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.
The term “muscle head” is a compliment. It should be noted that many of our great thinkers like Plato and Socrates embraced extreme physical fitness.
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FAQs
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At the top of the food-chain with regards to neural activity and neuroplasticity (whereby you actually make new neural connections) are movements that involve lots of muscles and include cross-patterning and gaiting patterns. This is why we squat deep, crawl, get up and down off the floor a bunch, and carry heavy loads. Weightlifting Makes Your Brain Work
One of my biggest concerns about the separation and fearmongering we’ve been subject to in recent months due to lockdowns and such. Loneliness Makes Stress Worse
More than likely, you are not a victim of poor genetics, but are a victim of poor life choices. Everything we do, the exercises I choose and the foods I advise others to eat have to do with how they trigger genetic expression. This, people, IS the big picture Epigenetics
Pay special attention to #3 in this article: “Just about any body composition problem you have is a diet problem, not a training problem.”
This is the hardest pill to swallow I offer frequent nutrition classes to members of IKSC. The frustrating part on the coaching end is that that only a few bother to show up, and yet almost everyone comes in the door looking for a strength and body composition goals. Training is only 10% of the whole equation. Painful Fitness Truths!
Always good information from Tim Anderson at Original Strength
Video of The Week: This is from Prof. Stu McGill, kind of the back guru. There are a few videos in this series, so be sure and check the rest out.
I passed the exam a few months back, but these guys just sent me a paper certificate a few days ago…maybe I should get around to hanging some certs up.
Sorry I missed last week. I just couldn’t find enough interesting stuff. I didn’t want to bore everyone. These are all basic things this week, but it doesn’t hurt to revisit the basics. I am excited for this year’s July Challenge. It is always a good way to stay accountable. It is always a good training month for me. July Fitness and Nutrition Challenge
Not sure we needed another study to demonstrate this, but what it demonstrates is that eating a bunch of carbs makes your blood rise and then crash. People think they are eating them for energy, but what it does in reality is give a little energy followed by a crash. This is one of the best reasons not to start your day with a blast of carbs in the form of cereal or pancakes. Keeping Blood Sugar Stable
Interval strength training “on-the-clock” as I always call it, is important for managing blood sugar and insulin sensitivity. Insulin Sensitivity
I have to agree with this article’s analysis of the most damaging forms of training. My goal is to build resistance to injury through training. The myofascial release techniques he shows are standard and nothing new. You can probably just feel your way into most of them. But, it is important to realize that those things are not going to fix movement dysfunction. Being able to perform basic hinging, pushing, squatting, and gaiting patterns are important to avoid having to do that kind of quick-fix stuff. Damaging Exercise
Interesting article on sleep and medical students’ grades. Sleep and Grades
Might be off-topic, but I know many of you that might read this are also into shooting and guns to an extent. You know that I am kind of a training junky, so here is a good article on selecting a gun for a pistol course. I’ve been though a bunch of them taught by some of the best in the world over the years. I’d also have to add that it is good for confidence levels to be able to know you can safely handle that firearm if you need to (for most of us, that is going to mean carrying it in the outdoors or at home for defense). Don’t compromise your safety with a gun that isn’t reliable enough to complete a course like this and you can’t perform your best with: Handgun Choice for Course
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.
Every one of this week’s links has to do with strengthening your immune system in one way or another. Always good advice. Here’s something I posted the other day on FB:
Mindset matters. Part of that begins in the way you move. One of the things I notice about all this virus panic is people’s posture and gait when out in public. They all look (just slightly worse than normal) like distressed, caged animals.
Try this: Stand upright, shoulders back chin up, eyes up. Take a deep breath and walk strong and confidently wherever you go. Walk like you own every room you enter and command the ground in front of you.
It reminds me of a samurai maxim that insists that a good samurai only be found with arrows in the front of his body. You might catch something bad or you might not (more than likely not), but walking around like beaten dogs only makes even healthy people sick.
The point is not to be stupid, but be strong and confident. Don’t act wounded or you will be.
Ignore the ads in this article on ZMA. You can get it from lots of sources. The kind I like is made by Vitamin Shoppe and also has theanine in it (which is an adrenal support supplement), but I don’t really have a brand preference.
I’ve taken ZMA to get my magnesium, zinc, and B6 for years. I always took it for more strength and better sleep, because it’s been proven to help that (directions say to take at bedtime).
I’ve also just bought magnesium, zinc and B6 separately and taken those at night before bed. Not a big difference whether you buy them all together or separately.
Anyone who follows me or has been to some of my nutrition classes hears repeatedly about magnesium, vitamin D, and zinc.
Stress weakens your immune system. Stress about things you can control, but not those you cannot. Control your emotions, or they will control you. Stress and Immune System
It all starts in the gut. That’s really the whole point behind a paleo diet or ancestral health diet when you get down to it, and why it works so well (or it did, until you could make “paleo” cookies, brownies, etc.). Now is a good time to dial in what you are eating, and spend extra time preparing meals. I know I am dialing in my diet hard, because I know I just don’t have the normal “cheat room” I would otherwise due to the stressful situation we are all under. Gut Health
Vitamin C is important when it comes to general immune system health. I take 2,000mg per day. This article has to do with it lowering cortisol, which relates back to the article above about stress and immune system. And yes, vitamin D is just as important as C. I’m also hearing chatter about high doses of vitamin C being used to treat our latest fun virus threat, but I’m trying to avoid diving into that specifically, since I just don’t know. Vitamin C and Cortisol
This week’s video:
I’ve shared this before. This is really important right now. I know it’s easy to fall into a stress and stress eating rollercoaster. We all have a challenge to meet right now. It will only be made worse by going off the rails into a junkfood abyss. It is about more than just a few pounds around the waistline. For some, it is the difference between falling into a much more dangerous condition.
