You Can't Out Run a Donut!

The plan that changed the way you think is now available as an EBOOK. For just FIVE dollars, the cost of a trip to Starbucks, you can change your life forever. 

[Please note. This was formerly published as "7 Steps to Lose Those Extra Holiday Pounds"]

Anyone Looks Good At 22!

Youth is amazing. Flawless skin, strong bones, ample muscle and endless energy. Truthfully, even with variables such as height, weight and less than perfect presentation, there is little that is not incredible about being young and nearly indestructible. But Father Time marches on. Days become weeks, weeks become months, months become years and years become decades. What we took for granted in our youth is stolen from us slowly as we age,... or is it?

How much can we prevent excessive components of age and what can we do? Here is a link that perhaps over simplifies things, but it is rather vivid. Take a LOOK
One does not have to be a scientist to understand some of the apparent things going on.
Here is a list of some powerful tools to resist aging.

1. First and foremost, strength train. As we age there is a loss of muscle size and strength. You must simply add proper strength training to the mix. This fundamentally means moving resistance that is heavy for you, two to three times per week under proper supervision.
2. Don't gain excessive weight. WEIGH DAILY. This keeps tabs on how food affects your body and how salt, carbohyrates, constipation and dehyration can cause your weight to shift.  When you gain excess weight you are stretching your skin and enlarging and even creating fat cells. You are placing mechanical stress on your orthopedic structure. Imagine going through life wearing a 50 pound back pack that you never take off.
3. Eat a balanced diet. Extremism is usually that. Too much of a deviation past common sense. Your diet should include most everything whole and fresh. There is little evidence that organic does anything special. Adequate protein is always the first step.
4. Avoid the sun. While getting enough Vitamin D is the current headline, you must avoid excessive burning or tanning. Burns cause cancer and tanning is aging despite what anyone tells you at a cocktail party. If you are in a northern climate, consult your physician about appropriate Vitamin D supplementation.
5. Limit alcohol consumption. Moderate amounts of alcohol seem to add years to life. Excessive alcohol will age you. Your organs and your skin.
6. Don't smoke. Period. It is NOT A NASTY HABIT, IT IS AN ADDICTION. Many ex heroin addicts claim that quitting smoking is tougher. That is not letting anyone off the hook. Forget the health issues. Smoking ages the skin of the face and around the mouth causing wrinkles. 
7. Get active. The body is meant to be used. Moving about in nature is part of our being. Get out and run, walk, bike, swim or play. 
8. Learn new skills. Treat the brain as a muscle and exercise it daily. Reading, music, problem solving, art, language skills and writing. 
9. Social Interaction. Humans as a group do better with a sense of community and awareness of a higher power. 
10. Humans also do better paired in a relationship.   

The onslaught of time can not be stopped, but it can be managed. Aging is normal, but we are avoiding abnormal aging at all costs.

Body Composition Update

In a previous blogpost we revealed how a sensible change in lifestyle, which included lower calories, increased activity, and focused strength training resulted in Robin White's change in body composition. After all while most people say "weight loss", they mean "fat loss", but in reality, they need a body composition change. The concept of gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is much touted but is usually expressed in those with rare genetic talent, youth, or beginner phenomena. It's very difficult to do both at the same time.

In women it is particularly important to be aware of rapid body weight loss. Past a certain age, fat stores lost in the face can contribute to an unhealthy aged look. The quality of the skin is maintained with an adequate amount of subcutaneous fat and avoiding the damage of sun exposure. A women's attractiveness at least on the biological and anthropological level is based on healthy hair, skin, teeth and an optimal waist to hips ratio. This ratio was discussed in the last article and it is consistent through various body types. It is .70 or less. Actually as revealed, the average of all Playboy Playmates is .68 and for celebrity sex symbols, even less. For example-

