Hey everyone! I just wanted to let people know of a great video my twin brother Franz posted on improving pull-up strength and power (power being the speed at which you go up on the pull-up). It involves doind a handstand push-up immedieatly prior to doing the pull-up. Very interesting! Try it out (though you might want to have spotter to help if you've never done a handstand push-up)!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Podcast #3 is Up!
Tonight (Tuesday, June 9, 2009), Patrick Ward and I interviewed Brad Pilon, author of Eat-stop-Eat for an intriguing discussion about flexible-intermittent fasting. If you haven't heard about this exciting and extremely simple concept for calorie reduction (just don't eat for 24 hours once or twice per week) you must have a listen to this interview. This might make you have a little cognitive dissonance but that's good if you want to continue to grow and learn in life. To listen, go to our Reality-Based Fitness website or go to iTunes and subscribe by entering Reality Based Fitness.
Enjoy!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Shoes and Resistance Training
Resistance Training & Footwear
If you talk to any serious runner, you’ll almost always arrive at the subject of running shoes. With people who resistance train (or “lift weights”), shoes are hardly part of the discussion with much more attention being paid to specific program design parameters or the latest and greatest “supplement “ being taken. This is a mistake however as shoes are a vital part of safe and effective strength training. The remainder of this post will discuss the various types of shoes worn for resistance training and the pros and cons of each.
The Typical Shoe and Associated Problems
Typically, most recreational lifters (including athletes training with weights) use regular running or cross-training shoes to train in. Function of the shoes being worn is given little to no thought during most people’s lifting program as most will focus on style and appearance instead. The main goal is to look good wearing whatever cool running or athletic shoe that’s currently in style. This is problem because many of the modern running or cross-training shoes have large “cushiony” heels to help dampen the shock of walking, running, and performing various sporting maneuvers. Also, these shoes are typically VERY expensive.
Unfortunately however, during heavy resistance training (i.e. squatting), this type of shoe is akin to standing on giant marshmallows which allows the force being transmitted to be dissipated somewhat in directions that are not conducive to 1) safety, and 2) strength expression. The late sport scientist Mel Siff, had this to say about shoes and weight training on page 461 of his landmark text Supertraining (2000 edition):
“…running shoes or any shock-absorbing shoes suitable for the aerobics class are potentially unsafe in the gymnasium. For instance, compression of any part of the sole during squats, cleans, deadlifts, standing press, good mornings, snatches, pulls and other standing exercises can cause general instability and consequent injury.”
So as you have just read, there are some risks involved with wearing the wrong type of shoes in the gym. So what type of shoe is one to use then?
Some Better Alternatives
When it comes to shoes and strength training, it pays to look at what those involved in strength sports are actually wearing: Olympic-style Weightlifting and Powerlifting come to mind immediately. With Weightlifting, which consists of the Clean & Jerk and the Snatch respectively, you see a shoe being worn that has a non-compressible sole with a slight elevation of the heel. This heel elevation helps with achieving better mobility in the bottom of the clean and the snatch without compromising spinal alignment excessively. It can be very helpful for staying more upright.
The only potential negative aspect of weightlifting shoes is that they do encourage more forward knee travel which adds more stress to the knees. However, this doesn’t seem to be a problem for many Olympic lifters as they don’t seem to suffer from increased incidence of knee injuries compared to other sports despite squatting very deeply and repeatedly in the catch position for the clean and the snatch. In fact, deep squatting is probably one of the best ways to increase knee stability. I personally use Olympic lifting shoes for most of my squatting and pulling exercises and find them an invaluable piece of equipment. Some of the O-lifting shoes can get pretty pricey but if you’re not a competitive Olympic lifter per se, you can find some more affordable models such as Do-Win, a Chinese brand and the models made by VS Athletics. Watch the video below to see the VS Weightlifting shoe in action!
Besides the Olympic Weightlifting shoe option, you could also choose a shoe with a flat and non-compressible sole such as the good old-fashioned canvas Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes. These no-frill shoes are very affordable and available at most shoe stores including Target, which is where I found my latest pair for well under $40!
