about 30g so that's actually not too bad and the addition of

lettuce and tomato while not great in amount, gives her at least

some vegetable nutrients for the first time today. The body will

need these to combat the free radicals racing through the body,

especially when adding exercise to the mix.

Snack 2. x3 Ryvitas are probably about 8-10g each which puts us
close to 25-30g. Remember Sally only needed about 10g for a snack.
The cheese because of it's saturated fat will actually help a little by

slowing down the su ger absorption. Again, no real high end

nutrients.

Dinner. The steak, while full of saturated fat and butter with the

sauce, is still Sally's first really good source of protein today. By now

her body is probably protein starved and she was probably eating

into her muscle stores for the required protein during the day. The

potatoes, broccoli and mushrooms are likewise her first really good

dose of micro-nutrients for the day besides the two slices of tomato

that she had for lunch... They've been a long time in coming.

Snack 3. Sadly, Sally's training objective is to lose body fat. This

desert really seals the deal on a not so great day. x2 glasses of wine

is straggly not the issue with only about 3-4g of carbs per glass.

Not only that but the antioxidants at only 2 glasses is probably going

to do more good than harm considering the lack of nutrition through-

out the rest of the day. The chocolate mousse however, probably

contains about 40 grams of carbs with an additional 25g for the

crackers. This energy will not be stored in the liver or muscles as

glycogen but will in fact be transported tothe cells for storage as fat.

So let's look at our summary.

The minimum fruit intake per day is 2. Sally had... Well, none really,

except for the yogurt which doesn't really count. I'll graciously give

her 1/2 our of 2.

The minimum Vegetable intake per day is 5. Sally had about 2.5
with a cup being a serve. So half her daily MINIMUM. If this is a
usual day (which it is) then Sally's risk of degenerative disease
and illness would be considered extreme.

Protein was very low at about 1.5 serves. A minimum would be
about 4 for Sally. The low protein will not only inhibit growth and

development but it will also deprive Sally of essential hormones that

will encourage muscle development and improve fat metabolism.

Fat intake wasn't too bad however, margarine is not food. It is
one molecule removed from being plastic. IT IS POISONOUS! So
don't eat it.

Sally's water consumption was pretty low at 750mls. She also
drank 3 diuretic drinks being O.J. and x2 Wines. She would be
dehydrated by bed time which will keep her system toxic and slow.
Dehydration will cause a dramatic reduction in performance and to
top it off, it will make you irritable and vague if not addressed
early.

My 1st recommendation to Sally was to do another 7 day food diary.

Her goals were to increase her fruit and veg consumption to 2 fruit

and 5 veg per day, which remember is only the MINIMUM daily

requirement. I also put her on a high quality fruit and vegetable
supplement to bridge the remaining gap between adequate and
excellent.

Sally's protein goal was to look for some vegetable sources of protein

as well as introduce more protein in the am hours. We also

introduced an A grade vegetable based meal replacement with high
quality vegetable proteins and low glycemic carbs to her first snack

or post workout drink.

There are several good supplements on the market today and many
thousands of garbage ones. Check out our web site for my
recommendations at www.energyclinic.net

Her 3rd task was to limit the treat foods to one day. Pick a day,
any day and treat yourself. If you have it daily it's no longer a
treat but a nutritional component to your day.

How does your food diary compare with Sally's?

Yours in health,

Duncan

The Healthy Art of Ageing

2009-03-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

Another...

Energy Bulletin

I've always had a keen interest in longevity. In fact one of my primary e mail addresses prefaces with longevityplus. But it's not just the idea of living for an extended period of time that has maintained my interest over these many years. Living a productive, happy existence from A all the way to Z, free of the illnesses and ailments that prevail our society has, even as a youngster, seemed a concept of choice rather than consequence.

What we do, how we act and even or especially the way we think should, to my way of thinking, dictate the state of our health even in extreme old age, rather than the idea that we are predisposed to illness and disease as a result of our genetics. Until very recently, science has told us that if your grandfather died of cancer, then you too have a significantly higher probability of spending your final days suffering with the ravages of sickness and morbidity. These days thankfully, science seems a whole lot less sure.

Welcome to the age of lifestyle diseases, where indeed your choice about what you eat, how much activity you subject yourself too and how well you handle the stresses of our modern world are far more likely to determine, not only the length of your life, but also and probably more importantly, the quality of your health throughout your journey in it.

Irrespective of whether or not you are practicing the art of maintaining a long and healthy life, if you are reading this post, then there is a good chance that you already know that our ability to maintain good health is in fact a choice. What is easily forgotten in our society is that we should be able to do this well into our 80's, 90's and yes, even our 100's.

So why is it that most of us living in a 'modern society' are labeled old a decrepit by the age of 70? Is it because by then we are 5 years into retirement and are no longer seen as a contributing member of our community? Perhaps it's because at 70, we are seen more and more as someone who has well and truly passed the best and most productive years and that the most we can hope for is that we don't become too much of a burden on our family's as we spend our final years at the mercy of doctors and nurses who battle vainly against, for the most part, incurable diseases. It is interesting to note that for many society's around the world, being of advanced age doesn't necessarily mean that your need end up dying of cancer, heart disease or stroke. How novel.

There are, I believe, two possible reason for this western mindset of aging. The first and foremost is a lack of good old family values that have possibly been lost in our quest for bigger, better and much, much more. The second reason could be that because of our poor lifestyle choices, it is unfortunately for the most part true, we have indeed passed our productive use by date well before the manufacturers warranty expires.

Let's tackle these one at a time.

There are a few universal truths that have been noted by researchers when they've examined the reasons why certain society's tend to be so much healthier and longer lived than our own western and often far more modern one. It may surprise you that an extremely positive view on ageing has been identified as one of the chief causes of a long, productive and healthy life. A great example of this is when we compare any of the worlds long lived society's, we can observe a universal reverence for the elderly.

In fact, in most countries, being old is seen as something to look forward to as it is used as a measure of respect and status. Compare that to our youth obsessed culture, where people would rather go under the knife and endure weeks of painful recovery while being fed only baby food or inject their face muscles with paralyzing toxins simply to defy the natural evolution of their existence.

Whether we look at the long lived Abkhasians in the old Soviet Union, the Vilcabambans is South America or the Okinawans in Japan, one thing remains universally enjoyed, and that is growing old. I read recently, (John Robbins: Healthy at 100) that when one researcher tried to explain to a group of Abkhasians that in the West, the aged are often put into retirement villages to be looked after by paid staff rather than kept at home with the family, his comments were met with incredulous disbelief to such an extent that nothing he could say could allow them to grasp such a barbaric practice. (John ro

In the West, our insistence that growing old means that you no longer have a rightful place in a productive society is often bought into by the aged themselves and who can blame them, we are surrounded by representations of the elderly being old, frail and senile. Characters like Grandpa Simpson, of the much loved cartoon series, is often used by the writers to express society's view of the seeming useless and decrepitness of those in their later years. Compare this to the Okinawans who don't even have a word for retirement and one can begin to see that our own concept of ageing is no doubt a self fulfilling view and one that isn't bought into by the longer lived society's of our planet.

Another great difference between our culture and of those who experience wonderful health into their later years is our choices. We are lazy! Perhaps not when it comes to our work ethic or how indeed how many hours in a week we spend aiming to achieve a little bit more than the year before, but next time you and a friend make plans to go to dinner, the pub or a movie, tell them you'd rather walk the 6km there and then back again and ... ? Well I'm sure you'd have no trouble imagining the response.

The problem is we where meant to move, not occasionally or for an hour before or after work but most of the day long. Another important commonality of the longer lived people is their lifelong devotion to movement and daily exertion. Now this may be because, for most of these people, having to toil all day in the field may be a necessity but be that as it may, most of the elderly, well into their 80's and 90's, can normally be found, not at home with the grandchildren, but in the field with their great-great-grandchild slung in a harness across their back while they hoe another patch of soil.

There are many more possible reasons for the lengthy and disease free existence enjoyed by these society's, such as diet and indeed good genetics, but while there is little we can do for now about our gene's, there are certainly better choices to be made when it comes to thinking ourselves into old age. For me, I personally like to emulate those actions that have been adopted by those who enjoy good health, long into their senior years. I have no intention of ever falling into the trap of feeling old because everyone else around me is determined to do so. I have chosen to surround myself with friends who enjoy physical activities and healthy lifestyles and who, most importantly, view family as an important aspect to living, not just a long life, but a rich and complete one too.

d.

The All or None Method

2009-01-07T16:27:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another...

Energy Bulletin

Isn't it strange how many of us adhere to the all or none principle.
You know the one, we hear about it all the time whether it's to do
with diets, drinking, exercise or whatever. We see this mind set a
lot around any holiday time period. "I'll start my diet/exercise
program in the New Year." or "I know the drinking is a bit out of
control but it's the holidays, I'll do a detox when its all over."

So what makes this method of adhering to personal goals or
objectives so attractive? What's so difficult about maintaining that
middle ground of being good or staying dedicated most of the time?

I believe it has a lot to do with discipline or a lack there of.
I'm sure most of you would agree. So does this lack stem from not
having an action plan or a properly laid out set of goals? You know
the ones, written not spoken, time lined and achievable.

Maybe it's an inability to satiate our inner child. That naughty
little munchkin inside us that just doesn't want to do the right thing,
even though we know better. "It's the holidays, I'm sick of being an
adult, just let me be 10 again!"

Could it be that we are sabotaging our efforts as an easy out for
not being in the physical condition that we know is well within our
ability to achieve? "Yes I used to be fit but I keep having to do
these damn work dinners." (Like you can't find chicken/fish and veg
on the menu, "Hold the rich creamy sauce thanks." -Way too hard!!)

I'm sure all of us can relate to one or more of these examples and
can probably come up with a dozen more each. No doubt we do every-
day. So what to do about it. Should we keep putting off today what
could be done today with no better reason than "I'm an all or none
kinda guy/gal"?

Perhaps it's a lack of understanding that this all or none lifestyle
can have very damaging effects on our health. We have all heard
about the damage binge drinking can have on our health, yet most
will still justify our actions with "Yeah, but I don't drink all week."
HELLO !!!! That's what binge drinking is!

I see the effects of Yo-Yo dieting on a daily basis and I can tell
you that it is much, much harder to shift the fat off somebody who
has taught their bodies to conserve energy through years of dieting.

Imagine you have been exeercising and watching your nutrition through spring and you've managed to shed an amazing 8 kilos from Oct to Jan but you let yourself slide for 3 weeks and managed to put 4 kg back on. Most people would say "Yes, but I lost that 8 so quickly, i'll be able to shed this Christmas pudding in a few weeks. "WRONG!" You have turned your body from a fat burning furnace into a fat storage facility and it can take weeks, even months, for your body to reverse that need to conserve and store.