Jayne Mansfield .60
Carmen Electra .65
Kim Kardashian .65
This is relative to healthy biology-
"Hip size indicates pelvic size and the amount of additional fat storage that can be used as a source of energy. Waist size conveys information such as current reproductive status or health status ... in westernized societies with no risk of seasonal lack of food, the waist, conveying information about fecundity and health status, will be more important than hip size for assessing a female's attractiveness."
    —Journal of Biological Psychology

Robin's progress is not linear. Measurements are done with measuring tape, skin calipers and electronic calibrated scale (not a Tanita which is inaccurate). The exact calculations are still guess work. All we are looking for is a trend. Somewhat leaner, but much stronger. Also an enanhanced sense of well being, enjoyment of meals, and deeper,  sounder sleep.
Here are the previous measurements with the caveat I wrote-

1/11/11
Body weight-129.6 lbs.
Hips-37"
Waist-26.5"
Belly-32" (around the navel)
---------------------
3/17/11
Bodyweight-127.4
Hips-36"
Waist-25.25"
Belly-28.00"
---------------------
So 1/11/11 Robin's bodyfat was 25.16%
3/17 it was 20.93%, a loss of almost 5%.
So within 8 weeks, Robin lost 4lbs of bodyfat. She actually gained, in theory, 1.5 pounds of muscle.

Two things to remember. Having a good bowel movement or walking for an hour in a tropical climate and losing fluids can skew these results. The interesting part is this, when I met Robin, her training was Yoga, Pump & Tone Classes and Dancing. Her Lean Body Mass was around 95 lbs.
Currently, at age 54 her lean body mass is almost 99 lbs! That is a theoretical increase of 4 pounds!

Robin's updated stats-
4/10/2011
Bodyweight-125lbs.
Hips-36 inches
Waist-25 inches
Belly-27.75 inches
% Bodyfat-18.8 percent
Waist to Hip Ratio is .69
According to these results she lost 2.6 pounds of fat and gained 2.6 pounds of lean body mass. I had to do all the calculations three times over since I did not believe it. I thought her lean body mass would have taken a dump since she was inline skating for around four miles the day before in the hot sun. That should have reduced the stores of glycogen in her muscles and possibly her hydration level. She ate lightly afterwards and did not carb load nor calorie load. She also slept a full eight hours.
The gains in lean body mass, particularly muscle were evident in the increase of her chest measurement [under the armpits and around the upper chest], and no loss in her hip measurement.
She will continue on her current program with the constant emphasis of getting stronger, with an increase in the size and strength of her gluteal region, torso and particularly her neck. The speed at which she leans down will decrease and the focus will be on adding as much muscle & strength as possible and being aware of her past shoulder injuries from improper training methods.
Any question about Robin's program? Contact HERE.

Holiday Fat Loss Program, PROOF!

During the holidays it's not unusual to break your exercise and dietary patterns and simply enjoy that special time of year. On New Years, everyone makes resolutions that they don't keep. It almost sounds like a comedy routine or song. Promises you can't keep.

The problem is a plan of action based on evidence, not on opinion. Rather than quote PubMed studies or Doctors, Gurus, Saints and Sinners, Robin White decided to put her money where her mouth is, and be a human guinea pig.

Many would assume that this would entail joining a boot camp and adopting a starvation diet. NOTHING could be further from the truth.

Here are things Robin did NOT do:
1. Go hungry.
2. Give up grains. 
3. Work out for hours.
4. Walk around sore and tired.
5. Train to the point of nausea.
6. Consume special supplements.
7. Eat Organic.
8. Give up red meat.
9. Take Fat Loss Pills (amphetamines).
10. Give up alcohol.

Here are things Robin DID:
1. Exercise sensibly, regularly and progressively
2. Include variety, but never give up the basics.
3. Do activity (swimming, inline skating, walking) for calorie burning.
4. Eat a balanced, lower caloried, diet.
5. Allow an occasional 'free' meal.
6. Strength training as a first priority.
7. Ensure adequate sleep.
8. Weigh herself daily and record.
9. Enjoy sensible social activities
10. Set goals based on her needs, time and genetics.