This shoe is often preferred by Powerlifters due to the flat sole which really helps one to “dig” the heels into the ground as compared to the higher-heeled Olympic-lifting shoes which can tip you forward a bit towards your toes if you are not careful. I personally prefer the Olympic shoes for squatting, but often use the Chuck-Taylor shoe for deadlifting and standing press exercises. Being able to press your feet hard into the ground is also beneficial for activating what is called the “positive support reaction” reflex of the foot. This reflex is stimulated when pressure if directly applied to the plantar surface of your foot which helps stiffen up your entire leg in preparation for loading; something difficult to achieve with today’s squishy-heeled athletic shoes!
There are many other shoes from the world of Powerlifting that I won’t discuss here but if you go the Crain’s Muscle World(http://www.crainsmuscleworld.com/shoes.html), you can see the other options used by powerlifters for both squatting and deadlifting.
I think the theory here (there isn’t a lot of research available on this yet) is that increased tactile sensation leads to better proprioception, which can lead to safer and stronger ground-based lifting. Decreased sensation on the other hand, as found when wearing modern footwear, leads to altered/diminished proprioception which may lead to lessened safety and strength/force output. It’s starting to sound like the closer we can get to barefoot (up to a point), the better subsequent performance we may have. If that’s the case, why not just train barefoot?
The Barefoot Options
On the other extreme of fancy footwear, is no footwear. That’s right, training sans shoes, like the ancient gladiators used to! Unfortunately this doesn’t usually go over too well in most modern training facilities as they may ask you to leave. There are also plenty of hygiene reasons not to train barefoot in most gyms. Also, if you drop a giant Kettlebell, dumbbell or weight plate on your foot or toe, your day will be ruined real fast.
Since training barefoot is not always an option, there are several companies which have created a new industry of “barefoot technology.” The basic idea with these shoes is to simulate and attempt to reproduce the natural sensory mechanical stimulation that occurs with barefoot locomotion. There are several companies that have gotten on board into this growing market but not have done so more interestingly than a company called Vibram (http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/).
These are some of the oddest looking shoes I’ve ever seen, but many of the people I talked to who own them have nothing but great things to say about the shoes (or whatever you want to call them). I’ve yet to try them out myself but probably wouldn’t wear them for anything like really heavy squatting or deadlifting; but I could be wrong. My guess is that they would be awesome for lighter lifting exercises like repeated Kettlebell work, calisthenics, or even tempo running on grass or trails.
Conclusion and Take-Home Points
Well, there you have it; an interesting foray into the world of footwear for resistance training. My personal preference is to use Chuck-Taylor All-Star shoes and Olympic lifting shoes for most of my heavy resistance training. For Kettlebell work and light bodyweight callisthenic work I prefer the Chuck-Taylor shoes or my Addidas Martial Arts shoes that are slip-ons. I know some other lifters who like the Adiddas soccer "Samba" shoe as well.
I haven’t tried the other Powerlifting types of shoes nor the Vibram five-finger shoes, but probably will try the Vibram's out after hearing how my twin brother Franz (who just bought a pair) does in them. Since we have identical genetics, it is a fair bet that if it makes him feel good, it may offer my some benefit as well since we have many of the same muscle imbalances and orthopedic concerns (like problems with our big toes)!
The bottom line here is that traditional running, walking, or cross-training types of shoes are not appropriate for heavy resistance training. When I say “heavy” I’m not implying that you have to be a competitive Powerlifter or Weightlifter to benefit from their shoe styles. Heavy is relative to one’s abilities; but all people who wish to get stronger should ensure both safety and effectiveness in their training; and footwear is often a much neglected component to the training program! To finish this blog, you can watch the video of me summing up much of what I've already said; enjoy!
If you talk to any serious runner, you’ll almost always arrive at the subject of running shoes. With people who resistance train (or “lift weights”), shoes are hardly part of the discussion with much more attention being paid to specific program design parameters or the latest and greatest “supplement “ being taken. This is a mistake however as shoes are a vital part of safe and effective strength training. The remainder of this post will discuss the various types of shoes worn for resistance training and the pros and cons of each.
