Great Quote from Forbes.com

Just came across this quote while looking at Forbes.com

"Energy is the natural byproduct of certain lifestyle decisions."

Tabata Method Revisited

I have written more than one post in the past that discussed Tabata training. A colleague at work just sent me a great story in the New York Times that talked about high intensity exercise using short work:rest ratios. The article was in Tara Parker-Popes Well Column and this specific article was written by Gretchen Reynold's. I enjoyed reading it, let me know what you think?

Looking to Lose a Few More Pounds Before Summer?

Are you still trying to get rid off those last 10-15 pounds before summer begins? Well, we all know it's about the amount of calories we consume versus the amount of calories we expend on a daily...weekly...monthly basis. I have been following a blog by registered dietitian Cristin Dillon-Jones, who has for two years been showing the world what her every meal looks like (on Self magazine's "Eat Like Me" blog). "Nothing fancy here: Dillon-Jones simply snaps a shot of whatever she's put together for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack and posts it, along with a brief description and some nutrition data, on the blog." Check it out - it will give you some good ideas on some food choices for the day...like today!

Advantage of Having Active Teenagers

Obviously, having active children benefits the child first, but I am putting my selfish hat on for this post today. I went trail-running with my 14 year old daughter this morning. We ran and hiked a trail in the Blue Hills (Milton, MA) that we have done before but this time I "unleashed the beast" (personal joke I have with her). I told her to run ahead and "I'll try to keep up." Well, that was not the case. She kicked my butt. One of the many benefits of having active children, especially teenagers, is that they can help keep you active too. Case in point, she finished the course in about 57 minutes while I came down the final hill clocking in at 63 minutes. But as she reminded me - I did stop and talk to another hiker (who also happened to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro) that ended up adding a few additional minutes to my time. Lesson learned - you can always get a workout in with the kids but as they get older there is a chance that it may humble you a bit (photo of Julia by Terry Tarantelli-Louison).

ParCourse: Still a Good Workout

You have probably seen a ParCourse fitness circuit around at some point. I came across one last night in Wrentham, MA situated in between the state hospital and all the sports fields. It has 12 stations and enables you to get a pretty good workout even though it is has been around for a while. I walked the course last night - while I waited for my daughter to finish a hoop workout with Missy Traversi. A few of the stations that I liked were station 8 (abs) and station 9 that involved a push-up station (see photo). After completing a set of 20 push-ups on the "lower" bar, I then tried 20 inverted rows (think modified pull-up) on the "higher" of the three push-up bars. It worked out great - on my way back I tried it again. You can obviously run this course and it would make a nice circuit to mix in most of these 12 stations. If you happen to be in the area, or have a similar course in your location, give it a try...you can always improvise! Of course I had to find a research paper on the subject. Finally, if you happen to live in WA check this out - it has some locations of the ParCourses in the area, hard to imagine there were more than 4500 of these courses built starting in CA back in the late 70's.

Aging and the Importance of Regular Exercise

If your an aging baby boomer (born between 1946 and 1964) like me you probably at times feel the adverse effects that aging can have on the body. If your looking to feel better as you age and help prevent what is known as "boomeritis" - you simply need to exercise but be smart about what your doing and how your doing it. The piece that most people don't understand is the volume aspect. When your ready to increase your volume of work, do so in a safe, progressive manner (i.e. 5-10% per week) and your body will return the favor by feeling more energized come next workout.

With aging, comes the onslaught of body fat. As you age you lose muscle (known as sarcopenia) and add body fat (it's like death and taxes). Exercise - consistent exercise that is - will help retard (slow down) the process. Why exercise? Because the average person between age 30 and 60 tends to add about a pound of body weight/year if exercise is not in the picture. It does not seem like a big deal, I know, but that's an additional 30 lbs of weight that puts more stress on the body, heart and so on. Couple that with the loss of muscle at a rate of about 1/2 pound per year (5 lbs./decade) and you have a real uphill battle taking place. The magic pill available is exercise, especially strength training. Building strength as you age will not only fight off sarcopenia but will also keep your metabolism elevated and improve functionality and balance. If your not currently involved in any of this...start now...start slowly...be progressive...and most importantly - be consistent. Here is a paper I recently read on sarcopenia (also see R. Roubenoff and Roubenoff).