Many people, when attempting a task, immediately look for barriers to their goal. No one lives in a vacuum. Robin has torn both rotator cuffs with a previous trainer so she was not only physically aware of her weakness, but psychologically aware. She has had sprained toes and irritated a knee from inappropriate squatting technique.

I have measured Robin's body with both a tape measure and skin calipers and plugged her into various body fat calculators. Measurement can be elusive. I've measured hundreds of people, so many variables exists, therefore, the only thing to look for is a trend.

For example, lean body mass includes bones, organs, muscles, etc. Contents of the intestines and energy stored in the muscles and liver (glycogen), will change measurements. Slick marketers will sway or manipulate results to dramatize their products or services. Truthfully, a long term improvement is the only result that counts. Numbers are less important than satisfaction, fitness and general well-being.

Robin's statistics changed over a period of eight weeks. When we measured after the holidays, she had already reduced her caloric intake, managed sodium and become more physically active. The first measurement on January 11th was actually done after 10 days on a stricter diet with more activity.
Here are the stats:
1/11/11
Body weight-129.6 lbs.
Hips-37"
Waist-26.5"
Belly-32" (around the navel)
---------------------
3/17/11
Bodyweight-127.4
Hips-36"
Waist-25.25"
Belly-28.00"
---------------------
So 1/11/11 Robin's bodyfat was 25.16%
3/17 it was 20.93%, a loss of almost 5%.
So within 8 weeks, Robin lost 4lbs of bodyfat. She actually gained, in theory, 1.5 pounds of muscle.

Two things to remember. Having a good bowel movement or walking for an hour in a tropical climate and losing fluids can skew these results. The interesting part is this, when I met Robin, her training was Yoga, Pump & Tone Classes and Dancing. Her Lean Body Mass was around 95 lbs.
Currently, at age 54 her lean body mass is almost 99 lbs! That is a theoretical increase of 4 pounds!

What does Robin's training consist of? Fundamentals. Pulls, Pushes and Squats. The basics of all human movement. Her activity is enjoyable - walking, swimming, inline skating. Her abdominal work is based on bracing the torso, as if preparing for a punch, which can be arranged. (old Russian joke).

Her goals are first and foremost, health and longevity and REVERSE-ing the aging process. At a certain point, we begin to lose lean body mass or muscle. This is age-related sarcopenia. Only strength training and adequate nutrition can reverse this. Secondly, she wants to optimize her femininity. Women who are ignorant in fitness technology proclaim, "I don't want to get too muscular!" The possibility is slim to none, without adequate chemical intervention or extreme genetics.

The optimal female form is not chosen through Madison Avenue or Vogue Magazine, but through Anthropology. The waist to hip ratio signals, on a deep hormonal level, that the female is healthy and capable of breeding. This is not about sociology, but propagation of the species. Oddly and historically, the ideal ratio of 0.70 has been represented through models and icons as the ideal.

"Scientists (and Western society) think a curvy figure trumped other body shapes. This idea was based on results from medical studies that suggested a curvy waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 or lower (meaning the waist is significantly narrower than the hips) is associated with higher fertility and lower rates of chronic disease.

In addition, past research has revealed that men prefer a ratio of 0.7 or lower when looking for a mate. The preference makes perfect sense, according to evolutionary psychologists, because the low ratio is a reliable signal of a healthy, fertile woman. Along those lines, Playboy centerfolds tend to have a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.68, Cashdan found. Raquel Welch at her prime was 0.63. Pamela Anderson is 0.64. Sophia Loren was 0.63, and Internet Bikini Model Denise Milani is an incredible 0.55!! So if women think the bar has been set high with the "Playmate Body", then think again. Sex symbols throughout history exhibit figures that are at another level entirely. Ms. Milani is off the charts and currently the most downloaded female according to online research."

Here is a photo of Ms. Denise Milani-

Here is a an old photo of Raquel Welch in her forties-

Currently through a balanced diet and sensible exercise, Robin White has a ratio of 0.69 which is optimal.

