Steve Maxwell is a huge influence on what we do at IKSC. I was fortunate to have been able to take a few of his courses a few years back. Here is a great perspective on what quality training should look like if you’re over 45 years old.
I go on and on about vitamin D, one of our big three supplements. Here are some recent articles on our other two, zinc and magnesium.
I’ve recommended blue light blocking glasses in the past and how they can help with making your sleep time more productive. I remember one guy that said after wearing them in the evening, he would fall asleep before his favorite nightly TV show
This is an interesting study about how your maximal exercise capacity might affect your outcome if you contract our favorite virus these days. This shouldn’t be a surprise, the stronger your heart and lungs are the better lots of things go.
Latest on the downside of chronic cardio There is a reason that we don’t spend much time in what is called the “junk zone” of aerobic training, which is hard but not hard enough to be true max effort, and yet too hard to provide good aerobic base building.
This is an interesting thing to think about with regards to nitric oxide boosters, which are part of many bodybuilding supplements. Never thought about them having any kind of immune system benefits, though. NO Boosters and Coronavirus
I go on an off a carnivore diet. I think one of the reasons it works so well for so many is because they weren’t getting adequate protein before deciding to go that route. For some it has really made a huge difference with some autoimmune conditions, when nothing else did. Carnivore Diet
As well all know, crawling can be easy mobility training or the most brutal full body strength and cardio workout you’ve ever had. Looks like some folks decided to test this in a university setting to see how much improvement in movement it actually does scientifically.
Original Strength is the top system for this type of training. It can be done at every level, from rehabilitation to athletic gains. I have used this for years and am a certified Original Strength restorative movement coach (I think the only one in Idaho, unless that has recently changed).
“Quadrupedal movement training is a viable alternative form of training to improve whole-body stabilization and flexibility.” Crawling Study
Stacie F. is rowing over 56,000 meters for breast cancer awareness this month.
IKSC Blog: October 14, 2020
Benefits of crawling: We relearn to move like we are meant to. Which means, without pain and dysfunction. Benefits of Crawling
With all the lip service I give to vitamin D, it’s easy to look past other parts of IKSC’s big three supplements: This is a good article on Zinc and how it might be the difference between a good and bad outcome if you get coronavirus. ZInc
And here’s another good article on zinc. I’ve shared this one several times. More Zinc
There is little need to do specific “ab” exercises. The big basic movements work all of these muscles as a unit. Muscles throughout the midsection are worked during everything we do in training: Swings, squats, pushups, crawls, burpees all heavily involve those muscles: Big Lifts Work the Core
Interesting article on fat cells and sunlight. We immediately think of vitamin D, but there is more to it. Fat Cells and Sunlight
This is a great podcast with some interesting points. Remember, your health is in your hands. Make your own choices. Health Freedom
Video of the Week: I’ve shown a few of you this one. I do these now and then. This is a good roll to try if you have limited space to work with. You could do these every day. I’m not too sure about these making you punch and kick that much harder, but they are still good for your spine.
The bird in the photos is a golden eagle. It was feeding on a dead coyote way out in the desert on beef rangeland. There are 1,000s of cows in the area. This is one of the nuanced parts of beef production that is rarely discussed. There are also 1,000s of wild animals, insects, reptiles and birds that live on rangeland. The cattle help by keeping the grasses (fire fuel load) in-check and fertilizing the soil.
Vitamin D
The latest on Vitamin D: Just what many of us have been hinting at with all the positive indications on vitamin D. For those that need a study, here is one: Corona Vitamin D Therapy
Training Smart
Note that we do lots of sets “on-the-minute” or with a specific rest period. This article says it is for big athletes, but I find this works just as well for most normal people that aren’t 21 years old and who are training for general health and fitness. The goal is to avoid training injuries. Training for Monsters
Foot Muscles
I totally agree with the sentiment in this article about training the foot muscles, but you don’t necessarily need to do the exercises presented.
One of the chief reasons IKSC’s training is very effective is that there is ample attention paid to the effect it will have on the feet and ankles (even if I don’t go on about it in class every day). Even a slight degree of immobility or instability in the feet and ankles causes a ripple effect that decreases force production throughout the body (think of it like your car’s traction control taking power away so you won’t spin the tires).
