Here’s another video gem I found on Youtube. This is not your usual scientist, nutritionist, or exercise physiologist. Instead, it’s rock star and shooting sports enthusiast Ted Nugent.

In the video, Ted talks about the discipline it takes to be a bow hunter, and then cuts into serious health issues and how he has used common sense to overcome many of them in our society today.

Post thoughts to comments.

Today I finished reading Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes, which was an excellent and compelling read. After finishing the book, I stumbled upon a talk by another author, Michael Pollan, who gave a lecture at Google Headquarters, in the video below. He’s written a few books of his own. One of those is called In Defense of Food, which I will start reading tomorrow.

If you want to hear a very interesting argument for less nutrition science and more simple rules and common sense, you should watch the video. There is also a question and answer period at the end which was very good.

Post thoughts to comments.

“Ok guys, warm up,” the coach barks.

The team begins bending at the waist and reaching for their toes. They hold for 15 seconds. Next they sit down, bending their legs back and stretching their quadriceps. They count in unison, and move through a myriad of static stretches.

The loud sound of the whistle breaks through the monotony.

“Let’s go. Get up and run a few laps, boys.”

That’s the story at many middle and high schools. That’s how it is at Little League practice. Endless and boring stretching exercises. Some don’t even do that much.

Both are a mistake.

Anyone who wishes to push through “Fran” or snatch their bodyweight needs to get in the routine of the warmup. You are doing an elite fitness program known as CrossFit. You need to work into it using an elite method. This method is known as the Dynamic warmup.

A dynamic warmup doesn’t take a great deal of time, but has enormous benefits. Muscles and joints are prepared for what’s ahead. Your nervous system and blood starts to circulate, and your heart rate is increased. Most importantly, these exercises increase muscle elasticity, which will reduce the chance of injury during your workout.

Think of your entire body as being in a deep sleep. You need to choose the right exercises to wake up each and every muscle and joint. We don’t want our body to be dazed and confused when first awakening. We need to splash some water in the face, and get moving.

The Exercises

There are a million different exercises out there that you can incorporate into your own warmup. High knees, butt kicks, back pedals, carioca, inchworms, and bear crawls are just some of the possibilities. Mix some of those traditional moves with some CrossFit favorites and you have many options to choose from. Duke University also has some great videos on different types of dynamic exercises.

So now that you have the tools- think twice about going straight into the WOD. Take 5-15 minutes, picking 8-10 movements to get your blood flowing. Your body will thank you.

Here’s a typical warmup for me:

500 meter row

Neck rotation, flexion & extension

10 Pullups

Arm and wrist circles

15 Air squats

30 second Front Plank

10 Handstand Pushups

200 Jump rope singleunders

Carioca (50 meters)

Butt Kickers (50 meters)

High Knees (50 meters)

Suicide Sprint (Full Basketball Court)

Post your ideas for a better warmup to comments.

The Big Fat Lies and Britain’s obesity epidemic, from the UK Daily Mail:

For the past 30 years we’ve been told to eat less and exercise more, to cut back on calories and on saturated fat and, on the whole, we’re doing it.

Our calorific intake between the years 1974 and 2004 decreased by 20 per cent. We are eating about 20 per cent more fruit and vegetables than in the Seventies.

We are doing approximately 25 per cent more exercise than we were in 1997.

But are our waist lines shrinking? No. In fact, a quick glance around most High Streets would suggest the opposite is happening – with even young girls displaying ‘muffin tops’.

Safety of Beef Processing Method is Questioned, from the New York Times:

But government and industry records obtained by The New York Times show that in testing for the school lunch program, E. coli and salmonella pathogens have been found dozens of times in Beef Products meat, challenging claims by the company and the U.S.D.A. about the effectiveness of the treatment. Since 2005, E. coli has been found 3 times and salmonella 48 times, including back-to-back incidents in August in which two 27,000-pound batches were found to be contaminated. The meat was caught before reaching lunch-rooms trays.

In July, school lunch officials temporarily banned their hamburger makers from using meat from a Beef Products facility in Kansas because of salmonella — the third suspension in three years, records show. Yet the facility remained approved by the U.S.D.A. for other customers.