3 months to lose 8 kilos, put back on 4 kg in 3 weeks whilst enjoying
another 'None' phase and you'll likely need to add another 3 months
to this crazy merry-go-round just get back to where your inner child
kicked a tanty.

What a waste of our most precious commodity... Time.

Studies have confirmed this to be the case time and time again. Here
is an excerpt from a website newsletter I subscribe to, realage.com,
Published on 10/08/2008.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ever been tempted to take a little hiatus from your exercise routine?
Well, here's an unsettling fact that may help you stick with it, even
if you go with an abridged or lighter version.

Light exercisers who quit cold turkey for a bit, rather than just
scaling back, have a much harder time dropping the weight they gain
during the break.

Something is Better Than Nothing - Lighten up on exercise and
you may gain a bit. But do nothing, or close to it, and things get
much worse. When exercisers in a recent study slacked off, they
gained exponentially more weight the closer they got to zero
exercise. And here's the kicker: The research also suggested that
a prolonged hiatus produces weight gain that can't be reversed by
simply going back to your old routine. You have to do more.
Yikes. So even if it feels strange to do less, like training once a
week instead of 3 or 4x, remind yourself that it's infinitely better
than doing nothing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Well that's it from me folks. Just do me a favour. Ask yourself
if your "Hard earned break" from your exercise routine, your good
nutritional habits or any good habit for that matter is really the
way you want to go about rewarding yourself. We all need a break
from time to time but it rarely behooves us to drift from all to
none. After all, we're not 10 anymore.

duncan

Surviving The Holidays

2008-12-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

Welcome everyone to another...

Energy Bulletin

Ahhh holidays, don't you love em. Like Chistmas snow ball fights with the kids across the road, warm mulled cinamon egg-nog with a touch of rum, opening christmas presents by an open... Wait a second, forgot where I was. E'r hum, I meant shoeing the fly's away from the BBQ while cracking open a bottle of sparkling burgondy.. Ahh yes, Christmas is great.

Unless of course you're a personal trainer, which means you get to watch most of your clients not only slow or stop training but actually reverse a lot of the conditioning we've worked so hard for. It happens every year.

Now don't get me wrong, from a business and personal perspective it's not too bad as we trainers need a holiday as much as anyone, so the couple or weeks off is great and our clients usually come back extemely desperate to get back what they've lost in the way of conditioning
and good habits. So the fact is, is that it can actually be quite good for business.

Not bad then for us... Not so good for our clients though and here's why.

Firstly it seems really silly to blow out that badly over Christmas or any holiday for that matter when maintenance is so darn easy. It takes waaaay more effort to aquire a result than just having to maintain it. Where you needed 3-4 hard sessions of training a week in order to get that body fat shifted, it only takes 1 hard session and 2 light sessions to maintain what you have. If you don't feel like going hard then 3 light sessions will certainly get you through 3-4 weeks of holidays.

The difference between adding that hard session in each week or not will make itself known to you when you attempt to get back into that regular routine post holidays and believe me, the difference that that 1 sessions intensity will make is actually quite noticable. Especially
if your training at least at a moderately high intensity, which all of our clients at The Energy Clinic do.

So here are my 10 top tips for surviving the holidays.

#1 Do some exercise- Maintain a bare minimum of 2 training sessions a week. They need only be 20 minutes each but keep up the intensity. 3 is better.

#2 Watch your carb intake- If you know you're going to have a few drinks then keep carb intake from food very low to none leading up to your social event. Think veggies, veggies and meat.

#3 If you've had a really bad day/evening then don't dispair- 1 day of crappy food or too many drinks won't hurt, it's the 3-4 days in a row that nail your coffin. So, pick yourself up the next day and minimise the carbs again to try and reset your insulin sensitivity. Have another meat and veggies day.

#4 Remember that you have one opportunity to eat sugary food and not have it go straight to your waist line. That's right, 20-40 minutes post exercise is your window of pleasure to indulge that sweet tooth and actually have it do you some good. Use it wisely.

#5 Don't let your partner, friends or family con you into thinking you're a health nut just because you feel the need to go for a quick run before dinner- Even though they love you, people sometimes (I'm sorry for this but.. Especially Australians) tend to want you to perform at their level because your motivation unconsciously makes them feel guilty and it's not a nice feeling, so they will often 'jokingly' make fun of you and that's fine, smile, nod your head, make a comment about running down the road to visit your shrink and be on your way knowing that you are possibly more educated and motivated to do the right thing in this area of life than they.

#6 Drink lot's of water- This is especially true if you are having alcohol or planning a big dinner. A large majority of people will unconsciously use food or alcohol to replenish what is actually thirst. By staying well hydrated, you are far less likely to over consume these calorie rocketing nibbles and meals.

#7 If you're a beer drinker and you're watching your carb intake or if you should be watching your carb intake, then go Low Carb. There are some really good beers out these days that have virtually NO Carbs. That's right, none at all. I don't mind Pure Blonde's but that's me, there are a few out that you can try.

#8 Don't go hungry- We hear of/see this all the time when it comes to cooking that big family dinner and you or someone who's dear to you, is slaving over that hot stove all day, then the last thing they/ you generally want to do is eat. This is bad for two reasons. Firstly it sets up a fat storage response to the lack of incoming nutrients and secondly, it makes you really hungry, which most people will try and cure by either over-eating or getting blind drunk and abusing the
in-laws, which can be rather amusing as long as it's not you, in which case the apologies over the next few days can be quite embarrassing. So do yourself or your loved one a favour and make sure you/they eat.

#9 Buy small- We get our clients to do this all the time. Buy yourself something really cool or cute to wear, just before the silly season really kicks off, that is just a little bit too small. This
cool/cute piece of clothing has a tendency to stick in your mind a lot better than something like this bulletin when that extra beer or serve of ice-cream is being offered around. If you're already at your ideal weight or size then this won't work but you can always just measure your waist line on the 5th of December and promise yourself to do it again on the 5th of January. Your mind once again will remind you of this little self wager when it's most needed.

#10 Reality rears it's ugly head- Sometimes a little old fashioned research can help us stay on track during a break or holiday. A recent study I read found that if you lighten up on exercise for a while you may gain a kilo or two, but if you stop altogether or close to it, it get's much, much worse. The study showed that the closer the subjects got to no exercise the more weight they were likely to gain, no surprise there. But the kicker was that just returning to their regular routine was not enough to burn away the extra kilos gained. The reality was that they had to work nearly twice as hard to lose the weight the second time around than they did the first time!This means that the work done originally was more than twice undone. It makes me quite sad to think that all my... Er, I mean, all your hard work and possibly your money is gone, undone, reversed, squashed, wasted, thrown away and for what???

Hmmmm, you tell me!

duncan

For Love of Movement

2008-09-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

An Energy Bulletin

I hate to exercise, really it's true. For me, there is nothing more dull, boring and un-exciting as heading off to the gym to go and exercise, blah.

I do however enjoy learning and improving upon movement like; the timing of my clean and jerk, the balance of my handstands, the flow of my Olympic snatch, my posture and bio-mechanics of my sprint or running gait, the timing, balance, flow and posture required to deliver an effective combat strike and of course trying to improve the time in which it takes me to accomplish a set task or challenge. You see, despite its apparent simplicity, all these activities are incredibly challenging both physically and mentally. For me it's a lifelong and never ending quest for movement perfection.

It's interesting that the general public, including the media often consider endurance athlete's to be the fittest of the fit. How could anyone possibly be fitter than Robert de Costella in his prime? Well, that would probably be difficult if you only included cario/endurance capacity as your sole
measure of fitness. But what if you included other aspects of fitness like strength, co-ordination and agility? Where would Robert place on the list then I wonder.

It saddens me to see that skills concerning timing, agility, balance and co-ordination have been left out of most traditional gym programs over the past 20 years, even though all of these attributes are all obviously an important part of human movement and performance.

So what you say, I'm not interested in hand stands, forward rolls, kettle bell swings or what I look like running down the road. I just want to lose some body fat, tone up a little and keep healthy.

Well let me tell ya kids, there ain't a better method of achieving those weight management results than learning how to improve the efficiency and capacity of your movement. A better squat will mean the capacity to lift a heavier load. Improved efficiency will reduce the amount of time you need to accomplish a set number of repetitions or tasks and this all means that you would have dramatically increased your capacity to work.

And this is REALLY IMPORTANT!

Increased work means more energy burned = Fat loss! Increased work capacity means you are able accomplish more reps with a heavier weight = Muscle increase. Improved work capacity and efficiency also means that you have improved on your bio mechanics or movement
patterns = Far, far less injuries when you start to get this right.

But it's not just about being able to work harder and more effectively, although this is obviously of huge benefit. It's also about keeping training interesting. I simply couldn't stand it if I had to go back to the old days of Mon- Chest and Biceps, Wed- Legs and cardio, Fri- Back, Triceps and Abs. Seriously, I would rather become a Sherpa and haul other peoples luggage up Mt Everest.

Let me leave you with another of Coach Glassmans little gems. I've had this little number blue tacked beside my computer on the wall since 07 and I'm still not tired of reading it.

World-Class Fitness in 100 Words:

■ Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch
and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but
not body fat.

■ Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses,
C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups,
dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes,
flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast.

■ Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations
and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep
workouts short and intense.

■ Regularly learn and play new sports.

These are words not only to live by, but words you can live very, very
well by.

duncan

Are You Training Frequently or Infrequently Training?

2008-08-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another

Energy Bulletin

It never ceases to amaze me how often people want to do the absolute minimum in order to achieve a spectacular result. It's often reflected in all aspects of our lives from our relationships, to work and of course in our training.

Basically we are a lazy society. No surprises there. What is surprising, at least to me, is how many people will come to me, often spending a reasonable sum of money, to find out what the minimum amount of training they have to do to achieve a decent level of fitness or fat loss.

Where is the dedication?

When a client comes in and says, "I want you to design me a program that is easy for me to maintain with my busy lifestyle." What they are really saying is, "Look, I don't really want to be here, it's just that being a fat lazy sod isn't exactly cool or glamorous, so I need you to make me feel better about being lazy."

This is when I sit back take a long look at my prospective client and give them the real low down on what needs to happen to achieve a good result no matter what your goal. If you think that training with me once or twice a week without doing anything else is going to get you the body or the fitness level that you are probably aspiring to, then think again.

Once or twice a week is a maintenance program, nothing more. In fact training once a week won't be enough to maintain anything, even if you're fit already. It may slow your backward slide a little but not much more.