Her goals are to add lean body mass to counteract the ravages of time, and to be able to participate in any activity that she chooses for enjoyment. She realizes that a reduction in body weight can negatively effect her buccal stores in her face. There is currently inadequate research in this area.

Facial and maxiofacial surgeons will tell you that the most aging component in terms of appearance is the mouth, then the neck, then the eyes. Therefore, an increase in neck training with no extreme dieting measures should be employed.

Any increase in activity could cause fat loss, so careful additions in much heavier squatting for the buttocks and thighs, along with more intense bracing for the abdominal region is part of the long term plan. This would ensure a 0.70 or better in the waist/hip ratio. Also strengthening of the latissimus muscle and shoulder complex is needed to avoid future injury.

With simple training and adequate adherence, really great results are possible as seen here.

For information about the EXACT diet Robin followed go here.

Woman Are Wrong About Fat Loss and Fitness

 

The Dirty Dozen 
Mistakes Women Make

 The female population has tremendous leverage in the marketplace. Anyone in advertising knows this. They spend most the money and make many of the day to day decisions. This is especially consistent in the area of fat loss and fitness. Advertisers realize that body image and obesity are very emotional issues and use sensationalism and emotionally based advertisements to trigger a response in consumers, particularly the female population.
Here are some issues that need to be put to rest.
1. Women are morbidly under muscled and they focus on weight. They need to focus on a healthy degree of leanness, and then getting as strong as possible. As we age, this is particularly important, since we lose lean body mass every decade. Simply maintaining or even increasing muscular body weight may be the most important tool to stay strong and healthy.
2. Women do too many aerobic workouts. They think jumping on the treadmill will solve all their problems. This is not an either/or situation. Walking, running, biking, skating, etc. are enjoyable activities. They are more efficient for burning calories than sitting on a 3000 dollar arm curl machine doing carefully controlled repetitions. However, there is ample bang-per-buck rewards from lifting weights and building strength in an appropriate manner. The concept of "weights for men, aerobics for women" is entirely without base.
3. Women don't do "big" exercises. They avoid squats, dead lifts, presses, rows, and other big pushes, pulls, and leg drive exercises. They instead focus on "toning", whatever that is, and isolating small chunks of flesh with the hopes of altering it's shape by some mystical means. Squatting will change your lower body and get you out of "Mom" jeans and into Brazilian ones faster than all those silly fitness magazine exercises combined.
4. Women don't train to get strong. If you saw them in a gym with big hair in 1985 chances are they are lifting the same weight today in 2011. This shows a fundamental lack of understanding about PROGRESSIVE resistance exercise.
5. Woman can't do the most fundamental body weight exercises. With the current infection of exercise A.D.D., people jump from one craze to another faster than Charlie Sheen looking for the restroom at the House of Blues. Mastery of the basics works in economics, ballet, fly fishing, and yes, exercise. Woman need to be able to do men's push ups, and pull ups. Don't pick up those dainty pink dumbbells until you can do a pull up. Remember there are only two reasons you can't do fundamental push ups/ pull ups. You are either too fat or too weak.
6. Women view passive flexibility as fitness. Quite often women view their yoga instructor or their dance instructor as being fit because of the extended range of motion surrounding their joints. This ease of motion translates in the uninformed as "being fit". Great ranges of motion require great strength to maintain integrity and create movement. It's a smoke and mirrors act. Flexibility is but one component of fitness and not the only one. A simple backstage tour of any ballet company will present itself with ballerinas relaxing with cigarettes in the most flexible of positions.
7. Women don't train their neck. That long thing that holds up your head. When it becomes weak and inflexible it can create headaches and makes you highly susceptible to injury. On top of that, the forward projection of the head due to driving posture and computer work is not the most attractive thing in the world. Generally speaking, an aging neck is second only to the mouth in terms of visual impact in our image conscious world.
8. Woman don't train their grip. One of the most fundamental and powerful tools is our hands that grasp and an opposable thumb. Use them wisely. Actually focus on picking up heavy stuff and challenging your grip.
Let's continue are list with some simple diet issues.
9. Woman don't eat enough good fat or adequate protein. The most satiating component of a diet is protein. The word actually means, "of first importance". One gram of protein per pound of body weight is recommended. This is essential to maintain muscle and bone mass and for other functions in the body. It will make any fat loss program more effective as well. The same thing goes for dietary fat. It's very concentrated so be careful with portion control, but adequate fish fat or Omega 3 fatty acid is one of the most important components in our bag of tricks. Other great sources for healthy fat is monounsaturated sources like olive oil, macadamia nuts and oil, avocados, and other nuts/seeds.
10. Women consume too many grains. I'm not in the "no grains" camp, but women frequently view light eating as couscous, pasta, rice, crackers, bread, and bagels. They need to be focusing on lean proteins, low fat dairy, vegetables, fruits and just enough grains as to not gain body fat. There are of course, people who should avoid grains all together, but that should be determined by a Gastroenterologist, and not Amazon's Pick of the Week Diet Book.
11. Women tend to avoid red meat. No one is suggesting that you should be eating 3 pounds of Ox tongue at a sitting. Lean, preferably grass fed, red meat is a great source of protein and iron. If you combine it with Vitamin C rich foods, you really get lots of bang for your buck.
12. Women consume too many supplements. They need a multi vitamin/mineral, fish oil, Vitamin D, and probably Calcium and Magnesium Citrate. Of course you won't build up your bones unless you pick up heavy stuff. Forget fat loss pills, cleansing pills, detox pills. They are junk at best and harmful at worse.