Agave Info, from CrossFit Rebellion:

What follows is a very thoughtful rebuttal to the original article on agave nectar that appeared on NaturalNews (http://www.naturalnews.com/024892.html). It explains in great detail some of the behind-the-scenes issues involving agave nectar, and it describes how modern agave nectar processing is very different from the outmoded methods described in Nagel’s article. It also points out many apparent errors and misrepresentations in the original article. I must emphasize that the original article was a Citizen Journalist article, not an in-house article, and thus it represented the opinions of its author, not NaturalNews. Here at NaturalNews, we continue to publish contributed articles that vary somewhat from our own opinions in order to allow the reader access to more diverse information on important topics.

NaturalNews has promoted agave nectar for many years, believing it to be a healthy, low-glycemic alternative to conventional sweeteners. We hope that this rebuttal from Madhava will help bring more clarity to the agave nectar issue.

Post thoughts or other good links to comments.

From the Kansas City Business Journal:

The American Academy of Family Physicians announced a new corporate partnership Tuesday called the Consumer Alliance and unveiled its first partner, The Coca-Cola Co.

The Leawood-based AAFP said in a release that the program is intended to enable corporate partners to work with the organization “to educate consumers about the role their products can play in a healthy, active lifestyle.”

Coca-Cola is providing a grant of an unspecified amount to the AAFP to develop consumer education content about beverages and sweeteners for the AAFP’s consumer health and wellness Web site.

Dr. Lori Heim, the AAFP’s president-elect, said in an interview that Coca-Cola is providing “strong, six-figure revenue” through a one-year contract for the alliance. The AAFP is in talks with other possible corporate partners but has no additional agreements, Heim said.

“We’re looking at corporations that share some common goals that we do around consumer education, healthy lifestyles and foods,” she said.

So, let’s see here. The goal of Coca-Cola is to get as many people as possible to buy their sugar-filled products. The goal of the AAFP is to improve the health of all people. Yeah, that sounds like there can be middle ground.

Although Coca-Cola and AAFP teaming up for a health-oriented initiative might seem an odd mix because of Coca-Cola’s often sugary beverages, Heim said the alliance will address the issue of choices consumers must make about their health.

“It’s because of the number of patients I see all the time that are making choices, and the reality is that people make bad decisions about what they eat and drink,” she said. “Sometimes they make good decisions, such as unsweetened beverages. So the information we’ll put out is about helping people make those choices. Some can afford to have a sweetened beverage, or maybe they need to think about how much sweetened beverages they have.”

The AAFP always advises people not to smoke at all, for example, but Heim said that moderation is crucial in many other areas, as is substituting more healthful choices when appropriate.

The AAFP’s FamilyDoctor.org Web site recently was named as one of the top 10 most useful Web sites by the Medical Library Association.

New content about beverages and sweeteners is expected to launch in January.

“While the AAFP does not endorse any specific brand, product or service, the AAFP Consumer Alliance will collaborate with companies that share the common goal of informing consumers, as well as medical professionals, about new advances in product science and best practices for good health,” the organization said in the release.

The AAFP was founded in 1947 and represents more than 94,600 physicians and medical students throughout the country. It is devoted solely to primary care.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company.

and looking at the Mission & Vision page of the AAFP:

VISION STATEMENT

The vision of the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation is to improve the health of all people.

MISSION STATEMENT

The American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation advances the values of Family Medicine by promoting humanitarian, educational, and scientific initiatives that improve the health of all people.

They wish to improve the health of all people, as long as they get a six figure grant for it.

Post thoughts to comments.

It’s CrossFit Games season once again. The 2010 Games are fast approaching, with sectionals, regionals, and then the big dance in Aromas in July. This will be the fourth year of competition and it is sure to be bigger than ever.

Enlarge image

It’s easy to lose sight of the grassroots nature of this event. The first CrossFit Games were announced on May 7, 2007. They were held at the ranch from June 30th to July 1st. The first winners and the fittest alive in 2007 were Jolie Gentry and James FitzGerald, respectively.

Here’s a classic video from CrossFit One World which includes Jolie Gentry knocking out the notorious Bear Complex WOD. Enjoy.

Post thoughts to comments.