Training twice a week at intensity will keep those of you with a low to average level of fitness exactly where you are at, low to average. Forget about achieving any great standard of health, low body fat or level of fitness. Having said that, it can be a starting point for some people if they are completely new to moving. (It might astound you how little most people move)

Three times a week, again training at a reasonable intensity, will certainly maintain the standard of anyone with a low to mid level of fitness and, provided the training is sound and well designed, it may be enough for you to start achieving a reasonable return for your time and efforts. *It is important to note that I am not talking about jogging on a treadmill or sitting on a bike for 40 min 3 times a week. Although some of you may think that is training, it certainly isn't training smart. (See Energy Bulletin Cardio VS Strength Training, Friday, April 18, 2008)

Of course training three days a week is simply the minimum amount of time one should train when you are looking to achieve a particular result or goal rather than maintaining what you have. A competitive athlete for example would more than likely, depending on the discipline, find themselves losing ground after only a few weeks of training only three times per wk.

Four times a week is where we start making some serious gains. Although it's more than likely not enough for the elite among us, it is really where those who are looking to make substantial physiological gains and changes like body fat loss and improved movement performance should be aiming for.

Now some of you I'm sure are thinking "Damn, that's a lot of time to dedicate out of the week." or perhaps you're thinking that there is no way that you want to train that hard/often. But the reality is that we are actually designed to do a lot more.

The optimum training time to achieve your best fitness and health should be around five times a week, again provided the program is designed properly and that it is changed regularly to ensure proper recovery of your muscles, nervous system, lymphatic system, endocrine system, etc, etc. Do you need to do this all with a trainer... Of course not, you just need to do it. A trainer should be used to get that extra intensity out of your session and of course to learn better lifting techniques and exercises, not to baby sit you through a session. (Although you wouldn't know this to see most P.T. sessions.)

Understand that what you have to do to move forward and achieve results is completely different than maintaining once you are there. If you come to me saying that you want a nutrition program that you can do forever but you also need to lose 10 kilos then I'd have to tell ya, "Sorry, we don't sell fantasy's here."

duncan

What’s Your Training Directive?

2008-07-23T15:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another

Energy Bulletin

When asked about training for fat loss, one of the very first questions I ask is, ‘What’s your training directive?” Often this will solicit a blank look, followed quickly with a hesitant “Uuh, to lose fat?”

Hmmm, that may be your objective, so let me rephrase. “What is it that you are going to do to maximise your fat loss?” “Ahhh,” they’ll smile, “I’ve started walking with my neighbor 3 days a week.”

Training for real results, much like anything else in life, needs to be approached with more than just enthusiasm and zeal, although that’s naturally a great start. Planning, implementation and a little bit of good old fashioned research will go a long way to saving you a lot of time and disappointment with another failed weight loss attempt. This is your training directive.

Far too often I see people who have made the decision to finally do something about those jiggling extra kilos and off they go to join a gym or similar, to sweat that excess flab away. Unfortunately 90% or more will fail because they didn’t do their research.

A classic example of this is those people who spend hours and hours each week doing long cardio sessions like; walking, running and aerobics classes when their objective is to lose body fat. I find it really odd how slowly information seeps from the sports scientists and trainers to the general public.

Any trainer who is worth their hourly rate stopped using long cardio sessions for fat loss over a decade ago, yet venture into any health club and what do you see? Rows and rows of people lined up to use the treadmills. It should be obvious to everyone that it’s the same people cranking out the km’s day in, day out, month after month and even year after year and for what? They still look much the same!

These days you’ll find all of the top notch trainers and athletes utilizing short duration but much higher intensity training methods to bring about maximum fat burning and fitness results. Note I said fat and not weight. The best way to lose weight is to jump on a treadmill for an hour each day for a month. You’ll lose weight all right, but your percentage of body fat may even increase despite your sweat and tears. The reason for this is that you’re probably not losing much fat, but you’re most certainly burning into your muscle stores. Reduced muscle mass = Fewer Calories Burned.

Short duration cardio sessions have a few distinct advantages over longer sessions including;
• Time effective- Most high intensity sessions max out at 20 minutes.
• Immediately effective- You can burn almost double your daily calories in a fraction of the time.
• Long term effectiveness- While an hour on a treadmill can and will burn muscle, short high intensity sessions will actually promote lean muscle growth which of course increases your metabolism. More muscle = More Calories Burned!

So my advice is this, if fat loss is your objective, take a look at high intensity interval training. I guarantee that, done properly, you will lose fat much more effectively and gain the lean muscle necessary to make sure it stays lost!

duncan

To learn more about functional, high intensity training check out our class time table on our web site. www.energybulletin.net

Are We Just Talking Or Are We Talking Action?

2008-06-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hello all and welcome to another...

Energy Bulletin

I gotta tell ya, people who tell me that they couldn't exercise
last week or last month or whatever because they didn't have time
to get to the gym really annoy me.

That's right, I actually get annoyed. Why? Because they're just having
an insubstantial whinge and frankly, I'm too busy and have too many
other non whinging friends and clients that I could be spending better
quality time with.

Now don't get me wrong, as a trainer and someone who has been
known to make grown men cry from frustration and pure exhaustion, I
have no problem with having a legitimate sook about something, as
long as it's relevant, cathartic and very, very quick.

Have a whinge and then 'Build That Bridge Soldier,' cause you
really are going to get over it!

Now, why does not being able to get to a gym really get my goat as an
excuse not to train? It's because you DON'T NEED A GYM!

When I told that to someone just last week he actually said to me,
"Yeah, but I want to train hard."

What a load of S%#@

It's just another excuse that people use when they're feeling too
lazy to do something about a particular problem they've developed.
I.e. Being physically and emotionally piss weak!

Now this may seem a little harsh, but ask any trainer in the
business and they'll tell you that there is nothing worse than
training someone who would rather make excuses why they didn't
achieve their fitness or nutritional objective, rather than pull out all
stops and say, "Right, I'm gonna do this, even if it kills me." and
actually mean it.

Ok, you probably shouldn't train so hard that you die, but a lot
of you, yes I mean you too, need to have a seriously hard look at
yourselves and ask, "Am I doing everything I can to be as healthy,
fit and lean as I keep telling everyone I want to be?"

Well, are you?

There are many people who couldn't care less about their fitness
or their health and that's fine, they've made a choice and will no
doubt live to regret it. I have little problem with that as these
people tend to have very little direct impact in my life and they
don't often waste my time.

What does annoy me, are those people who pretend to want a
result but are to lazy, scared, indifferent or feeble to actually do what
really needs to be done. They are the ones who tell me, I couldn't
exercise because I couldn't get to the gym... Sorry, but it's
pathetic.

Make a decision and then go for it. Don't be that person who talks,
talks, talks and never does, does, does. That's not how you earn
respect of others or more importantly, it's not how you learn to
respect yourself.

Basically what I'm saying is this, don't just go through the act of

making all the right noises just to make yourself feel better or look

better in front of your cafe friends. If you're going to train, do it properly

or give yourself a break and just head straight for lunch. Don't lie to
yourself if the truth is you just weren't that committed to your goals
in the first place. You'll save yourself a whole lot of emotional regret
and chastisement later on.

If you are ready to make some changes then make the commitment
to do the work. Train hard but smart and expect that if you're training
properly, then it's likely going to be a little uncomfortable from time to
time. Remember, this is precisely what gives you the sense of
achievement later on.

So for those of you who can dig what I'm getting at, here is a
program that you can do anywhere, anytime... How 'bout right now??

There's a beer commercial in there somewhere, lol.

Here she is...

15 Push ups (toes or knees)
15 Full sit ups
15 Squats (your bum should be level or below your knees at the
bottom.
15 Jumps (jump onto something, like a park bench or jump for
distance, your height is a good length.
100 meter sprint.

Do this 4 times as fast as you can.

If your feeling tuff enough, do 25 reps of everything ;o)

Time yourself and send me your results.

Train hard or shut up,

duncan

Thoughts on Vegetarianism

2008-06-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another

Energy Bulletin

Howdy do everybody… If you read my last bulletin you would know that
among other things I had been overseas for a while. Yep, spent a good
long week in Tasmania where I attended my baby sisters wedding on a
beautiful island beach just outside of Hobart, a very beautiful part
of the world. Damn cold though!

One of the many great things about getting away of course, is getting
to meet new people and engage in new and interesting conversations.
Being a trainer I am often asked questions regarding nutrition and
exercise and if I'm not careful I can find myself in the middle of a
nutrition or fitness consultation and if they're not careful they
might ask me something about nutrition after I've had a couple beers…
Lol.

It does help if I have family around as they don't really let me talk
too much shop when on vacation and certainly not after beer.

Anyway, on this occasion I was chatting with a few of my sisters'
friends about the differences and difficulties that come along with
being vegetarian. It was an interesting conversation in that although
some of these young ladies knew a little bit about being vegetarian
they were just a little off the mark on a few things. To start with they
didn't quite know how to categorize themselves as to what type of
vegetarian they were.

So should you be at a dinner party or gathering and the subject of
vegetarianism comes up, here area few things that you should know.

Vegan
A vegan does not eat any fish, meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products or
foods that contain any of these products. If they are true vegan then
they also do not use any non-food items that contain products from
animals, including wool from sheep, leather and silk. Vegans often do
not eat honey for example because bees may be killed while harvesting
it.

Duncan's 2 cents- Nutritionally speaking this is obviously the hardest
form of vegetarianism. As a vegan you have to check, double check and
then re-check most everything you eat and that's just at home, let's
not even consider the hassles of going out to a restaurant or a dinner
party.

True vegans also find it difficult to acquire the right amount of protein
throughout the day, especially if they are training at a moderate to
intense level.

I know, I know, a lot of vegans would, of course, disagree with
this but then they don't have a $2,500 body composition analysis
machine that they use to measure the rate at which we burn or
synthesis protein and well… I do!

In my 15 years of using this body composition computer I have probably
met less than a dozen vegetarians that seem to get enough protein from
their diets to support an active lifestyle.

The problem lies with the fact that we need 22 amino acids in our
diets to complete our protein profile. Any less and we will not have
the building blocks necessary to synthesis protein for muscle
recovery, repair and building. The problem with plant based protein
is that they are incomplete protein sources, meaning that you have to
combine plant based foods properly to complete the profile.

Although this isn't too difficult to do, it does take a reasonable amount
of time and diligence to do it properly and it has been my experience
that most people have a hard enough time trying to get in 3 meals and
2 snacks per day let alone making sure the foods are combined properly
to ensure that the 8 essential amino acids are present within the meal.

So the long and short of it is that it can be done but it's often far
too challenging for any but the truly dedicated.

Lacto Ovo Vegetarian
A lacto ovo vegetarian does not eat meat, fish or poultry, but will
eat eggs and milk. This of course includes products made with eggs and
dairy including; yogurt, cheese, milk and ice cream… Hmmm, ice cream
;o).

One could also separate this into those who eat eggs and not milk and
vice versa. For example a Lacto Vegetarian does not eat meat, fish,
poultry or eggs, but includes dairy products in their diet. They can
consume milk, ice cream (that does not include eggs), yogurt and
cheese. They would naturally avoid things like ice creams, baked goods,
pancakes and veggie burgers that contain eggs.