The Typical Shoe and Associated Problems
Typically, most recreational lifters (including athletes training with weights) use regular running or cross-training shoes to train in. Function of the shoes being worn is given little to no thought during most people’s lifting program as most will focus on style and appearance instead. The main goal is to look good wearing whatever cool running or athletic shoe that’s currently in style. This is problem because many of the modern running or cross-training shoes have large “cushiony” heels to help dampen the shock of walking, running, and performing various sporting maneuvers. Also, these shoes are typically VERY expensive.
Unfortunately however, during heavy resistance training (i.e. squatting), this type of shoe is akin to standing on giant marshmallows which allows the force being transmitted to be dissipated somewhat in directions that are not conducive to 1) safety, and 2) strength expression. The late sport scientist Mel Siff, had this to say about shoes and weight training on page 461 of his landmark text Supertraining (2000 edition):
“…running shoes or any shock-absorbing shoes suitable for the aerobics class are potentially unsafe in the gymnasium. For instance, compression of any part of the sole during squats, cleans, deadlifts, standing press, good mornings, snatches, pulls and other standing exercises can cause general instability and consequent injury.”
So as you have just read, there are some risks involved with wearing the wrong type of shoes in the gym. So what type of shoe is one to use then?
Some Better Alternatives
When it comes to shoes and strength training, it pays to look at what those involved in strength sports are actually wearing: Olympic-style Weightlifting and Powerlifting come to mind immediately. With Weightlifting, which consists of the Clean & Jerk and the Snatch respectively, you see a shoe being worn that has a non-compressible sole with a slight elevation of the heel. This heel elevation helps with achieving better mobility in the bottom of the clean and the snatch without compromising spinal alignment excessively. It can be very helpful for staying more upright.
The only potential negative aspect of weightlifting shoes is that they do encourage more forward knee travel which adds more stress to the knees. However, this doesn’t seem to be a problem for many Olympic lifters as they don’t seem to suffer from increased incidence of knee injuries compared to other sports despite squatting very deeply and repeatedly in the catch position for the clean and the snatch. In fact, deep squatting is probably one of the best ways to increase knee stability. I personally use Olympic lifting shoes for most of my squatting and pulling exercises and find them an invaluable piece of equipment. Some of the O-lifting shoes can get pretty pricey but if you’re not a competitive Olympic lifter per se, you can find some more affordable models such as Do-Win, a Chinese brand and the models made by VS Athletics. Watch the video below to see the VS Weightlifting shoe in action!
Besides the Olympic Weightlifting shoe option, you could also choose a shoe with a flat and non-compressible sole such as the good old-fashioned canvas Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes. These no-frill shoes are very affordable and available at most shoe stores including Target, which is where I found my latest pair for well under $40!
This shoe is often preferred by Powerlifters due to the flat sole which really helps one to “dig” the heels into the ground as compared to the higher-heeled Olympic-lifting shoes which can tip you forward a bit towards your toes if you are not careful. I personally prefer the Olympic shoes for squatting, but often use the Chuck-Taylor shoe for deadlifting and standing press exercises. Being able to press your feet hard into the ground is also beneficial for activating what is called the “positive support reaction” reflex of the foot. This reflex is stimulated when pressure if directly applied to the plantar surface of your foot which helps stiffen up your entire leg in preparation for loading; something difficult to achieve with today’s squishy-heeled athletic shoes!
There are many other shoes from the world of Powerlifting that I won’t discuss here but if you go the Crain’s Muscle World(http://www.crainsmuscleworld.com/shoes.html), you can see the other options used by powerlifters for both squatting and deadlifting.
I think the theory here (there isn’t a lot of research available on this yet) is that increased tactile sensation leads to better proprioception, which can lead to safer and stronger ground-based lifting. Decreased sensation on the other hand, as found when wearing modern footwear, leads to altered/diminished proprioception which may lead to lessened safety and strength/force output. It’s starting to sound like the closer we can get to barefoot (up to a point), the better subsequent performance we may have. If that’s the case, why not just train barefoot?
The Barefoot Options
On the other extreme of fancy footwear, is no footwear. That’s right, training sans shoes, like the ancient gladiators used to! Unfortunately this doesn’t usually go over too well in most modern training facilities as they may ask you to leave. There are also plenty of hygiene reasons not to train barefoot in most gyms. Also, if you drop a giant Kettlebell, dumbbell or weight plate on your foot or toe, your day will be ruined real fast.
