Squat myths still surface now and then. Everyone is different, but there is a joint in the middle of our leg, called a knee. It is designed to articulate more than just 90 degrees. Squat Myths
Safeguard your sleep. It is important for your immune system’s ability to ward off all kinds of nasty marauders. Sleep and Immunity
Protein intake for women: Note that these are minimum requirements and it won’t hurt you to get more. Protein Intake for Women
Carbs at night: I’ve found that getting most of your carbs at night or immediately after your training for the day is best for most people, and I’ve been recommending it for those I have worked with in my nutrition program for years now. This, of course, was an uphill battle against so much misinformation from mainstream nutrition recommendations. Carb Night
Good article on hand strength. Every time you pick up a kettlebell your hands get stronger: Strong Hands
Video of The Week: Get strong in your basic human movement patterns by increasing load in those movements and then specifically practice the sport movements you are playing. Your strength training does not have to be complicated or look cool. Save that for the mat, ring, or field.
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:
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.
Here’s a glimpse of the certification I’m attending this weekend up in Seattle. I hope to bring back some great tools to add value to what I offer to everyone at IKSC. Original Strength
Low-testosterone and a low-fat diet are linked, yet again. Don’t think that not getting enough animal fats aren’t a problem for everyone. Women don’t have as much testosterone as men, but they still have it, and not having enough creates its own set of problems. We need fats, especially good monounsaturated fats and saturated fats. Low Testosterone
I found this article pretty interesting. I noticed when I went full-on carnivore I’d have cravings for fermented things like kimchee and sauerkraut. Looks like there is a biological reason for this. A friend of mine that is an expert in nutrition initially told me that was normal. She was right. Fermented Food and Meat
More on soybean oil. Old news, really, but it is always good to reinforce. The more we learn about man-made foods, the more harm we learn that comes from them. More and more compounding evidence that ancestral nutrition is the way to go. Soybean Oil
Exercise and Brain Health: I suggest that it’s not just the complexity of the exercise, but the level of force exerted that affects how much brain matter you use during an exercise. Increased force production comes from greater motor-unit recruitment, faster motor-unit firing rates, and more motor-unit synchronicity. Meaning, the more force you produce, the more muscles and nerves your brain has to fire to operate the system. Your Brain Needs Exercise
You can include crawling movements in with the exercise described, but note they are often programmed in Level I versions of many of our sessions. I wouldn’t waste your time with them if I thought they weren’t beneficial. Bird Dogs
More on fat loss and lifting weights. Doing “cardio” for the sake of burning calories is pretty much useless. Fat Loss
You are not a slave to your genetics in most cases. Your genes might load the gun, but you decide whether to pull the trigger. Genetics and Health
You have to move in ways your body was designed to move if you want to train hard without injury. Everything we do at IKSC is designed to reinforce strong movements outside the gym in sport or daily life. Damaging Training
Tons of research has been done showing the potential harm of endurance sports and excessive cardio. It’s not just an anomaly when we hear of a youngish triathlete or marathon runner collapsing of a heart attack. Cardio Kills
Think about this next time you see someone pushing garbage fake meat. Fake Meat
It seems that the exercise and nutrition world looks like a battle of the studies at times. This is a good breakdown of how to look at studies for yourself, rather than just reading the headline. Reading Scientific Studies
“Super Accumulation Training” is pretty much what we do during things like the December Getup Challenge, and many of the programs we use. Basically, what we do is build the workload up to the point it is not sustainable long-term and then back off for a while and then repeat. Super Accumulation Training
This book is worth reading. Don’t be afraid of salt, especially if you are limiting carbs. Salt Fix Book Review
Note the doc featured in the article. Prof. Stuart McGill. FYI: He’s a huge fan of loaded carries. When I read articles like these, I can’t help but think that the fitness system they are largely looking for resembles IKSC programming. McGill on Crossfit
Video of the Week: Cutting through some of the “cardio” nonsense. Most of the workouts we do build mitochondrial density. It is an area that is just starting to have scientific support, but it has been used for a long time. I started taking advantage of this concept over 10 years ago because it just seemed to work.
Most of the stuff in Men’s Health is junk, but this article cites two extremely reputable people, Dan John and Prof. Stuart McGill. Not surprisingly, one of our staples, the loaded carry is the topic. https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19548559/best-loaded-carries
I do a class on inflammatory foods and inflammation now and then, but this article is one of the best I’ve ever read on inflammation as it relates to diet and exercise.
Before you decided to dive into buckets of sugary junk this Thanksgiving, you might take a look at what was likely on the table at the first Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving lobster and oysters, anyone?
This study on L-carnitine might show one of the reasons people see so much success on a pure carnivore diet: They are eating a bunch of red meat, and generally going long stretches without eating. Red meat is rich in L-carnitine.
(Think, Vince Gironda steak and eggs diet: Two meals per day, eight hours apart with nothing but steak and eggs in mass quantities.)
Pavel Tstatsouline is quite a character, but his info on stretching and just about anything to do with strength and conditioning is great. Showing off the hairy chest must be a Russian thing.