I was one of the first certified Primal Health Coaches. It’s been a long time since that opportunity opened up in 2014. It is part of a bigger movement to make people healthier. I just found out that program is a member of this organization: Holistic Health Education
Best article I’ve read yet on Coronavirus. Remember that having a positive mindset matters in everything. You WILL get better. This, too, shall pass. What to expect.
Great things to keep in mind from Weston A. Price Foundation. Success leaves clues. Look to History, Anthropology, and Biology for what humans are truly designed to function best on. Ancestral Diets
If there is a fountain of youth, it surely includes making yourself as strong as possible. Fight Aging
I have no idea if this will minimize Coronavirus or not, but getting as much sunlight and fresh air as you can is always good advice. However, even though I supplement with 5,000iu per day of Vitamin D3 all year long, I’d make sure and maybe even take a little extra if you aren’t able to get your sun (I usually up my to 10,000iu during winter months). Low D3 levels are a common-denominator in so many ailments that it makes sense, regardless. I also read a little bit the other day that populations that the virus has spread are also known to be D-deficient. Sunlight and Coronavirus
Video of The Week: I’m often asked what I think of CrossFit. I view it as an exercise sport nowadays, not a training system. Mark Rippetoe (in the video) used to do barbell certifications for CrossFit, and like many that were involved in it 10-15 years ago, saw it changing for the worse. My first exposure to kettlebells was through CrossFit back in 2007.
Sometimes the answer is simply asking yourself what is going to make you the happiest right now and tomorrow. Do less sometimes, but not so much that it causes more stress in the future. Do Less
Here’s something interesting about artificial sweeteners. We all know we’d be better off without them, but maybe they aren’t the worst thing either. Artificial Sweeteners
You’ll note that many of these vetted training methods look a lot like IKSC sessions. That’s partly because I’ve stumbled on to some of these methods through trial and error over a lot of years, and also because I’ve geeked out exercise physiology and training literature quite a bit and use that information in programming. Well-Proven Training Methods
American Diabetes Association CEO goes low-carb. Full. Stop.
Finally…about time these guys got with the rest of the world. I can’t think of how many times I had to argue with a client whose Dr. (or even the Dr. themselves) about the merits of ditching most carbs for someone fighting pre-diabetes or diabetes in the past 10 or so years. ADA CEO Goes Low-Carb
For those of you working the 8×8 program, and reasons why this rep scheme shows up so frequently on the daily workout board as a general full body workout. It works. It has worked for a long time, and will predictably work in the future. I use it myself about once a year. 8X8 Training
This supplement combo does work, and you’ll find it in lots of preworkout drinks and energy drinks. Note that the amounts they used is ridiculously high. Caffeine and Carnitine
More on red light…from The Man himself, Robb Wolf. Red Light Therapy
Video of The Week: Train from fingertips to toes. These stretches might be good if you are forced to wear shoes or boots that aren’t friendly for work or if you’ve spent lots of years beating your feet up.
Focus on making your last rep just as strong as your first, and train to be successful, not end in failure. This has always been a strategy for building strength. Looks like it works for building muscle size, too. The goal is to stimulate new growth, not annihilate yourself. Training to Failure
To burn more fat/fuel, build a bigger engine (muscle). You don’t necessarily need a bigger chassis to put a bigger engine in a car. Most of us won’t naturally get appreciably larger with increased muscle mass, but we’ll move a lot better with a bigger powerhouse and an efficient fuel system. Fat Loss Training
I don’t make blanket recommendations on probiotics. There is a lot we don’t know about the gut biome, and much of it is completely individual, based on genetics, medications, stress, sleep, life experiences, diet, disease history, etc., etc…. We just don’t know what we don’t know. You have to experiment with what makes you look, feel and perform better. That won’t be an overnight project. Probiotics
Video of The Week: Worth re-watching for some of you that may have seen this before. Perhaps even more relevant during these months of little sunlight. I’ve actually taken his advice recently and hit up a combination tanning and red light therapy bed for a few minutes about once a week. Placebo or not, I think it helps my mood and motivation.
I’ll be doing a special class on Tuesday January 14that 7 p.m. on “Fighting Sugar Cravings.” I’ve done this one in the past and had good results. Free to members, but $15 drop in for guests. I am limiting this class to a max of 10 people, so let me know if you’re coming. Here’s a link for guests to sign up:
Some of you may have seen this article floating around about fake meats and hormones. Soy is a hormone disruptor. It’s not a simple process by which that happens, but it does have an estrogenic effect. Estrogen Burgers
Here’s an interesting article on getups:https:Old Time Getups
To study nutrition, you have to be able to read past mainstream news headlines and read up on the studies those news stories come from. One thing you’ll find is that the reliability in nutrition studies is all over the place, sometimes just about worthless, and people that try to point out some of the flawed and biased information (i.e. fat is bad) are fighting quite a battle. This article points out an example of that. Nutrition Studies
Training is like medicine, and that means “the dose makes the poison.” Don’t give enough, and nothing happens; give too much and it doesn’t help much either. How Much Exercise Needed?
A lot of what Dan John has done in training is close or almost exactly what we do at IKSC. Trust me, it is more overlap than me copying what he does. I’ve never read one of his books, but have listened to a few interviews and read some of his articles. I’m glad I’m on the same page in many cases, as he is very respected. Dan John is Antidote to CrossFit
Video of the Week: This is exactly my strategy, as anyone who has attended my nutrition classes will acknowledge. Additionally, note that most of the nutritional interventions that have become popular in recent years have come from ancestral health and nutrition models refined for the masses.