Hiking and Trail Running Combo: A Great Workout

Are you looking for something different for your next workout? Try going for a hike or do some trail-running to change things up a bit. Last week I got in my first hike/trail-run in of the season over at the Blue Hills in Milton. My goal was to do one of the short courses involving the Blue Hills Skyline Trail. I had a goal of getting to the top in <30-minutes. I managed to get to the top in 26 min. and back down in about the same time (total time = 53 min.) Following the hike/run I then completed a strength workout on the Koko Smartrainer that took about 0:25 minutes. For me, hiking/trail running is a great way to get outside - you can do it with family or friends - and burn a good amount of calories without the stress of pounding the pavement...give it a try!

Who Says Carbs are Dead?

There is a great deal of misinformation out there on why you should avoid or cut back on your daily carbohydrate intake. Between all the low carb diets that are and have been pushed, it's hard at times to know what road to take. When in doubt, just talk to any nutritionist and they will tell you that carbs are extremely important and play a vital role in both daily nutrition and for fueling all athletic events. One key point is to understand what type of carbs your actually consuming - high or low glycemic. Stay away from the high glycemic foods and modify what I call the "white foods": white rice, white potato's, white bread, etc. One of the things I try to do with each meal - especially breakfast and post workout, is to ingest both protein and carbs. I just read a great article on the Gatorade Sports Science site on this topic - take a look here. This article talks about the importance of pushing the carbs before a sports event (and in this case, at breakfast). If you can't read the entire article, then scroll down and at least read the summary, it's well worth your time. Eat well and enjoy. I am actually eating a little too well down here (while on vacation) in Boynton Beach, FL - we ate at a fantastic Asian restaurant last night (for my b-day) in Delray called Lemon Grass and they had outstanding sushi.

New Research in American Journal of Preventive Medicine

New research came out this week by way of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that looked at exercise intensity as it relates to walking and pedometer use. One of the issues that most people miss the big picture on, in my opinion, is exercise intensity. This is especially true when it come to walking. This new study determined that the appropriate intensity for walking 30 minutes is approximately 100/steps/min. which equates to about 3000 steps in 30 minutes if your using a pedometer. Here in lies the problem for most people. Depending on the season, most people average less than 5000 steps for the entire day let alone just for exercise (10,000 steps are what you should be aiming for during one day listen to NPR story on this topic). So, for your next walk, pick up your intensity and try using a pedometer and build up to 100/steps/min. For more info on buying a pedometer check here at Consumer Research. Also, NPR radio has a story on the pedometer fitness fad here.

Motivational Talk by Aimee Mullins, Paralympic Games Sprinter

We hear it all the time - why we just can't seem to fit exercise into our lives on a consistent basis - there are a ton of reasons I know, I hear them too and at times have even made excuses myself. Maybe after listening to athlete Aimee Mullins speak, some of your objections will be washed away...just maybe.

Strengthening the Kinetic Chain for Baseball

Came across this great article by Chris Blake, M.A., L.A.T.C., C.S.C.S., of the New England Musculoskeletal Institute (part of the UConn Health Center). This is a must read, especially if your a high school/college/pro baseball pitcher. The article talks about the importance of strengthening the kinetic chain for athletes. As an ex-pitcher myself - I can tell you from experience, this is where it's at for athletes - improving your strength and conditioning level for your particular sport - will pay back dividends. Please note there are two pages to this article.