There you have it. The Dirty Dozen. Read them. Re-read them. Then apply them.

How To Train At Age 75

For those of you who grew up in the early sixties, the TV was filled with sword and sandals epics, westerns, and spy movies. Many of what we would call "B" or "C" movies made it to the fuzzy black and white television 25 miles north of Pittsburgh, PA.
Actor, Brad Harris, stood out as someone in amazing shape, who could pull off his own stunt work. Here is a bit from his Wikipedia entry.-

Born in St. Anthony, Idaho, he received an athletic scholarship to UCLA where he studied economics. When he injured his knee he was advised to take up weight lifting to strengthen the injury that developed his interest in bodybuilding.
Harris entered films as a stand-in, stuntman, and later an actor. His first roles were in André de Toth's Monkey On My Back and Li'l Abner. With his athletic physique, Harris travelled to Rome to perform stunts in Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus. He stayed in Europe for the boom in European sword and sandal, Eurospy, and spaghetti western genres. Harris discovered, when working in Germany, that stunt coordinators were nonexistent in that country and he often did extra duties as a stuntman, stunt coordinator, second unit director and actor.

Currently, Brad is 77 years old and designs and sells exercise equipment. Here is an interview from Ironman Magazine in 2008 where he details his training methods.
http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/site/brad-harris-very-alive-at-75/

You can read more about Brad's equipement, HERE.

Food Supplements That Work

The addition of food supplements to the list of products sold by fitness companies in the 1950's was an economic one. After someone bought a barbell they had little reason to be a return customer. Barbells last pretty much forever. This lack of cash flow was remedied by selling protein supplements. Supportive literature recommended that trainees could not possibly get adequate protein from diet. Strength athletes from that era were used as proof through product endorsements. This gave birth to the multi billion dollar supplement industry. Most modern fitness magazines are literally catalogues with advertisements for food supplements that will fix almost anything. Rather than re-invent the wheel, I will focus you on several sources of common sense talk on food supplements.

First, two articles by Lyle McDonald. Very nice overviews of the subject.
Part One
Part Two

Next is a virtual guidebook of useful supplements and sources by Martin Berkhan.
Supplements and Sources

The last article is a refreshing piece by Alan Aragon. He compares the popular fruit juice that is sold through "multi network marketing", and cheap wine. This shows you how ridiculous most claims are. 
MonaVie versus Two-Buck Chuck.