General Rules of a Successful Reducing Diet:

1. Do not use sugar, honey, syrup, jam, jelly or candy.

2. Do not use fruits canned with sugar.

3. Do not use cake, cookies, pie, puddings, ice cream or ices.

4. Do not use foods which have cornstarch or flour added such as gravy or cream sauce.

5. Do not use potatoes (sweet or Irish), macaroni, spaghetti, noodles, dried beans or peas.

6. Do not use fried foods prepared with butter, lard, oil or butter substitutes.

7. Do not use drinks such as Coca-Cola, ginger ale, pop or root beer.

8. Do not use any foods not allowed on the diet and only as much as the diet allows.

- Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, 1950

(Excerpted from the book Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes, p. 314)

Your thoughts?

Stuff That I Read (or Watch), And You Should Too, Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple:

“Quick. How’d you hear about your favorite book or album of all time? Did you let an online algorithm determine what genre/artist/author/etc you’d prefer? Or did a trusted friend, colleague, or family member make a recommendation? I dunno about you, but I’ll take personal recommendations from people I trust over what some impersonal line of code thinks I should like, given the choice between the two.

You’re reading MDA, so I’m going to assume you care about what I have to say – at least a little bit. So, without further ado, I present my recommended list of nutrition, health, fitness, and all things Primal-related readings, viewings, listenings, and perusings.”

Tough mamas: They exercise hard to fuel busy lives, Mike Irwin, The Wenatchee World:

“It’s fast, it’s fun, and it helps me function in everyday life,” said Jamie Ogle of Wenatchee, a 38-year-old mother of two and winter sports participant. “I’m fitter, stronger and — grrr! — can even lift the back end of a snowmobile.”

Tough mamas like Ogle work out up to four times a week at CrossFit Cashmere, the four-month-old training facility that’s signed up more than 30 fitness buffs (female and male) for its short-interval, high-intensity exercise sessions and nutritional guidance. Owners of the bare-bones gym show clients how to use their own body weight — pushups, situps, pullups, burpees — to develop core strength, increase flexibility and improve cardio function. Weights and a few rowing machines can also figure in the 12-minute mix of exercises.”

Preschool Obesity – WTF!, Ross Enamait, Ross Training:

“The study is an analysis of nationally representative height and weight data on 8,550 preschoolers born in 2001. Children were measured in their homes and were part of a study conducted by the government’s National Center for Education Statistics. The results appear in Monday’s Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

If I read this story 5 years ago, I would have likely skimmed over it and moved on without much thought.   It’s not that I would have wished obesity on any child, but it simply wasn’t a topic that I followed closely before having children of my own.

Researchers then went on to estimate the following:

Overall, more than half a million 4-year-olds are obese…

Life As A Parent

If I read this story 5 years ago, I would have likely skimmed over it and moved on without much thought.   It’s not that I would have wished obesity on any child, but it simply wasn’t a topic that I followed closely before having children of my own.”

Post thoughts to comments.

Yesterday I was leaving the base convenience store and I noticed a flyer. It said Operation BeFit. Intrigued, I picked it up and put it in my bag so I could see what it said when I came home. When I finally had a look, I was surprised, to say the least.

Now, let’s just ignore the completely ridiculous dietary advice of the AAFES Dietician on the bottom. Recommending nutrition.gov for further advice really doesn’t bode well with my sensibilities.

Let’s look at the paragraph next to the boxer above. I will paraphrase: AAFES, along with MWR and others are launching initiatives to promote healthy choices, fitness solutions and personal wellness…

Now, let’s take a look at the back of this flyer, shall we?

Well, what do you know? After you are done Be[ing]Fit, stop by the AAFES Taco Bell restaurant and use your AAFES gift card to pay for it.

But wait, there’s more inside:

This why you are fat ladies and gentlemen. This is what our modern military gets. It’s either the USDA Dietary Guidelines’ low fat, little protein, high carbohydrate serving at the Mess Hall, or it’s a bunch of fast food restaurants.

Un-be-lievable.

Training:

Back Squat 3-3-3-1-1-1

then:

“Jason”

100 Squats

5 Muscleups

75 Squats

10 Muscleups

50 Squats

15 Muscleups

25 Squats

20 Muscleups

Eating

Ham Omelette with mushrooms, green pepper, tomato, and olives

Apple

Reading:

Fight to the Finish, from Runner’s World

Watching:

Part 3 of James “OPT” FitzGerald’s lecture, from SICFIT

Inspiring:

“One person can make a difference and every person should try.”

Post thoughts to comments.