Since training barefoot is not always an option, there are several companies which have created a new industry of “barefoot technology.” The basic idea with these shoes is to simulate and attempt to reproduce the natural sensory mechanical stimulation that occurs with barefoot locomotion. There are several companies that have gotten on board into this growing market but not have done so more interestingly than a company called Vibram (http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/).
These are some of the oddest looking shoes I’ve ever seen, but many of the people I talked to who own them have nothing but great things to say about the shoes (or whatever you want to call them). I’ve yet to try them out myself but probably wouldn’t wear them for anything like really heavy squatting or deadlifting; but I could be wrong. My guess is that they would be awesome for lighter lifting exercises like repeated Kettlebell work, calisthenics, or even tempo running on grass or trails.
Conclusion and Take-Home Points
Well, there you have it; an interesting foray into the world of footwear for resistance training. My personal preference is to use Chuck-Taylor All-Star shoes and Olympic lifting shoes for most of my heavy resistance training. For Kettlebell work and light bodyweight callisthenic work I prefer the Chuck-Taylor shoes or my Addidas Martial Arts shoes that are slip-ons. I know some other lifters who like the Adiddas soccer "Samba" shoe as well.
I haven’t tried the other Powerlifting types of shoes nor the Vibram five-finger shoes, but probably will try the Vibram's out after hearing how my twin brother Franz (who just bought a pair) does in them. Since we have identical genetics, it is a fair bet that if it makes him feel good, it may offer my some benefit as well since we have many of the same muscle imbalances and orthopedic concerns (like problems with our big toes)!
The bottom line here is that traditional running, walking, or cross-training types of shoes are not appropriate for heavy resistance training. When I say “heavy” I’m not implying that you have to be a competitive Powerlifter or Weightlifter to benefit from their shoe styles. Heavy is relative to one’s abilities; but all people who wish to get stronger should ensure both safety and effectiveness in their training; and footwear is often a much neglected component to the training program! To finish this blog, you can watch the video of me summing up much of what I've already said; enjoy!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
New Podcast is up!
After many years of wishing to create a podcast, I have finally done so! In collaboration with my friend and colleague Patrick Ward, we have created Reality Based Fitness, a thinktank exploring the fields of strength & conditioning, human movement, injury prevention (including soft tissue work), and nutrition.
In this first episode, we introduce ourselves and talk about what we hope to achieve with this podcast. We also talk about the importance of critical thinking, or scientific/skeptical approaches to examining claims. We plan to do interviews with prominent thinkers in the field and really get down to the "nitty-gritty" of what it is we do as fitness and health professionals when it comes to injury prevention, performance enhancement and rehabilitation. You can listen to the podcast here
Also, Patrick Ward and I are in the process of opening up a shared facility in the East Valley area of the Phoenix metro area. We hope to offer many various services here including expert soft-tissue work, cutting-edge assessment and program design, and small group conditioning classes at an affordable rate. Stay tuned!
In this first episode, we introduce ourselves and talk about what we hope to achieve with this podcast. We also talk about the importance of critical thinking, or scientific/skeptical approaches to examining claims. We plan to do interviews with prominent thinkers in the field and really get down to the "nitty-gritty" of what it is we do as fitness and health professionals when it comes to injury prevention, performance enhancement and rehabilitation. You can listen to the podcast here
Also, Patrick Ward and I are in the process of opening up a shared facility in the East Valley area of the Phoenix metro area. We hope to offer many various services here including expert soft-tissue work, cutting-edge assessment and program design, and small group conditioning classes at an affordable rate. Stay tuned!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Review of Erik Dalton Seminar
Today (Sunday) ended a 3-day seminar by Erik Dalton that I took with my friend and colleague Patrick Ward (http://www.optimumsportsperformance.com/site/index.htm)
who like myself, is a conditioning coach and and a licensed massage therapist. We were very eager to take a semianr from Erik since we've heard that he had some pretty interesting ideas on treating soft-tissue dysfunction in the body. The seminar was called: Myoskeletal Alignment for Neck, Sciatic and Leg Pain.
Who is Erik Dalton?