Simply training barefoot and spending as much time barefoot as possible is the most obvious, and why I encourage it and discourage training in shoes like running shoes. Here are some of the most valuable exercises we do for the feet and ankles, in no particular order:
1. Crawling, lunging, loaded carries, etc.
2. Swings, and goblet squats.
3. Even pushups and especially Hindu pushups force the feet to work and provide extra stability.
I believe it was Gichin Funakoshi (founder of modern Karate-Do) that said Karate training exercises the body from toes to fingertips. This is important to consider for overall health. Weak Feet = Weak Body
Meal Timing Mistakes
One of the things I’m always asked about when it comes to my nutrition program is whether people have to eat several times a day. No. I’ve never bought into that idea. It was validated for me back in the 2000s, when I read The Warrior Diet by Ori Hofmekler. Basically, the idea of eating frequently is a modern invention, and the eventual problems that go with it have to do with it just not being inline with what our genes expect us to do, which is eat one or two big meals per day and sometimes go long stretches without eating. 6 Meals A Day?
Video of the Week: Long term damage from excessive cardio.
I have a decent amount of muscle in my chest and shoulders. My main chest exercises are pushups, dips, getups and presses. I haven’t ever felt a need for bench pressing. Pushups -vs – Bench Press
Kettlebell swings: Ignore the videos shown, or if you do watch them, at least ignore the weights and form shown. We can do better. The rest of the data is good, and I’ve read much of the background on some of the experiments he cites. It is a good article. Also, I’d ignore the part about going super heavy. We have since learned that the most optimal bell for max force is generally not more than 1/3 of a person’s bodyweight. Heavy Kettlebell Swings
I can think of a good number of people I know personally who have experienced these odd illnesses over the past year and gotten over it. Looks like coronavirus is so scary and debilitating that you may have had it and not even known it. Now, figure this basically un-knowable amount of people with the padded death counts, and I gather that the numbers put out daily or weekly are just about meaningless and paying attention to them is likely just to cause anxiety and worry over something you can’t control. Maybe You Had CV Already?
Rack kettlebell carries and front squats. Another good article in T-Nation this week! Kettlebell Squat and Carry
I’ve been beating the drum about vitamin D at the first mention of coronavirus. Here’s what is being born out: Better Survival Rates with Vitamin D
Video of The Week: Some of you might recall this as being similar to the drill we do in class with the goblet squat. Remember how the squat got easier?
This is a pretty cool article about one of the guys on that poster in the gym. Arthur Saxon
Interesting list of supposedly worthless exercises. You won’t see these at the gym, but I never say never when it comes to an exercise or training tool. If you train enough people for long enough you find uses for things you never thought you’d use, or that you quit using and then find a use for it later. 5 Worthless Exercises
This is one of the best podcast episodes explaining the connection between back health and kettlebell training. Prof. Stuart McGill is one of the world’s foremost experts in back health. If you only listen to one podcast this month, this is the one: Stuart McGill Kettlebell Podcast
Book recommendation! Finally got my hands on this after having it on pre-order for a few months. I’ve learned a ton from both authors over the years and have followed this book’s progression for the past few years. Here’s more about it and where to get one: https://www.sacredcow.info
After working with countless people with tennis elbow and hand issues from lots of desk time over the years, it is pretty common for these issues to just go away when you get things moving and working. Never needed to look up a study on it, but here’s one anyway. It’s not like we really set out to “cure” anything, it just seems to work. Tennis Elbow and Mouse Arm
Diet and metabolic health are keys to immunity. This is one of the reasons I emphasized being even more strict with my diet and my dietary recommendations (don’t give into stress eating) when things started getting rough a few months back.
Looks like I was not a complete idiot about that advice. Some big brains seem to share that theory. “…As of 30 May 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that among COVID-19 cases, the two most common underlying health conditions were cardiovascular disease (32%) and diabetes (30%)”
Listen to this podcast interview! Seriously.
It might be a little tough to grasp for smoothbrains that get their health advice or knowledge from news sources or are addicted to being “Google experts” on a given topic. It will be hard to swallow for those that seem to revel in fear.
This will take more than a 30 second scan to process and think about. It might also be the best advice you’ll get about dealing with a contagious global virus. You can find the Wise Traditions Podcast on iTunes, as well. Proactive During Pandemic
The average grip strength of young men has been dropping for the past few generations. When I shake hands with young men and young women these days I find that most young women are a lot more likely to give a firm handshake and have strong hands than guys. In this study, they found an interesting correlation between that and a country’s top athletes.