Duncan's 2 cents- This is a much easier method to work with as a
trainer. Eggs especially are a great source of protein because they
fulfill the complete amino acid profile. They are also full of other
healthy nutrients. (See March 08 E.B. The Truth About Eggs).

The down side of this, is that personally, I am not all that keen on too
much dairy. For starters, we are the only mammal that drinks the stuff
after we have been weaned off our mothers' milk let alone drinking the
milk of a completely different species. Secondly and I think more
importantly, I have read a reasonable amount of research showing how
milk, especially from cows treated with synthetic hormones, can and
do create all sorts of health issues. (I will talk more about the problems
with milk in another bulletin.)

My choice here would be as an Ovo Vegetarian. (Eggs but no dairy)

*Note- A small amount of milk probably won't hurt you, so a little
cheese and yogurt can be a good way to lift your protein profile
throughout the day, although it shouldn't be used as a sole source of
protein.

Pescatarian
A Pescatarian is a vegetarian who doesn't eat meat except for fish.
True vegetarians would say that this means that this isn't true
vegetarianism but I say it's pretty darn close. Of course this
individual may or may not eat eggs and or milk products.

Duncan's 2 cents- Some of the perceived health benefits of a
pescatarian diet lies in research that has been done over the years
showing that red meat may be detrimental to your health. An example
of this would be the link drawn between the consumption of red meat
and osteoporosis. The idea being that the phosphorous in red meat can
cause calcium to leech from our bones. (I have yet to see some really
conclusive evidence to this however).

*Note- A more likely reason for people who eat a lot of meat getting
certain illnesses is that a lot of 'meat eaters' tend to fill
themselves up on meat and empty calories such as pasta, bread, rice
and don't tend to eat enough fruit and veggies.

One of the big advantages of pescatarianism is that the fats from
fish, being mostly omega 3's, are generally viewed as much healthier
than the saturated fats found in red meat. Again, I feel that
moderation of these saturated fats is a better alternative than
abstinence. In fact, if one looks at a Mediterranean diet, which has
been shown to be one of the best diets in the world, you would quickly
see a lot of similarities to pescatarianism with a small amount of red
meat generally consumed.

In my experience, a lot of vegetarians don't eat meat because they
believe they are making a healthy choice and yet having read many
hundreds of food diary's over the years, I have found similarities to
our 'meat eating comrades' in that a majority of their nutrition ends
up coming from pasta's, bread, rice and cereal. No good at all.

Other vegetarians have a more philosophical reason for not eating
meat, such as the treatment of animals. I believe there is some
validity to this when one looks at the practice of giving growth
hormone treatments to animals to improve growth rates and indeed some
living conditions could certainly be improved especially with caged
hens.

For this reason, I simply choose to eat free range/grain fed
organic eggs and chicken while attempting to do the same with my meat
and fish while eating as much fruit and raw vegetables as I can.

duncan

Is Your Fitness Program Hindering Your Performance?

2008-06-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

An Energy Bulletin

If you take your exercise seriously and/or if you have a personal trainer in your life, you would certainly have heard the term 'Functional Fitness Training'.

Functional Training originated with exercise rehabilitation but has been transformed in recent years by some of the world’s premier trainers and coaches into the most progressive form of athletic training available. Today it is used by all of the top trainers, therapists and coaches around the globe to maximise the performance of their clients, patients and athletes.

Body Building on the other hand is a method of training that has been used for many years to simply hypertrophy (grow) muscle. The unfortunate outcome of using a body building methodology to enhance your fitness is that you end up with large muscles that look great but don't have very much in the way of practical strength or performance value. Basically they look good but perform badly outside of a controlled environment, aka the gym.

These days, many people use gyms and trainers to develop better strength, lose body fat and of course improve movement performance, which incidentally isn't restricted to just athletes. In fact some non-athletes are actually more athletic than the athletes themselves. (Yes it's ok to re-read that one)

Let's look at the overall performance criteria of a rower for example. These guys and gals are in their own way great athletes. They develop great strength with both endurance and power output capabilities and of course have a high cardiovascular requirement to ensure they get their boat of choice across the finish line in a decent time.

Now let’s look at a carpenter as a non athletic example. A carpenter doesn’t need a high level of cardio fitness to perform his/her job and as I have a few good mates as nail pounders I know that a good majority would probably fall over dead if you asked them to run 5 km.

Carpenters do however perform great feats of strength, balance, coordination and agility every single work day. Imagine for example having to hammer in the frame work for a house for the next 5 days. Sounds like fun huh. Now add to that carrying long pieces of wood over uneven terrain and then having to nail it into place over your head… Hmmm. Now imagine that to get there you have to climb, with the 12 foot piece of wood, up a ladder and then balance on one leg over the frame work 15 feet in the air. Now add in a wet and windy day. Now do that ALL day long.

Both of these activities have their own aspects of athleticism and performance values that they need to develop. Unfortunately they are both more likely to try and achieve better performance from lifting weights like a body builder.

Listen to me people This training method is soooo last year.

Isolating your muscles during training and then putting them under increasing loads as in a bicep curl, triceps extension or a hamstring curl machine is a great way to make that muscle group bigger and stronger for that particular movement or exercise. Put yourself on a soccer field, up a ladder or in the garden pulling weeds and rest assured that all that work in the gym has very little functional benefit or carry over to your ‘real world’ activity.

In fact the lack of coordination, balance and agility development that occurs from isolating muscle groups will most likely create dysfunctional movement patterns, which in turn can cause both poor performance and injuries, both in and out of a competitive environment.

In basic terms functional training means adopting the movement patterns which are useful to you OUTSIDE of a gym environment and then adapting them into a controlled training routine. This can be done with dumbbells, barbells, medicine balls, band and pulley systems, step up blocks, pull up bars or rings and some cardio equipment.

Notice there is no fixed weight machines in that list. (I.e. Pec Deck or Leg Extension machine)

If you are interested in how your body works and performs while playing recreational or professional sport, performing ‘athletic’ work duties, playing with your grandchildren or backpacking around Europe then you should look at investing a little of your time into Functional Fitness Training. Not only will you feel and perform all manner of physical tasks better but it just also happens to be the best method I’ve come across with regards to changing the shape of my clients through sculpting muscle and burning excess body fat.

I call that a win, win and win again training method.

duncan

Health; Expense or investment?

2008-05-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another Energy Bulletin

Do you consider your health an expense or an investment? Many people consider it an expense both in terms of time and money.

You will often hear people saying 'I don't have the time to do all that exercise' or 'I can't afford to eat healthy food'. At the same time these people are often investing money in shares or savings for long term gains, or investing time studying to secure their financial future. But did you ever consider that your health is exactly the same? A little bit of time and/or money invested in your health now may mean a lot of time and/or money saved later.

Investing in your health for your financial future. The best financial investment you can ever make isn't in shares or houses, it is in your health. The returns on investment in terms of savings are better than virtually any other investment you can imagine. For example, consider this: for every dollar spent in Australia on getting people to quit smoking, we save $50. Another study has shown that investing in regular chiropractic care can lead to less x-rays and MRIs, less surgeries and less back pain related costs. In fact even when the cost of the chiropractic care was factored in, these people had lower overall health care expenditures. In other words these people got healthier and saved money at the same time.

Investing time to gain time. The other thing that people often miss is that when you invest time in your health, you actually gain time as well. For every hour that you spend in the gym, you will regain several hours. You will have more energy and enthusiasm and you will be more productive. So much so that the time you gain in increased productivity will be more than the time you invested getting fit. And that is not the only time you will gain.

Did you know that in 2003, males could expect on average to experience 18.6 years of life with a disability, whereas females could expect 20.7 years of life lived with a disability? So despite the fact that we are living longer, there is a large chunk of our lives that we are effectively "losing". By investing in our health now we can reduce our chances of the lifestyle diseases that are driving those morbidity stats up. There is no question from the research that by changing our lifestyles we can reduce our risks of strokes, cancers, diabetes and heart attacks. This means that we can not only increase our lifespan but we can increase our productive lifespan as well.

So don't see time and money spent on health as an expense, see it as an investment. Any time and money that you spend on changing the way you think, changing the way you eat or changing the way you move is going to come back to you with interest, often more interest than you realise is possible – and certainly more than you could ever hope to gain by putting your money in the bank.

Invest in your health. It literally will be the best investment you ever made.

Dr Brett Hill

Greenhill Family Chiropractic
475 Greenhill Rd
Tusmore SA 5152
(08) 8431 9536
www.drbretthill.com

Dr. Brett has been training hard at The Energy Clinic and is putting in a big effort to develop his Olympic lifts. Thank you for your words of wisdom mate, It's good to know that they come from a man who practices what he preaches.

duncan

Money is the most envied, but the least enjoyed. Health is the most enjoyed, but the least envied. -Charles Caleb Colton

Nutritional Basics, Part 1 - Protein

2008-04-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and welcome to another-

Energy Bulletin

You know that pesky little thing that we humans need to do at least
several times a day to stay alive? No, it's not breathing, we do
that about 25,000 times per day. No, it's that other silly thing,
you know, the one that most of us do either too much or not enough
of... Oh man, it's.... you know, that thing we do that is essential
for keeping both ourselves and our families alive and healthy?

Oh wow, I remember... It's good nutrition.

It never ceases to amaze me how little effort most people put into
something they will have to do several times a day or more for the
rest of their lives. We're talking about basic nutrition.

So why is it that so many people understand a lot more about their
car, their computer or how to sell ice to Eskimo's than they
understand about what is required to keep themselves well nourished
and working in tip top shape?

My guess is that it's just pure laziness or perhaps it's just that
most people still don't fathom, despite the continuous media
coverage over the last decade, that nutrition is often our best and
sometimes only line of defense against everything from fatigue,
cancer, diabetes, obesity, poor physical performance (including
sex), lack of concentration, heart disease, acute stress, pre-mature
aging, sarcopenia, osteoporosis, reduced immune system, poor
digestion, poor memory, cellular damage, etc, etc, etc, etc...

The list really does go on and on and it's not just words on a page.
An estimated one third of all cancers are attributable to poor
nutrition, physical inactivity, and being overweight. That means
that at least one third of all cancers are preventable, probably
more.

Anyway, mine is not to deduce the lack, but to try and fill the gap,
when and where I can.

So let's start with something everyone should already know.

I want you to do a little self test with me. Just a quick quiz to see
where your nutritional knowledge is really at.

Go grab a pen and a scrap of paper. Ready?

#1 Name 3 sources of Protein.
#2 Which of these three items has protein in it. Egg yolk – Goats
milk – Bananas – Tomatoes?
#3 For a complete meal is fish a good sole source of protein?

Before you check your answers let's try a few harder ones.