Erik Dalton, has a Ph. D in Psychology and has been in the bodywork industry for a few decades. His early training was as a Rolfer with a heavy emphasis on fascia and connective tissue work. He also trained and was heavily influenced by Osteopathic manipulative treatments which eventually led him to formulate his own "hybrid" massage system called "Myoskeletal Alignment Technique." All in all, Erik has a vast background in pain -relief massage techniques and we were excited to start day one.
This first day was dedicated to neck problems or "neck cricks," as many people commonly call them. We learned various passive mobilizations for the joints of the neck first followed by some specific fascial and soft-tissue mobilizations for commonly tight tissues. I was quite impressed with Erik's knowledge of the anatomy and the injury process after day one but was not impressed that we were only given a handout with written explanations of the techniques we had just learned; there were not any pictures in these handouts. What annoyed me quite a bit was that much of the time before we watched Erik work on acutal class participants, we simply viewed his DVD's in which he performed the protocol soon to be practiced.
Also, little to no assessments were shown for the techniques we were learning and were constantly reminded by Erik that we could get the rest of the information on his various DVD's, which were very expensive. For a $400 seminar on advanced topics, I was expecting a little more in terms of support material. Oh well!
Day 2 started with a review of Day 1 infromation which was nice since all we had were crappy handouts to review. This day focused on various spinal release techniques (many from the Rolfing world, which was cool to see) and included complex releases positions for sacral problems. As usual, no assessment information was given on when and how to really use the specialized techniques. I've been in the bodywork industry for over 10 years now, and let me tell you, the sacrum and how it moves is VERY COMPLICATED! Most therapists who don't have his DVD's probably will get nothing out of those techniques whatsover. Day 2 ended with Erik working on an acutal client of one of the participant therapist who wanted Erik to "figure out" what the heck was wrong with the guy.
This is when things got very interesting and terrifying at the same time. Erik basically got this client ( a young man in his early 20's) on the table and just started romping him around in a very aggressive and robust way. The techniques included some violent "leg yanking" procedures that are more in the realm of a Chiropractor. The grand finale included a pillow case being wrapped around this guy's neck for a supposed "traction" of the neck. The whole room gasped as Erik suddeny yanked this poor guy's neck so hard that he almost flew off the table as his legs jerked in the air and he had a look of shear terror on his face. This was absolutely NOT A LEGAL mobilization to perform in my opinion since Mr. Dalton holds no licenses to perform high-velocity (Grade 5 Mobilizations) thrusts techniques that are more in the realm of Chiro's and DO's, not massage therapists! I've never seen such a thing from such a reputable therapist; EVER!
After that, Patrick and I were pretty shocked and wondered what day 3 would hold. The final day started with Erik talking about his opinion on Core Stability training and how it's all a farce now according to recent research. He just left most people more confused that they probably were to start with and clearly didn't have all the facts straight. The rest of the day included very interesting rolf-based leg, foot, posterior thigh, and sacrum techniques that again, were preceeded by no assessment information on when to use the specific techniques. But if we, I know, I know, buy his DVD's, we could get all that information, GREAT!!!
All and all, I got a lot of cool techniques that I will integrate into my massage toolbox. I will never take another seminar from Erik Dalton again however for the various reasons I've repeatedly mentioned. I may even purchase his enfamous DVD's one day since he really does have some interesting techniques on how to treat various painful conditions of the body. He is a very bright man but not too bright in some respects. As a finishing touch to the seminar, near the end of day, my friend Patrick challenged Erik on a simple straight-leg hip-extension test (a la Vladamir Janda) and almost had his head bit off. This guy couldn't handle anyone challenging him and he really flew off the handle. I was even more UNIMPRESSED of him after that. It was a strange weekend to say the least.
who like myself, is a conditioning coach and and a licensed massage therapist. We were very eager to take a semianr from Erik since we've heard that he had some pretty interesting ideas on treating soft-tissue dysfunction in the body. The seminar was called: Myoskeletal Alignment for Neck, Sciatic and Leg Pain.
Who is Erik Dalton?
Erik Dalton, has a Ph. D in Psychology and has been in the bodywork industry for a few decades. His early training was as a Rolfer with a heavy emphasis on fascia and connective tissue work. He also trained and was heavily influenced by Osteopathic manipulative treatments which eventually led him to formulate his own "hybrid" massage system called "Myoskeletal Alignment Technique." All in all, Erik has a vast background in pain -relief massage techniques and we were excited to start day one.