2009 College Basketball All-Strength & Power Team

I think one of the best things about watching college basketball is the culmination of it all with March Madness. The athletes from across the country are on the national stage to show America just how good they really are not to mention what it takes to play at that level. There have been numerous cases that demonstrate what I call "pure athleticism" in the tournament so far, here is an example of what I'm talking about. Last nights match-up of Oklahoma vs. Syracuse that had spectacular moves from big man Blake Griffin who is listed at 6'10" 250+ lbs (but is probably a bit smaller, height wise) to 6'0" guard Johnny Flynn. At one point Flynn attempted to take a charge on Griffin who almost ran him over. Flynn injured his back on that play with the hit but stayed in the game. After that he attempted an amazing dunk that went in/out and then moments after that Griffin did the same thing but with a little more emphasis and actually hit his head on the back board as he powered up for the dunk. The strength and power that is needed to do some of the plays your seeing on TV are simply amazing. These players have vertical jumps anywhere from 30"- 40+", great speed, first step quickness and overall body control what we in the industry call kinesthetic awareness. I have talked about this type of conditioning level in a past article for Hoops Hype that can be seen here. Please let me know any player who you think I missed out on.

Here is my 2009 All- Strength & Power Team

G - Johnny Flynn, Syracuse, 6'0", 185 lbs.
G - Terek Evans, Memphis, 6'6", 219 lbs.
G- Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga, 6'2", 220 lbs
F - Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, 6'8", 255 lbs.
F - Earl Clark, Louisville, 6'9", 225 lbs.
F - Tyler Hansborough, North Carolina, 6'9", 250 lbs.
F - DeJaun Blair, Pittsburg, 6'7", 265 lbs.
G-F - Rakim Sanders, Boston College, 6'5", 225 lbs.
F - Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, 6'10, 251 lbs.
F - Jon Brockman, Washington, 6'7", 255 lbs.
F - Jeff Adrien, UConn, 6'7", 243 lbs.

Networking for UMass Boston Exercise Science Students

This post is for the undergraduate students that I will be speaking to this morning in Debra Wein's class at UMass Boston. We touched briefly on networking possibilities in class today and one of the first things that I would like for you to do is to check out Linkedin.com, sign-up (free), and then request to get linked in with me. This is a great site that has the potential to open up some networking doors for you...if used correctly. Also, I would like you to periodically come back to this blog and check out posts that are of interest to you. Best of luck and keep in touch. It was a pleasure speaking to your class!

Workout of the Day

Today's workout consisted of a brief warm-up followed by what I call a 12 to 2 set. This consists of two different exercises that focus on two body parts with the exercises performed back-to-back with no rest. The 12 to 2 are the number of repetitions used for each of the 6 sets (12 total sets). For example, today I used an (underhand grip) lat pull-down followed by a chest fly using the following repetition sequence: 12, 1o, 8, 6, 4 and 2 reps - increasing the weight by about 10-20% with each additional set - remember, this is to be done without resting between sets. Try it and let me know how it goes. The beauty of this is that it can be performed hundreds of ways using any number of exercises. Last week I tried the same thing using biceps curl and a triceps push-down. This works for me and will work for you because - lack of time cannot be used as an excuse - you can always do a warm-up and this routine or a Tabata and then the routine - all in minimal time...talk about a lot of bang for your buck!

Do You Know Your Cholesterol Level?

I recently had my cholesterol level checked and it was surprisingly higher than expected. So it was time for some advice - my own advice - advice that I have given literally hundreds of times over the years to the many clients that I have been fortunate enough to work with. My goal? First, increase my interval training on the cardio side - I have started doing more Tabata interval workouts (using a 2:1 work-to-rest ratio, typically 20 sec. of work followed by 10 sec. of recovery for 4:00). This should help to raise my HDL level. Second, eliminate all high cholesterol foods (and desserts) - not to mention one of my favorite's ...ice cream. I always say that "I exercise so I can eat and drink what I want." That (sadly) must change. I will, however, keep my red wine at dinner. There is benefit to drinking red wine ...right? Finally, I have to re-read Dr. Katz' book Cut Your Cholesterol - especially since I helped develop the exercise programs for the book. We shall see how it all goes - I have a physical in April.