#4 Protein is made up of 20 amino acids. Of these 20 there are a
certain number that can't be synthesised in humans and must be
ingested. These are called essential amino acids. How many of the 20
are essential?
#5 Failure to obtain even one of these essential amino acids within
your nutritional profile can have serious health ramifications True
or False?
#6 Is it possible to get enough protein from a vegetarian diet?
#7 Who needs more protein, a 20 year old male, a 7 year old female
or a pregnant woman?

Easy or no?

Let's see how you fared.

The answer to number one and two would be any animal, fruit,
vegetable, nut or grain. You see every single thing that's
considered alive, or at least was alive, has protein in it. From a
nutritional point of view we aren't concerned so much with the 'if'
but more of the 'how much' protein does it have. Generally animal
products contain more usable protein than plant sources.

The answer to number 3 of course is yes, fish is a wonderful source
of protein and is especially useful for some people who don't eat a
lot of red or other animal meats. An added bonus is you get the
wonderfully healthy omega 3 fatty acids from fish.

These other three questions where a little tuffer. Let's break these
down a little.

There are 20 amino acids that make up protein. If you can imagine a
car as a cell you would find carbohydrate as the fuel and the amino
acids as the metal frame and structure. As humans we are able to
synthesis or self produce 12 of these amino acids. These amino acids
are called non-essential. The other 8 (some say 9, but we shan't
tarry here) amino acids are 'essential' in that we must consume them
in our diets on a regular basis to ensure proper protein synthesis.

Typically, these essential amino acids are supplied by meat and
dairy products, but if those are not consumed, some care must be
applied to ensuring an adequate supply. As most vegetable sources of
protein are incomplete, meaning they can't fulfil the 20 on their
own, they need to be combined correctly to ensure the full amino
acid chain is complete. This can be done with the correct combination
of cereal grains (wheat, corn, rice, etc.) and legumes (beans,
peanuts, etc.)

The downside to any vegetarian diet is that failure to obtain enough
of even 1 of the 8 essential amino acids will incur serious health
implications and can result in degradation of the body's proteins.
Muscle and other protein structures may be dismantled to obtain the
one amino acid that is needed.

From a training point of view this can be very counterproductive to
any training program where the need for protein, in all of it's 20
amino acid glory, is essential for muscle building and repair. I
constantly consult with clients who are putting in the hours in the
gym but are actually losing muscle because their protein intake is
inadequate to the demands of the training regime.

So the big summery...

Protein exists in everything, which means if you are eating the
recommended 5-6 meals per day, you don't need huge amounts of
protein in any one sitting as long as you get the constant supply.
We aren't able to absorb huge amounts of protein in a single sitting
anyway, so if you miss meals or don't get enough protein throughout
the day, a huge T-bone steak isn't going to be sufficient in making
up the lack.

Personally, I would be too lazy to be a vegetarian because I
consider the extra time preparing and shopping for the right
combination of food too time consuming. Some would dis-agree and
that's fine. I know a few friends who do vegetarian very well. They
are however the vast minority.

I choose to eat red meat a couple times a week with fish, chicken
and eggs making up a large portion of my protein profile. Once again
the frequency of my meals means I'm never eating a huge portion of
anything. This makes digestion and bio availability (absorption) of
nutrients a lot more efficient.

I also use Juice Plus+ Complete (Meal replacement shake) because it
has a wonderful profile of vegetable proteins that are in themselves
super-heroes for your health.

Replacing meals with a shake is also a great way for me to fulfill the
small widow of opportunity needed to maximise the results of my
training by consuming carbohydrates 20 minutes post workout, then
some protein within an hour or two. (More on post workout nutrition
at a later time).

If you'd like more information on Juice Plus+ Complete then check
out www.energyclinicnutrition.net

If you'd like to source more vegetable proteins look at beans, peas,
spirulina, tofu, artichoke, broccoli, nuts, seeds, brown rice, lentils,
etc, etc... Remember it's all just a google away.

How much protein do you need? Well it's hard to get an exact figure
as most experts disagree, however a general guide would be 1 gram
of protein per kilo of body weight. Athletes, children (especially at
growth stages) and expectant mothers may go a little higher with
each case requiring special consideration.

Hope this help a little in bringing you up to speed on your lifelong
journey with nutrition ;o)

Train hard, train smart.

duncan

Cardio VS Strength Training

2008-04-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

An Energy Bulletin

Which one would you choose to get the results YOU want?

There are many different ways to get your body into shape. Most of
these methods of exercise are classified into two broad groups,
Cardiovascular (cardio) Training and Strength Training. Cardio and
strength training are very different yet closely related activities.

Cardio or endurance based (aerobic) training in such forms as
walking, running, bike riding or swimming, to name the more popular
varieties, can assist you by; burning extra calories for weight loss,
improving heart function, reducing cholesterol, improving recovery
after exercise, reducing your risk of diabetes and other diseases as
well as enhancing your ability to deal with stress, which we all of
course suffer from time to time.

Strength training also comes in a variety of forms. Free weights and
body weight training such as push ups and lunges are two of the more
popular styles of resistance training, while boxing and wrestling
styled sports, although less popular, will have similar resistance based
activities.

Strength training is used of course to assist the body in building lean
muscle. This building of muscle can have many different benefits to
your health and sporting performance such as; developing strength,
enhancing immune function, maintaining or improving muscle mass,
increasing bone density, improving movement function and joint
stability as well as increasing your metabolic rate or energy burned
which correlates to improved body composition. I.e. looking better
naked in a mirror, very important ;o)

What a lot of people don't realise however is that sometimes these
two different aspects of conditioning and exercise can have opposing
and sometimes adverse effects on the body. Prolonged endurance
training for example can actually depress the immune system, reduce
muscle mass, thereby decreasing metabolism, as well as possibly
causing a range of skeletal and joint imbalances through the high
repetition of movement that accompanies such sports as running or
cycling. (I have yet to meet a runner without at least a few niggling
injuries)

So when clients ask me which is the better method of exercise for their
particular circumstance, be it weight loss or sports performance, I'll
always answer, "Both of course".

Any great fitness program will have a good blend of cardio and
resistance training.

Where cardio may reduce muscle mass, a strong resistance style
program will increase it and while resistance training is great for
building your biceps, a cardioprogram will do the same thing for
your heart.

A question that I often hear asked is "Cardiovascular exercise on
machines, such as treadmills and exercise bikes, burns more calories
than resistance training, so is it just a waste of gym time to add
strength training to your workout if you want to lose weight?"

The simple answer is "No."

Working your muscles as well as your heart and lungs can improve
your health and help you drop clothes size or improve your fitness
much faster than cardio on its own.

Research has shown time and again that regular resistance training
can increase your Basal Metabolic Rate (energy burned at rest) by
up to 15%.

That means your training a lot smarter!

As with anything in our lives, it is important to find the balance
that works for you. Find time for both resistance and cardio
training and you'll discover that your results will come far more
quickly and you'll be much more likely to maintain those hard
earned gains.

duncan

2 Secrets for Staying Lean

2008-04-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

Another...

Energy Bulletin

I am going to let you guys in on 2 of my trade secrets for staying
fit and keeping lean.

As most of you would know by now, I believe nutrition to be one of
the most important factors in achieving both good health and of
course achieving those all important aesthetics.

So my first fitness tip is of course a nutritional one.

I've mentioned in previous Energy Bulletins the importance of what
you eat, now I'd like to share a little secret about the best times
to eat.

Secret Number One- Whenever possible, try to train on a near empty
stomach.

I know, I know. This tends to go against a lot of what you've been
told in the past but hear me out here.

Whenever you're training you need to find a balance point as to how
much blood sugar(glycogen) you have in your system. The idea is to
have as little glycogen (sugar) in your blood as possible so that
your body isn't looking to use that as a fuel source over your
stored body fat.

Too little blood sugar however will cause a hypoglycemic state which
is basically where you're body will start stealing sugar from your
brain to feed your working muscles. Common symptoms of being
hypoglycemic is that you'll feel bloody awful(nausea, etc).

Here is a basic rule of thumb when trying to figure out how big a
gap you should leave between eating and training for maximum fat
burning results.

Heavy weight lifting- 1.5-2 hrs
Lighter lifting (includes smaller muscle groups) 2-2.5 hrs
Short duration but high intensity training 1.5-2 hrs
Endurance training (over an hour at lower intensity) 3 hrs
.
Keep in mind we are all individuals and everyone will be slightly
different but with time and a rough starting point you should be
able to find what works best for you.

Training Secret Number 2- Train in the morning or as early as
possible.

If you remember nothing else remember this. YOU DO NOT BURN FAT
WHILE EXERCISING!!!

Strange but true kids. What we do is set our metabolic rate during
exercise which basically sets the fat burning dial for the rest of
the day. This means that if you train in the morning, your metabolic
rate will be dialed up for a lot longer, thus burning far more
calories than if you were to train in the afternoon or evening.

The only exception to this rule is for those athletes that train at
a low intensity for a couple of hours at a time. Some cyclist and
runners would fall into this category.

So there you have in crew. Time your nutrition in accordance with
your training schedule and get that workout done as early in the
day as possible.

For those worriers among you, (and I know there is a few) don't
stress if your sessions are later in the day or you can't time your
nutrition perfectly with your workouts. The most important thing
is to train when you can and eat well balanced small meals
frequently.

To assist you with your results we are now offering 6:30 am classes
at Edwardstown on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Duncan

Another 6 minute (plus warm up) workout

2008-03-19T22:21:00.000-07:00

Energy Bulletin… Another 6 minute workout

Howdy movers and groovers,

Welcome to Easter with all it’s chocolates, alcohol and lazin around. (I’m sure there is more to Easter than that but I’m trying to make a point here), which is….

Guilt, Guilt and more Guilt.

Now I love an Easter egg and a drink as much as the next person. But I really hate feeling guilty for it. So I don’t.

Not feeling guilty because I’ve had the odd night out or eaten the occasional treat like food, (think pizza) means that I’ve done something positive which balances out the negative.

Now what could be more positive than a quick high intensity workout to ensure those Easter calories don’t go straight to your butt.

We’ve discussed in past bulletins some of the benefits of working at high intensity such as; burning much more energy throughout the day post workout with an elevated metabolism, being very time effective and ultimately achieving far more benefits in just about all aspects of fitness.

So… A guilt free Easter equals about 15 total minutes of your time. Remember though, you’ve got to really put in a quality effort to reap the rewards of this style of training.

Here we go…

You will need a stop watch. Most phones have em now a days.

6 min Warm Up

Time yourself walking at a reasonable pace for 60 seconds. Make a note of where you started and where you ended up.
At the end of 60 sec do 12 push ups (knees or toes), 10 sit ups (full ones) and 10 squats
Walk back in 60 sec

Now do the same distance in 45 seconds
Do 8 push ups, 8 sit ups and 8 squats
Walk back in 45 seconds

Do it a third time but in 35 seconds. You may need to jog for this one.
Once at the end do 6 push ups, 6 sit ups and 6 squats.
Jog back in the 35 seconds.