This first day was dedicated to neck problems or "neck cricks," as many people commonly call them. We learned various passive mobilizations for the joints of the neck first followed by some specific fascial and soft-tissue mobilizations for commonly tight tissues. I was quite impressed with Erik's knowledge of the anatomy and the injury process after day one but was not impressed that we were only given a handout with written explanations of the techniques we had just learned; there were not any pictures in these handouts. What annoyed me quite a bit was that much of the time before we watched Erik work on acutal class participants, we simply viewed his DVD's in which he performed the protocol soon to be practiced.
Also, little to no assessments were shown for the techniques we were learning and were constantly reminded by Erik that we could get the rest of the information on his various DVD's, which were very expensive. For a $400 seminar on advanced topics, I was expecting a little more in terms of support material. Oh well!
Day 2 started with a review of Day 1 infromation which was nice since all we had were crappy handouts to review. This day focused on various spinal release techniques (many from the Rolfing world, which was cool to see) and included complex releases positions for sacral problems. As usual, no assessment information was given on when and how to really use the specialized techniques. I've been in the bodywork industry for over 10 years now, and let me tell you, the sacrum and how it moves is VERY COMPLICATED! Most therapists who don't have his DVD's probably will get nothing out of those techniques whatsover. Day 2 ended with Erik working on an acutal client of one of the participant therapist who wanted Erik to "figure out" what the heck was wrong with the guy.
This is when things got very interesting and terrifying at the same time. Erik basically got this client ( a young man in his early 20's) on the table and just started romping him around in a very aggressive and robust way. The techniques included some violent "leg yanking" procedures that are more in the realm of a Chiropractor. The grand finale included a pillow case being wrapped around this guy's neck for a supposed "traction" of the neck. The whole room gasped as Erik suddeny yanked this poor guy's neck so hard that he almost flew off the table as his legs jerked in the air and he had a look of shear terror on his face. This was absolutely NOT A LEGAL mobilization to perform in my opinion since Mr. Dalton holds no licenses to perform high-velocity (Grade 5 Mobilizations) thrusts techniques that are more in the realm of Chiro's and DO's, not massage therapists! I've never seen such a thing from such a reputable therapist; EVER!
After that, Patrick and I were pretty shocked and wondered what day 3 would hold. The final day started with Erik talking about his opinion on Core Stability training and how it's all a farce now according to recent research. He just left most people more confused that they probably were to start with and clearly didn't have all the facts straight. The rest of the day included very interesting rolf-based leg, foot, posterior thigh, and sacrum techniques that again, were preceeded by no assessment information on when to use the specific techniques. But if we, I know, I know, buy his DVD's, we could get all that information, GREAT!!!
All and all, I got a lot of cool techniques that I will integrate into my massage toolbox. I will never take another seminar from Erik Dalton again however for the various reasons I've repeatedly mentioned. I may even purchase his enfamous DVD's one day since he really does have some interesting techniques on how to treat various painful conditions of the body. He is a very bright man but not too bright in some respects. As a finishing touch to the seminar, near the end of day, my friend Patrick challenged Erik on a simple straight-leg hip-extension test (a la Vladamir Janda) and almost had his head bit off. This guy couldn't handle anyone challenging him and he really flew off the handle. I was even more UNIMPRESSED of him after that. It was a strange weekend to say the least.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Review of Eat-Stop-Eat
I recently purchased and read the e-book Eat-Stop-Eat from nuritionist Brad Pilon. I first heard Brad interviewed a little while back on a podcast (can't remember which one, sorry) where he explained his method for losing bodyfat called flexible-intermittant-fasting. Needless to say I was intrigued since much of what Brad was saying was flying in the face of nutrional recommendations that I subscribe to and have used for years!Listening to Brad speak definately gave me a case of congnitive dissonance, which is that feeling you get when something contradicts a deeply held set of beliefs or convictions. Being very much a science and evidence-based person, I knew that I needed to examine my own nutritional beliefs. For years I have recommended and followed the principles of meal frequency(4-6 small meals/day) to control blood sugar, build muscle, and lose bodyfat. This methods has worked pretty well for me and many I have recommended it to.