” For every 1kg increase in population GS, the medal tally increased by 36%” Medals and Grip Strength
Video of The Week: Pretty cool information on rowing.
Does cardio make you fat? No form of exercise is going to cause fat gain, but certain training methods will do almost nothing to burn it. Building lean body mass is the way to change the way your body burns fuel. You can’t do that in a constantly stressed state, which “chronic cardio” does to your body and nervous system. Does Cardio Make You Fat?
I make frequent reference to Native American diets when talking nutrition. This is a great breakdown of what some of the plains tribes ate. Native American Diet
I know this might seem like a broken record, but here’s an interesting article on vitamin D. Great Vitamin D Article
You all know that I’ve been “intermittent fasting” since before that word existed. For the past several years I’ve drifted into that pattern of 16:8 (described in the article). Saturdays and Sundays, I find I mostly stick to one big meal per day and maybe a light snack at some point.
I don’t recommend you force yourself into one of these eating patterns unless it feels right to you. You have to kind of customize it. There is no prize for fasting the most, or going the most hours. Also, getting to the place where you burn fat instead of sugar for fuel is almost mandatory here. One thing that surely doesn’t work for people is grazing every few hours per day like a cow. Ways to IF
With the reopening of the indoor gym, it is IMPERTIVE that everyone adheres to good personal hygiene habits. The gym floor is mopped daily and the equipment is wiped with alcohol or bleach wipes after every use. We often do exercises that require us to get up and down off the floor. I try to keep it clean enough you could literally eat off it, but please don’t track dirt, mud, or lawn clippings across the gym floor. Please either remove your shoes for indoor workouts or make sure they are clean before tracking across the gym floor.
Please wear clean clothes to train. This is important. Take your training seriously. Dress for success. Train in clean clothes.
Even though most of my wardrobe is what you’d consider “workout clothes.” I always wear fresh, clean workout clothing for my designated, structured training sessions. It is good for mindset. I firmly believe you train better clean than dirty, if for no reason than you can focus better. In martial art training, it is a grave insult to your training partners to show up in a dirty uniform.
Make sure you are clean. Personally, I take a shower before training. I can’t when I’m train dirty. It doesn’t matter if it is a weekend. Your designated training time is a time to build positive habits and shift mindset. Training sessions are important appointments for yourself. Please arrive clean, looking sharp, and ready to train. Avoid heavy perfumes or cologne. Body odor is totally unacceptable. Be as clean as you would be at a church service or martial art training session. Strength training is just as important.
Here are this weeks articles.
This article is a pretty deep dive into why you hear so much anti-meat rhetoric in the media. It is easy to throw out a few select quotes, but it takes intelligence and nuance in order to explain the bigger picture when it comes to the issue. Why is WHO anti-meat?
Oysters. Part of the goodness of oysters is that they are rich in zinc. Oysters
Always good information from Poliquin. Here are a few good things about better sleep. When it comes to body composition, quality sleep is almost as important as training. Sleep Deprived
This is a fairly old study, but it shows the correlation between vitamin D, magnesium, and healthy hormone levels. Strong Bones = High Testosterone
Video of The Week: Worth your time to listen to this guy. I eat this way about 80% of the time, and have for the past few years. It seems to tighten everything up pretty fast. I would have discounted it as a crash diet a until I learned more about Shawn Baker’s physical feats. He must be doing something right:
Insulin resistance is a common thread in so many health conditions. Insulin is one of your body’s master control hormones. The more insulin-sensitive you are, the better. Improved Insulin Sensitivity
Big news. Diana Rodgers and Robb Wolf’s new book is available for pre-order. I am not promoting this for any reason other than I respect both of these people’s work and have learned a lot from them. I pre-ordered mine already. I can recommend anything they put out without reservation. Sacred Cow
I firmly believe that the training and nutrition advice and methods we use at IKSC are as good as anything you will find anywhere. One of the things I focus on is resiliency in many areas. This is really important right now. Metabolic Health and Corona
Walk. Please. The weather this time of year is perfect for just walking around. Find a way to incorporate it into your day. Walk a Bunch!
Video (s) of the Week: A couple short ones from Original Strength. As soon as we are able to fully open, I plan to do a full movement reset program. We are all in need of this.