Alrighty then… Another 6 minutes of workout time. Lets do it!

Get your stop watch ready again.

Time yourself to do the following 4 x.

Sprint to your marker and back (think 25 seconds)
Forward Lunge x 10, turn around x 10 back (20 total)
X 10 Burpees
Sprint again for second round.

Do this for 5 rounds

Take another 2-3 minutes to stretch and cool down.

Don't forget to drink plenty of water and get in some protein and a small amount of carbs for recovery.

I’ve added a couple videos from our friends at crossfit to help you out. Note that we aren’t doing overhead lunges.

Let me know your time.

duncan

Check out Crossfits;
Squat video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k45YlFHn6xs
Lunging video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mGndbK9J4Y
Lunge/Burpee Challenge- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_2Z36NhYjg

The Truth About Eggs

2008-03-13T15:48:00.001-07:00

Another Energy Bulletin...

I remember a time not so long ago when eggs where evil… That’s right, evil little suckers that were half the reason why a good percentage of the population had high cholesterol. Nasty little buggers them eggs… or are they?

Fast forward a decade or so and eggs are no longer the villains they once were. The once misbegotten idea that eggs would utterly destroy your cholesterol rating has been proven, if not a myth, then a large exaggeration on the truth. It is true that eggs do contain a reasonable amount of cholesterol, which is why I would avoid having 5 or 6 a day, however we now know that eggs contain more in the way of good cholesterol than bad, which is to say, yay for the eggs.

Now that the dark and evil side of eggs has passed, let’s bring ourselves on into the light.

Egg Benefits

We all know the importance of amino acids right? Of the 22 amino acids available there are 8 that we call ‘essential amino acids’. These little blighters are the reason why most vegetarian nutrition plans are so difficult to adhere to properly. These 8 essential acids are all found in great supply in meat and meat products but must be combined correctly in vegetable sources to create the proper profile, a concept that is often not understood little lone complied with.

So if you are a vego and you will/can eat eggs, then your kitchen duties just got 40% easier. (side note- if you can eat fish as well then add another 40% to your kitchen ease)

The other benefit here, for the rest of us as well, is that the amino acids in eggs are converted into muscle, skin and collagen tissue far more efficiently than the proteins from any other food you might consume. Are you listening ladies?? Think hair, skin and nails!

The yolks of the eggs are also filled with beneficial vitamins and other antioxidants including the Lutein and Zeaxanthin carotenoids that have been shown to protect us against macular degeneration and other eye disorders.

I haven’t touched much on protein for proteins sake yet. One large egg will supply around 6 grams of protein. This means with their mostly unsaturated fat profile, they are great for assisting in fat loss and leaning up the body.

It’s true, there have even been some good studies that prove it ;o)

Eggs have also been shown to improve nerve function within your muscle receptors as well as assist memory.

So that’s it… Eggs ain’t so bad. In fact they are pretty darn good for you as long as you don’t have too many. Studies suggest 2 per day to be fine.

Duncan's little handy egg hint… I hard boil a dozen eggs each week (usually on a wknd). I usually keep 2 in my lunch box with a small container of low fat, natural mayonnaise with some Dijon mustard mixed in. This makes for a great, quick little snack of slow release energy. Particularly useful after a hard session.

Once hardened they will keep for quite a while outside of the fridge as well, which means if I don’t eat them today, I’ll be able to scuff em up tomorrow or even the day after. The same, so I’ve learned, cannot be said of the mayonnaise… Blah!

duncan

Developing a Positive Routine

2008-02-27T15:24:00.001-08:00

An Energy Bulletin

Isn’t it awesome when you get into a positive routine? A positive routine enables you to get more done in your day while helping you to maintain good habits as well as preventing those nasty ones that have a habit of sneaking in. A healthy routine is also essential if you are looking to accomplish anything of note, like a goal you may have set yourself. I love that feeling I get when I’ve been hammering away at something for a while and then start to get that ‘oh so close’ to my goal feeling. Having goals and sticking to them is a really easy way to propagate internal happiness in just about all but the most dour of individuals.

But I’m not here to talk about goals as much as getting into a positive routine. A good routine can be designed around improving just about anything in your life, for instance; your nutrition, exercise habits, keeping the house tidy, accomplishing more at work, your relationships with friends and family or a thousand other things that we all find so easy to NOT work on.

That’s right, I’ve said it…. We tend to be lazy as a society at just about everything.

Now I know some of you are thinking, “But I’m a tidy person and my nutrition is pretty good, I’m not lazy.”

Well thankfully most of us have a few good habits that have been well enough entrenched in our lives that they are as much a part of us as breathing. All of us however have a few areas in our lives that constantly need monitoring, lest we slide far enough backward that our lackluster efforts in this area become a noticeable rain cloud for all to see. For some reason house work keeps coming to mind, blah!

On the happy, smiley side of the coin for me is exercise, which is so much a part of my life that to do without it for any length of time is to feel… well, not like me. Believe it our not however great nutrition is something I always need to work on. I find it much harder to maintain an ‘A’ in nutrition as there are a few components to healthy eating that I can on occasion neglect.

Here are three things that I do and recommend my clients do, to make sure that our nutrition and thus our health and sporting performances stay on track.

The first step towards a solution is admitting that you have a problem. Yes, I can be nutritionally lazy. I need to constantly self monitor.

The second step I take is to write down a half dozen reasons why, when or how I may let my nutrition slide.

The third step is to write down a solution to the problem. I have combined step 2 & 3 here.

Problem- Lack of preparation. When I let the fridge run bare ;o( Nothing to do now but order out…. Pizza for everyone! Hmmmm… Maybe not.

Better Solution? Plan to do my grocery shopping on a particular day each week. Remember it’s about establishing good habits. If I can’t or won’t for whatever reason then I can always have my shopping delivered. There are some really good online shopping companies out these days who will deliver to you door.

Problem- If you’re anything like me, shopping when your low blood sugar is screaming out “Feed Me Carbs, Now!” is a great way to make the shopping cart look like your about to throw an 8 yr olds birthday party.

Easy Solution… Don’t Shop Hungry! Nuff said.

Problem- Sometimes I get cravings… Evil cravings! If I have junk food in the house during one of my weaker moments, which in all honesty happens way too often, I’ll eat it. This is really bad if I haven’t paid attention to no. 2.

Easy Solution? I do not buy treats when groceries shopping because I am a gluttonous pig and will often eat them in very short order. I guess this is all about knowing your own weaknesses. I will on occasion walk down to the petrol station to buy an ice cream after dinner but I make sure I have to earn it, even if it’s just a short 15 minute walk.

Problem- It is way too easy using ‘No Time’ as an excuse. I am often up at 6 am which means it’s easy to leave the house without eating much or relying on a bowl of cereal to get me through the morning.

Better Solution? For breakfast I have some frozen fruit, yogurt, a good dose of rice milk and a hefty scoop of a high quality, great tasting meal replacement. It’s super fast to throw together and has all the nutrients, protein and low G.I. carbs I need to really start my day off well.

(There are many meal replacements on the market and a lot of them are really awful. There are some good ones though. I take the Juice Plus+ Complete as I think it has, by far, the best nutritional profile of any I’ve seen. Check out our nutrition link on our web site http://www.energyclinic.net/ )

Problem- Missing Meals. This is the really big one for me and again is similar to no.3. It is easy to get so caught up in my day that I’ll turn around three times and Kazam, its five o’clock… Missed lunch again. Getting out to a café or some such thing during the day, while nice, will often take the back seat when my day gets busy.

Another Easy Solution? Pack a lunch. I really enjoy it when I pack my lunch. Usually it’s a chicken salad, or a plain salad which I’ll add a tin of tuna or salmon to when I’m ready to eat. I also bring some salad dressing in an empty spice jar. A dash of olive oil, some pepper and balsamic vinegar and Yumo! I will also throw in some fruit and yogurt, mixed nuts and seeds for snacking on as well as a couple hard boiled eggs for extra protein.

Problem- Thinking that I can achieve a high level of optimum nutrition without some help. With farming and transport methods the way they are today, not to mention the length of time some of your fruit and veg can be cold stored, sometimes more than a year, it’s of little wonder why most people find it so hard to get a handle on good health. Although I don’t believe in self prescribing vitamins, especially multi vitamins, I do accept that there is often a nutritional gap, even amongst those of us with a plan of action.

Solution? I take a high quality whole food supplement to ensure I’m getting all those phyto-chemicals and nutrients I need to regenerate, recover and heal as fast as I can. As always there are far more really crappy products out there than good ones but in recent years there have been a few that have moved to the top. Once again I stick with Juice Plus+ simply because it has by far the best scientific research backing up its health claims and there are quite a few.

Again check out our web site if you’re a nutrition nerd like me and want to check out the research yourself.

The big plus of course is that not only have I had great results myself but also that of most of my clients, friends and family who have tried it as well.

Orders can be placed online or you can give me a call and I’ll answer any questions or help you place an order.

Anyway, that’s the method I use to keep myself and a few wayward eating clients in line. Remember it doesn’t have to be nutrition. Just work through the same process for anything you’re looking to improve on. Getting things done at work, keeping organized or getting out and keeping active.

It all just comes down to developing good habits.

duncan

Comfort Zone

2008-02-17T00:23:00.000-08:00

Energy Bulletin

When I was younger, my friends and I had a motto. "He (or she) who dies with the most toys wins." It was a well engrained motto that was actually much less a life goal than an active lifestyle choice and who could blame us, we were lucky enough to be growing up in Whistler British Columbia, one of the world’s greatest outdoor recreation and adventure playgrounds.

Ahh, the good old days, were each day brought new challenges to surmount and conquer. We were all so young and foolish, we were brave and often more than a little fearful and without any question, we were truly living.

As the years trickle by I wonder at what point I became far less concerned with acquiring the latest and greatest in adrenalin based accessories and exploring the depths of my courage as I was with paying bills and wages, developing new marketing strategies, building business systems or any and all of that 'normal’ stuff'?

Sometimes I catch myself thinking that it may be just an age thing and that I really had to grow up eventually. Well, I suppose that’s true, otherwise we all still might believe doing burn outs in front of a busy café was super cool. However, should we be satisfied giving up the spontaneity and risks we associate with being young and carefree because we now have a few more responsibilities? Personally I’d like to think not.

Now I’m not suggesting you should stop paying your bills, sell your house, have your children adopted out and buy an open ended around the world ticket or anything like that but I think most of us would agree that those who dare to step away from that which is ‘normal’ and ‘restrained’ to partake in something a bit daring or risqué are worth a little admiration.

So is that it then? Are we required to step out of our comfort zone on occasion to keep from feeling tired and old?