Brad's basic view however, is that this style of eating promotes a chronically elevated insulin level, which can increase fat stores as well as increase inflammation and other negative health markers in the body over time. I'm not sure I buy into this completely as I don't seem to have any of those effects (not yet at least). But from an evolutionary perspective, it kind of makes sense that are bodies are meant to go for longer periods of time without food. And this is where Brad's system of flexible-fasting come in to play. He simply advises to choose one or two non-consecutive 24-hour periods (at most) per week to restrain from food while drinking non-caloric beverages liberally. He even advises exercising on these days!
While this sounds brutal to some (as it did to me), the results people are getting on his program seem pretty significant. What's kind of refreshing too, is that Brad simply dismisses many of the myths about short-term (24 hour periods) fasting such as:
1) you'll lose muscle (he says you won't, especially if you are resistance training 2-3x/week)
2) you'll enter the starvation mode and then store fat next time you eat (not so according to Brad who gives many scientific references to back this up_
3) you'll feel terrible and have no energy (after the few fasts, he says you feel great and get a lot of work done without worrying about eating all day)
Also, Brad dismisses much of the debate over protein, carbs, and fat intakes and simply recommends eating a healthful diet (lots of fruits and veggies, lean proteins, etc..) on the days you eat without any real need follow any strange and restictive diet plan with expensive supplements and fibers pills, etc... The one or two 24-hours periods you don't eat make for a great caloric deficit over the course of the week that you will lose fat. The real key is to eat normally on your regular days and not try to "make-up" for lost feeding opportunities. Also, you never actually need to miss a day of eating. Instead, Brad recommends choosing a time, say 2 PM one day until 2 PM the next day to fast. Any time will work though, according to Brad.
I will give this eating plan a try once my track season is over and report my findings in my blog. I'm not trying to lose weight per se but maybe will lose a little "love-handles" fat that I've accunulated as I got into my 30's. I haven't had any clients try it yet but am starting to think this might be a great eating style for many of fat-loss clients or anyone who wishes to save money on their grocery bill!
To read more about this very fascinating book or to purchase your own copy, go to
http://www.eatstopeat.com/?tid=newblog or Brad's personal blog: http://bradpilon.com/ to read more about his recommendations.
Friday, February 27, 2009
A Review of Recovery & Regeneration
Just today I received notice of the first review of my new DVD Recovery & Regeneration: Self-Massage Techniques. The review was done by RKC (Russian Kettlebell Certified) instructor
Rannoch Donald from Scottland. To read the entire review, go to Ronnach's excellent blog, Simple Strength:
Here's a bit of what he said about the DVD's:
"I don't think Keats will mind if I say, right off the bat, he's not going to win any Oscars for make-up and lighting. But no-one watches instructionals for the production values. We want content - and this is where "Recovery & Regeneration" delivers completely.
"Recovery & Regeneration" comprises 2 discs.
Disc 1 covers instruction of specific techniques. Keats doesn't waste any time. After a brief but informative discussion on the benefits of self massage and the tools available we are introduced to a series of progressive drills using a foam roller. These include postural, perpendicular, torso and leg applications. Also included on disc 1 are tennis ball moves for plantar fascia and some alternative self massage methods. The disc concludes with a stretching sequence. Coach Keats presentation is clear and unambiguous and I found myself eager to get to disc 2 where the fun begins.
Disc 2 covers pre and post workout self massage sequences. Another brief introduction and we move into the pre-workout sequence. This runs for about 12 minutes and employs the drills outlined in disc one. Keats has three participants and corrects form as they go, very useful. After a couple of runs you would certainly feel comfortable using these drills and perhaps focusing on the areas that need some extra TLC.The post work-out section is of similar duration and follows a similar format. Again, after a few run throughs I'd feel confident to make these drills my own. Disc 2 concludes with a static stretching routine."
Rannoch concluded with the following statement:
"I should add, in the spirit of disclosure, I ordered this DVD direct from Coach Keats, paid in full and it was worth every penny! "
If you haven't picked up your copy of Recovery & Regneration you may do so off my site:
The price for the 2 DVD's is only $39.95!
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