Physiological Demands of College Basketball

Were you one of the lucky hoop fans to witness the historic 6 OT game against #4 UConn and #20 Syracuse at Madison Garden last night? I was! The game started at 9:36 and finished about 1:20 AM - almost four hours of non-stop action! Syracuse did not lead in any of the first 5 over times and ended up winning 127-117. I watched the game in amazement - as more and more players started to run out of fuel and began to foul out in OT - except the guard play continued to improve. It seemed the two guards - AJ Price of UConn (33 pts 10 assts.) and Jonny Flynn (34 pts and 11 assts.) of Syracuse were not "victims of the fatigue factor" like the other players - especially the bigger players. It was amazing to watch them as they kept shooting and driving to the hoop with such explosiveness and with such "fresh legs" while everyone else seemed to be effected by fatigue (i.e. lactic acid build-up). Their conditioning level was amazing - especially Flynn who played 40 minutes the night before vs. Seton Hall and ended up logging 107 minutes between both games! You can really tell just how tired a player is when they are at the foul line - and the Syracuse team usually shoots about 63% from the line as a team but last night they were hitting at a 78% clip with Flynn shot 16/16 from the line and Price was 10/12 from the line. The three players that talllied more than 60 mins. in the game - were all guards. The physiological demands of basketball can at times be grueling - 50% of your conditioning needs to come from a good aerobic base while 50% comes from anaerobic conditioning (sprinting/jumping). These are two metabolic pathways that need to be trained differently. These particular guards, who were smaller in stature (6' to 6' 2" and 180 and 181 lbs respectively) compared to their bigger teammates are definitely the fittest on their respective teams. As Price sits out the next game - we will see just how fit Flynn and his teammates really are, as they advance to the next round of the Big East Championship. I had difficulty just getting off the couch at 1:30 to go upstairs and go to sleep - best of luck to Flynn and teammates - you better starting "fueling up" now!!

Tabata Thursday

Here is my Thursday evening workout. The week has consisted of full-body circuits on one day followed by interval workouts the following days. Thursday was one of those interval days.

Tabata (bike):
- 5:00 warm-up
- 30 seconds work @ 300+ W and 100+ RPM
-15 seconds of recovery @ 50 W and 50 RPM
(this 2:1 work to rest ratio was performed for 6 rounds)
- 5:00 cool-down

Tabata (rower):
- 5:00 warm-up
- 30 seconds work @ 32+ SPM and damping set on 5
- 15 seconds of recovery @ <25 SPM (5D)
(this was repeated for 6 rounds)
- 3:00 cool-down

Workout of the Day

Today's workout consisted of a Tabata series (see info. on Tabata below) involving a Step-Up with a DB Press. Simply, step up onto a step-up box (or bench) with the right foot and press a dumbbell overhead with the left arm (during the same time your bringing your left foot up onto the step-up box). Then repeat for as many reps as you can get in 20 seconds - rest for 10 seconds - and repeat for 4 minutes. Today, I perfomed 4 intervals (2:00) on the right side and then switched to the left side and did another 4 intervals (2:00). I used a great new device that I just ordered called the GymBoss (see GymBoss.com) that actually counts off the time and beeps after each interval.

20 seconds work
10 seconds recovery

repeat for 8 intervals (total time = 4:00)

My Tabata was preceeded with 6:00 easy bike and 3:00 row and followed with an 5:00 easy ride on the bike to rid my muscles of some of the lactic acid build-up. More information on lactic acid HERE. Also, read this story in the NY Times on this topic. For the science students out there here is another great article that I read on lactate from the UC Berkeley Newsletter.

Last week I did Tabata workouts on both the Bike and Erg (rower) using the same format as the DB Step-up to Press. For the Bike I rode hard for 20 seconds at 300+ Watts followed by an easy recovery (<100 W) for 10 seconds and repeated this 8x. Same idea for the Erg. Try it and let me know your thoughts or any questions you may have. Remember it's a 2:1 work to rest format.