If you can entertain for a moment that maybe, just perhaps, a fulfilled and happy existence does require a carefree attitude on occasion, where caution gets tossed aside so that you may journey, even for a moment, into an unknown and risky future, then I would like to pose upon you an interesting question.

What is it that you've done, not watched or witnessed but actually done yourself in the last 6 months or even the last year or couple of years, that has made you sit back and think, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I actually did that.. That was amazing, I really feel alive for having done that’.

If you can think of something you’ve accomplished that has given you that sort of feeling then great, well done! If you can't think of anything then maybe you have decided, without really meaning to, that it's time to grow old?

Or maybe you've just been a little busy with the normal stuff. It happens.

But if that’s the case, what can we do to break out of the mold or rut that you've created?

Once again, I'm not going to suggest that you have to run off and do something dangerous and life threatening to feel that you’re alive, although that certainly can work, however there are plenty of easier challenges out there that will pull you out of your comfort zone and test your metal, for instance;

· If you feel you deserve it try asking your boss for raise? That's always a sure way to get the blood pumping.
· How about entering a competition of some kind, like a short course triathlon? You don't have to win, heck you don't even have to be any good but the fact that you're getting in and having a crack means that you're creating those all important memories.
· If individual sports aren't your thing what about a local team. There are plenty of them out there and most play just for the fun of it.
· What about getting up the courage to ask out that fella or lass you've had your eye on for a while? Courage comes in many shapes and sizes.
· What about making a goal that's going to be quite difficult to achieve and then telling everyone about it. Now the pressure is on… Now you're living.

On Sunday afternoons I run an elite training session for a few of the gang down at a local park. Every one of us, including myself, feels a little apprehensive come Sunday morning as to what is about to transpire that afternoon. Some of these sessions can be really, really hard. The feeling of accomplishment however, post thrashing, is truly worth the slight anxiety of the morning.

I am sure that most of you receive and read the Energy Bulletins because you aren't so much life spectators as life enthusiasts and as such you should on occasion ask yourself, “Have I been playing life a little too safe and if so, am I really ready to grow old?”

D

PS. Although not for everyone… These guys are really LIVING!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0tU3Hy7et8&eurl=

The Exercise Confusion

2008-01-30T20:35:00.000-08:00

Energy Bulletin

Every week I hear all about how confusing all this fitness stuff is and I suppose, if I wearn't completely tired of hearing another reason why someone shouldn't, couldn't won't exercise, then I’d have to agree on some level that there is a reasonable amount of conflicting information that hazards our industry. However, the basic fundamentals of staying fit and healthy haven’t changed for… well probably forever.

Our inability to maintain an optimal or even basic level of health and fitness in our society these days is completely of our own making. The benefit of it being our fault of course is that it should be and can be easily rectified.

But who do we listen to? Who is right and who is just trying to sell us something? Is good nutrition as important as going for a run or should I not run and instead hit the gym for some good old fashion weight training? I’ve also heard that pin loaded machines are out of favor and what’s this about lifting weights fast??? I thought that was a ‘contraindicated’ gym activity?

Hmmmm?

Well, not surprisingly I’m sure, the answer lies somewhere in the middle if not a little to the side. Sure there is almost always a better choice, even for the experts. That’s why we keep subscribing to different journals, newsletters and blogs just to make sure we’re still on the right track and perhaps to find something that’s just a tad bit better than what we’re currently torturing our clients with (in there own best interest of course).

Now as I’ve said, the best fitness choices have never really changed, we do, they don’t. Here is something I found that pretty much sums up my philosophy on health and fitness.

Fitness to live by if fewer than 100 words.

Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.

(Feel free to cut and paste this and stick it on your fridge. Read it every
morning like it was going to save your life... It just might)

Man-o-man I wish I’d written this. Well, sadly I didn’t but I do live, teach and coach by this code everyday. Why? Because it’s living. It is what we as humans were meant to be able to do and what we should always be doing. So why aren’t we?

My guess is because it’s just plain hard to start and let’s face it, if you haven’t done a hand stand since primary school then chances are you’re not likely to head out to the backyard and start practicing now. Likewise with the Olympic lifts, if you haven’t done much or any of them before, then once again it’s unlikely that you’ll be trading your leg press machine for a Clean and Jerk anytime soon.

This is the tragedy of our generation. Health and fitness today has been designed by large fitness conglomerates and high brow health clubs to be easy for everyone. In fact they’ve made it so easy that even if you are doing it on a regular basis, the likelihood of achieving anything close to optimal fitness is very slim.

Furthermore I’d say there wouldn’t be more than 30 instructors (that’s right instructors) who could do, let alone teach an effective Clean & Jerk in Adelaide. Why…? Because it’s soooo much easier sticking a client on a piece of pin loaded machinery and start counting reps than it is developing real life functional lifting patterns, so why bother.

My closing thought on this matter is this. Elite fitness is for everyone, not just athletes. Sure the exercises and loads need to be scaled around the individual but ultimately we all need to be able to perform the same fundamental movements. We all need to squat, press, pull, jump and yes, occasionally run like hell.

duncan

Acid-Alkaline Imbalance

2008-01-22T16:00:00.000-08:00

Energy Bulletin

It is becoming more and more common these days to hear the term “acid alkaline imbalance”. You may have heard the term from your Naturopath, Nutritionist, Personal Trainer or these days perhaps even your doctor.

So, what is “acid alkaline imbalance” and what does it mean to you?

Well, if recent studies and medical experts are to be believed then it should start meaning a great deal. Before I get to that however let’s try to understand a bit more about the nature of ph balancing.

Ph stands for potential of hydrogen and is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14—the lower the pH the more acidic the solution, the higher the pH the more alkaline (or base) the solution. When a solution is neither acid nor alkaline it has a pH of 7 which is neutral.

Water, which makes up 70 % of your body, is constantly regulating its overall pH levels. So when we talk about pH we are not talking, as some people believe, about stomach acids or digestion but the entire water content of your body. For more on hydration go back and re-read my Energy Bulletin on “Hydrating for Optimal Training.”

By far the most common problem or imbalance in humans is high acidity (acidic). The problem with being acidic is that it forces the body to ‘borrow’ minerals from vital organs and bone much the same way as free radicals ‘borrow’ electrons causing that ‘free radical damage’ we so often hear about. These minerals are acid buffers or neutralizers and include calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium. This condition can go on for many years and even decades without notice but can ultimately cause some very alarming health issues and complications including;

• Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen.
• Weight gain, obesity and diabetes.
• Reduced healing capacity
• Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones.
• Immune deficiency.
• Acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations.
• Hormone concerns.
• Premature aging.
• Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs.
• Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup.
• Low energy and chronic fatigue.
• Slow digestion and elimination.
• Yeast/fungal overgrowth.

Another large problem with being acidic is that your ability to absorb nutrients and minerals (bio-availability) can be severely impaired. This means that even though you are taking the best herbals, nutrients, mineral supplements or medication money can buy, you may not actually be assimilating them into the body where they can be doing you some good.

The largest underlying reason for becoming acidic is Diet. Most of your body’s ability to buffer acidity comes from fruits, vegetable, grains and herbs. We also know that meat and meat products can cause acid to build up in the body, although we also know that your body enjoys the benefits of a protein rich diet which helps build lean muscle and repairs damage to tissue. Without the proper balance however between lean meats and acid neutralizers like fruits and vegetable we could have a serious acidity problem.

Some of the worst offenders in a western diet are;

• Processed foods like White Flour.
• Sugar (any).
• Acid-producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks.
• Pharmaceutical drugs especially antibiotics (Extremely acid forming).
• Artificial chemical sweeteners like NutraSweet, Equal, or aspartame (Extremely acid forming).

Note- Last week we talked about some of the positive aspects of drinking coffee with regard to sports performance. Like too much of anything, coffee can increase the likelihood of acidity in the body.

The best way to balance the body’s pH is to obviously avoid too many acid forming foods and to eat as much as you can of the foods that alkalize such as; Lemons, Watermelon, Limes, Grapefruit, Mangoes, Papayas, Asparagus, Onions, Freshly Squeezed Vegetable Juices, Parsley, Raw Spinach, Broccoli, Garlic, etc, etc.

If you’re on our mailing list I’ve included a list of the best and worst acid-alkalizing foods that can go on your fridge. If you are reading this on our blog site and you would like a copy simply e mail me at duncan@energyclinic.net

You can purchase pH testing kits from your local chemist. These can come in the form of either urine or saliva tests.

Urine- If the average urine pH is below 6.5 the body's buffering system is overwhelmed and attention should be given to lowering acid levels.

Saliva- If the saliva pH is too low (below 6.5), the body may be producing too many acids or may be overwhelmed by acids because it has lost the ability to adequately remove them through the urine. If the saliva pH is too high (over 6.8), the body may suffer greatly, e.g. excess gas, constipation and production of yeast, mold and fungus.

If you’re still unsure you can check with your local Naturopath and they can easily perform the test for you. For you Energy Clinic clients we can organize a session with Russell our resident healer ;o)

Yours in Health,

duncan

Caffeine- Poison or Tonic?

2008-01-11T19:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first of 08's

Energy Bulletin

Caffeine has been around for, well almost forever. Most of us consume it in some form or another whether it be in coffee, tea, chocolates, dietary aids or soft drinks. Today caffeine is the most consumed substance in the world.

There is a popular saying that goes something like "Just because 2 billion people are doing a stupid thing doesn't necessarily mean that it's not a stupid thing" or something to that effect. But is drinking coffee or using caffeine for improved sports or mental performance still the evil villain it was once thought to be or have we once again reversed our thinking?

There has been much controversy over the years in the world of science as to whether or not caffeine was to be avoided or if indeed it did have some positive health benefits. We know for example that moderate consumption of caffeine, say 2-3 cups of coffee, can temporarily increase feelings of alertness as it acts as a mild stimulant on the central nervous system while at the same time reducing fatigue and drowsiness by blocking certain neurotransmitters in the brain. On the other hand caffeine can slightly increases water loss through urination which in turn can increase the amount of calcium lost through the digestive and urinary tracts.

Some caffeine studies have even been shown to increase I.Q. and enhance physical performance, which is why it is illegal to use caffeine pills in most controlled sports. In fact studies in Canada have shown that ingesting 330 mg (or 5 mg per kilogram of body weight) 30 minutes to an hour before workouts results in longer endurance, faster times, less exertion, less fatigue, and more rapid recovery -- up to 30 percent better in each category. The most effective caffeine, though, is in tablet form, not in coffee, because the 100-plus other compounds in coffee probably block some of the effects of caffeine. Recent studies have even debunked the myth that coffee will dehydrate an athlete even though the diuretic effects of coffee are well known.

Surprisingly there hasn't been a single medical report linking caffeine to any major health risks, including cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease or any serious birth defects. Consuming too much however can cause nervous behavior, reduce or prevent sleep, irritate the stomach and cause headaches, usually from its diuretic nature (fluid loss).

There are other conditions that have been linked to excessive caffeine intake such as infertility, miscarriage and impaired fetal growth. It would likewise be a good idea to reduce or even eliminate your morning cuppa if you are taking certain medications such as that used with high blood pressure and ulcers or if you are pregnant. Check with your doctor if you're not sure if your medication is contraindicated with caffeine.

"Overall, the research shows that coffee is far more healthful than it is harmful," says Tomas DePaulis, PhD, research scientist at Vanderbilt University's Institute for Coffee Studies, which conducts its own medical research and tracks coffee studies from around the world. "For most people, very little bad comes from drinking it, but a lot of good."

Play smart with caffeine kids, it is a drug after all.

duncan

A Christmas Bulletin

2007-12-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

Energy Bulletin

It's funny that even though I've been living in Australia for over 15 years, I still am not used to the idea of having Christmas in summer. It's just not right I tells ya.

I mean Christmas for me growing up was going to school when it's minus15 and still dark outside and then coming home at 3:30 pm and its dark again already but now a balmy minus 10.

Ahhh Christmas, lol.

With these wonderful images of a real Christmas running through my head I thought I would cover a few ideas that I've either had, seen or borrowed over the last few weeks on 'Surviving the Holidays'.

Let's face it, it can be a struggle. So here are a few tips that might help.

# 10 Try and keep up with your regular fitness routine as much as possible. Remember it doesn't have to be exactly the same and in fact the more it differs the better. Heck you can simply throw in one of the 6 minute workouts from previous bulletins. What we are looking to do here is make sure that the Energy Intake doesn't out balance your Energy Expenditure because we know what that means don't we...? Stored Body Fat!

# 9 Take advantage of your extra time and leave the technology alone for a while. I mean would it kill you to stick the TV. remote away for a week or two. I know, I know, it probably would but how about taking the stairs rather than the lift or try carrying your shopping bags rather than pushing them to your car if there aren’t too many. That's a big plus for the Energy Expenditure category.

# 8 Do not miss a meal or fast just because you know you are going to a Christmas dinner. This is exactly the opposite of what you should be doing. The best thing would be to ensure you've had a good breakfast and a reasonable lunch. This way you're far less likely to overeat. Say it with me. 'Binge eating is Baaaad!'

# 7 Make sure you eat a reasonable amount of protein at each meal throughout the day. There are enzymes in protein that will tell you when you are satiated so the tendency is to not eat as much. Protein is also a slow release energy source so again the tendency to overeat won't be as bad. Another benefit is that it takes more energy to digest protein than carbohydrates so chalk another up for Energy Expenditure.

# 6 If the big meal is unavoidable and let's face it some of us look forward to it all year, then workout a damage control plan. A great idea is to do a little exercise right before and then again about an hour after you eat. Can't do both? Then just one will have to do. I'm not saying you need to go out and thrash yourself but a 20 minute walk is easy and you could ask for some company if you're at a party. Even better still if you’re away on holiday see the sights.

# 5 If you're one of those people who tends to look after everyone else first, then listen closely. There is a very good reason why you are asked to fit your oxygen mask on a plane first even before your child. If you are running on empty because you haven't eaten, slept, taken a break or all of the above then you are going to be less effective and more irritable than if you had just taken a moment to chill. If you have been working your fingers to the bone in the kitchen or just running yourself ragged organising the family then do yourself and everyone around you a favour and take an hour out of your day just for you. Read a book, go for a walk or get a massage. You'll be far more productive and happy for it.

# 4 When all is said and done you will need to get back on track. Don't wait to call up your trainer after the holidays or just imagine that things will get back to normal in the New Year if you're having a break. A habit is often completely broken or formed within a two week period. Book your Jan session with your trainer now not later. If you train on your own then write in your two weeks worth of training from Jan 2nd to 16th. Not then... Now. Go on... right now! I'll wait for you ;o)

# 3 Did you cheat? If so it’s best to remember that it wasn’t only yourself who lost out but your family also. If you cheated then I give you permission to slap yourself silly. You'd do well to have a good hard think about your health and fitness intentions.

# 2 Be careful and watchful with the alcohol. No brainer right? Now I love a beer as much as the next fella, actually sometimes even more but you have to realise that it is a pure energy bomb. The calories in a bottle of beer or a glass of wine are immense but your body doesn't register them as food. This equates to you still eating the same amount, regardless of what or how much you had to drink. Energy In, Energy In and then some more Energy In. To burn off 4 glasses of wine you would on average need to run 10 laps of a large footy field. I'm only guessing here but that’s probably quite a few more laps of the oval than you'd rather do. Another good idea with alcohol is don't top up a half empty (or half full) glass. It's very easy to 'accidentally' have more than you intended.

# 1 Set some time away for some goal setting. I know, everywhere you turn and everywhere you look people are telling you to write out your goals and that “those who fail to plan, plan to fail”. The reason why so many people tell you to do it is because it works but you can't just think it, you gotta ink it. Get it down on paper. If you don't really like the whole goal setting thing or it's just that you haven't done it before then keep it real simple. Spend 15 minutes. Write down 3 things you would like to achieve in '08 Then write down three things that you will have to do for each to make it happen.

For example: I want to lose 15 kg.
A) I will need to exercise a minimum of 3 x per wk.
B) I will need to start packing my lunch for work instead of eating out.
C) I will need to limit my knock off drinks with the guys/gals to Fridays only.

Once that is done... Nay, the second that is done then take action. Book your training sessions in your diary as above or call up a Personal Trainer and make the first booking... Now! Been here before haven't we. Next, hop on your computer and in big bold writing on a Word doc write out PACK YOUR LUNCH BEFORE DINNER. Print it out and now stick it on the fridge. Thirdly let the crew at work know that you are serious about your health and you need their help. Friday's only.

Merry Christmas everyone,

duncan

Another 6 minute workout

2007-12-06T18:30:00.001-08:00

Energy Bulletin

A few weeks back, actually about 6, we ran through the idea that you could always find the time to exercise. I told you that all excuses are equal and that only the lazy, not the busy find constant excuses not to exercise.

Actually I didn't really say that but I should have ;o)

It has actually been very interesting getting the feedback from that Energy Bulletin. One lady actually called me to ask what she was doing wrong because it took her nearly 20 minutes to get through the entire sequence. After running through the routine with her I told her that she had done nothing wrong except left it a little too long between exercise sessions. Like 10 years too long. I asked her to keep working away and to time each session to measure her improvement.

Would you believe as of last Monday she had reduced her time down to 9 minutes and 22 seconds. That's a huge improvement over a very short space of time. It's not quite 6 minutes but my guess is that after completing this next 4-6 week challenge she will be able to squeeze another few minutes off her time, no worries at all.

Are you ready for another 6 minute (or so) workout? Here it is.

Warm up by going for a 3 minute walk. I want you to time yourself and walk As Fast As You Can. Don't run mind. Hard, eh?

Warmer? If not do one more round.

Now, here we go.

Round 1

Star Jumps x 20 (low impact version is alternate toe taps, L & R count as one)
Squats x 15
Star Jumps x 15
Push ups x 15
Star Jumps x 10
Lunges x 15 (L & R)
Star Jumps x 5
Crunches x 15

You have 8.32 seconds to grab a drink, quickly now... then,

Round 2

Knees Up x 20 (R elbow to L knee and then L elbow to R Knee = 1 Rep)
Squats x 10
Knees Up x 15
Push ups x 10
Knees Up x 10
Lunges x 10 (L & R)
Knees Up x 5
Crunches x 10

Having practiced the water pit stop you only need 6.9 seconds this time...

Round 3

X-country Ski x 20 (Alternate L & R foot forward and back in a hoping scissor action keeping weight even on both feet when you land, if you can't hop you can alternate heels forward for low impact)
Squats x 5
X-country Ski x 15
Push ups x 5
X-country Ski x 10
Lunges x 5 (L & R)
X-country Ski x 5
Crunches x 5

Finish...

What was your time? Record it and try and better it next time.

Try this Mon-Wed and Fri for 4 weeks.

E mail me your results as you go.

duncan

Cardio VS Strength Training

2007-12-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another weekly... Energy Bulletin

There are many different ways to get your body into shape. Most of these methods of exercise are classified into two groups. These groups are classified as cardiovascular (cardio) training and strength training. Cardio and strength training are very different yet closely related activities.

Cardio or endurance based (aerobic) training in such forms as walking, running, bike riding or swimming, to name the more popular varieties, can assist you by; burning extra calories for weight loss, improving heart function, reducing cholesterol, improving recovery after exercise, reducing your risk of diabetes and other diseases as well as improve your ability to deal with stress, which we all of course suffer from time to time.

Strength training also comes in a variety of forms. Free weights and body weight training such as push ups and lunges are two of the more popular styles of resistance training.

Note -Vibration Training is of course a great adjunct to both these methods as in can be incorporated easily with both methods thereby further enhancing results through improved muscular contraction.

Strength training is used of course to assist the body in building lean muscle. This building of muscle can have many different benefits to your health and sporting performance. Some of these benefits include; developing strength, enhancing immune function, maintaining or improving muscle mass, increasing bone density, improving movement function and joint stability as well as increasing your metabolic rate or energy burned which correlates to improved body composition. I.e. looking better naked in a mirror, very important ;o)

What a lot of people don't realise however is that sometimes these two different aspects of conditioning and exercise can have opposing effects on the body. Prolonged endurance training for example can actually depress the immune system, cause muscle mass to reduce thereby decreasing metabolism as well as possibly cause a range of skeletal and joint imbalances through the high repetition of movement that accompanies prolonged exercise such as running or cycling. (I have yet to meet a runner without a least a few niggling injuries)

So when clients ask me which is the better method of exercise for their particular circumstance, be it weight loss or sports performance, I'll always answer the same, "Both of course".

Any great fitness program will have a good blend of cardio and resistance training. Where cardio may reduce muscle mass, a strong resistance style program will increase it. While resistance training is great for building your biceps, a cardio program will do the same thing for your heart.

A question that I often hear is "Cardiovascular exercise on machines such as treadmills and exercise bikes burns more calories than resistance training, so is it just a waste of gym time to add strength training to your workout?"

The simple answer is "No." Working your muscles as well as your heart and lungs can improve your health and help you drop clothes size or improve your fitness much faster than cardio on its.

Research has shown time and again that regular resistance training can increase your Basal Metabolic Rate (energy burned at rest) by up to 15%. So if you're personally cooking around 2000 calories per day, that's an increase of 300 extra calories, more than a Mars bar, burned every single day.

As with anything in our lives it is important to find the balance that works for you. Find time for both resistance and cardio training and you'll discover that your results will come far more quickly and you'll be much more likely to maintain those hard earned gains.

duncan