Home Gym Magazine article

The editor for Home Gym magazine, Charlie Flora, did a great job in the April issue involving a story about my climb up Kilimanjaro in February and some of the training I did to prepare for the climb. He also mentioned the money we raised for the Olivia Scholarship as well as the Friends of Tanzanian Schools. Check back - I'll post it soon.

Best Life Magazine article

Here is a link to a recent article by Steve Steinberg who interviewed me for the April issue of Best Life

Fit for Travel By: Steve Steinberg

The “No weights? No problem” workout that goes anywhere
Expense-account lunches and marathon boardroom meetings aside, the single greatest impediment to staying fit on the road is the hotel gym. Indeed, 55 percent of business travelers are so disappointed with hotel fitness facilities that these gyms actually become obstacles to staying in shape, according to a survey by Lieberman Research Worldwide. But you don’t need access to a gym to rock your body on the road. “All you need is your own body weight,” says Michael Wood, chief fitness officer at Koko Fitness, in Massachusetts. Run through the following circuit three times, moving from one exercise to the next without rest, once a day while you’re on the road. “You’ll finish in 15 minutes,” says Wood, “and when you return home, you won’t be packing excess pounds.”

to see the full workout - visit hotel workout

Have you ever been interviewed on a blue couch in the middle of Faneuil Hall?

Thanks to my friend and former colleague Dr. Christina Economos, I had an opportunity today to be interviewed for a spot for an upcoming documentary involving the 2008 summer Olympics. The Kleenex tissue company which will sponsor the show, is in the process of interviewing ordinary people who have a story to tell. The stories of 15 individuals from six major cities, including Boston, will be mentioned with the stories of former Olympic athletes and this will all be televised during the games in Beijing.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the lucky people they spoke to today in Faneuil Hall Market Place in downtown Boston around 1 PM. The 15-minute interview just happened to take place outside in the center of the market place, on a beautiful, sunny, spring day while sitting on a comfortable blue couch. It just doesn't get any better than that!

Hopefully they find my story - about Olivia and my climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro compelling enough to warrant some air time. I also had to talk about my favorite Olympic moments that included the games in Mexico City when Bob Beamon set an Olympic and world record in the long jump, the 1980 gold medal Hockey teams victory and the Dream Team with Jordan, Bird and company.

What were some of your favorite moments in Olympic history? Inquiring minds want to know?

Koko Smartrainer: "You Got To Get On It To Get It"

I had a great full-body workout on Friday on the Koko Smartrainer. I am starting a new program developed by celebrity trainer Rob Parr (Santa Monica, CA). Rob has worked with everyone from Madonna to Bruce Willis. The 8-week Koko program that I'm doing is called Building a Better Body and will be similar to his exercise program from his upcoming new book (with the same title) due to hit book stores soon!

What I liked about this particular session was that it went through a full array of exercises that challenged every major muscle group, and the best part was, I did not have two spend 90 minutes at the gym - I was done in about 28 minutes!. I was also awarded the maximum amount of Koko points (1000) following the workout. Your awarded points for, among other things, how well you follow the trainer's directions throughout the workout regarding the amount of weight lifted and the pace of each repetition (i.e. time under tension).

The Koko Smartrainer is currently in health clubs and gyms across the country, let me know if you have tried this technology driven piece of strength training equipment yet. You can check it out next week (March 6-8th) at the IHRSA trade show in San Diego - it will be in the Star Trac Booth.

Wood Reaches Summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro

On Feb 9, 2008 we reached the summit at 1PM, led by guides from Thomson Safaris (Watertown, MA), on what turned out to be a beautiful, sunny 50-degree day that enabled us to stay on top for 45 minutes.

Wearing a RS800 Polar heart rate monitor during the entire ascent - I found that my HR was typically 15-20 bpm less when using my trekking poles (Leki). When we reached the summit my heart rate at 134 bpm. There were times during the climb when it was in the 150-160 range and with controlled, focused breathing and the use of the poles I was able to get it back down to 120-130 range.

The most challenging part of the climb for me was "scaling" the Baranco Wall on the way up. Another tough day was the descent from 19,000' to 10,000' (in seven hours times) the following day after we reached Uhuru Peak. Even with the use of poles my quads were "shot".

Death, Taxes and Sarcopenia

We have always heard that two things in life are constant: death and taxes. Well, now you can add sarcopenia to the mix. Sarcopenia is a Greek word meaning, "poverty of flesh." Basically it's a degenerative loss of muscle mass due to aging. It will happen to all of us but there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Research has demonstrated that with adequate nutritional intake - especially protein - coupled with a consistent strength training program - you can build muscle tissue even as you age.

We know that as early as 25-30 years old, we start to lose lean tissue (muscle) at the rate of about 1/2 pound a year. I know, it does not sound like much, but look at it from this perspective, over the course of ten years this equates to a loss of 5 pounds. Now, jump forward a few decades and continue to add this muscle loss with a gain of about 1-1.5 pounds of body weight a year and you start to get the picture.
This begins to "stress" heart function, metabolism, bone, muscle and joint strength, to name a few.

So, if your someone who currently does not do any strength training - start this week. If your someone who is a runner or a big aerobic person - fine - but add a few strength training sessions to your routine and stay consistent with it and most importantly challenge your muscles. In my opinion - and there is research out there to justify this - get your daily dosage of one or the other or a combination of the two (i.e. circuit weight training) about 5-6 times a week. For example, here is a typical week for me:

Monday - Bike, Row and then a long hike on my treadmill (with a weighted back-pack)

Tuesday - Power Yoga class

Wednesday - "Active rest" (or circuit weight training class at Koko Fitness)

Thursday - Dynamic Warm-up and then 20-30 minutes of strength training

Friday - Repeat Monday's workout (using a Polar heart rate monitor)

Saturday - Dynamic Warm-up and then 20-30 minutes of strength training

Sunday - Hike the Blue Hills followed by a long walk on the beach
(Note: there are some wks that I may take 2 days off depending on how I feel)

The keys for me are: moving for 30-60 minutes at least 5 days a week, making sure that I stress my muscles via strength training 2-3x/wk

On the nutritonal side of things I try to add some protein to each meal that I have throughout the day. By adding the right mix of protein and carbohydrates at each meal (and snacks) I know that my blood sugar levels will stay elevated and I'll have sustained "energy" throughout the day. My tip here - and it works for weight loss - is to stop eating after 8 PM.

Facts About Weight Gain During the Holiday Season

The average person over the course of a year consumes about 912,500 calories. A person who eats just an extra 4,050 calories or so a year will gain a pound over the course of that year (Jack Yanovski, MD).

I have often mentioned that the average weight gain during the Holiday season can be as much as 8-10 pounds - with the average person gaining about 5 pounds during this this time (Thanksgiving to New Years). I personally know about this! I have also seen many fitness publications over the years report similar numbers.

I thought some additional research on the topic, however, would be beneficial - more from peer-reviewed scientific journals than fitness publications - this time around. I found some interesting facts across a few studies:

-The average gain during the Holidays that was cited in a few studies was only 1-2 pounds . Less than 10% of the subjects in one study had weight gain of 5 or more pounds. The sample size was 195 subjects in one study and 1 year later 165 of those subjects were weighed again and had a gain of 1.36 pounds. "The good news is it's not as bad as we thought," said Dr. Jack Yanovski, the studies principal investigator and head of NICHD's Unit on Growth and Obesity. "The bad news is that it's hard to take off that weight the rest of the year." The study goes on to report "The average person today is probably gaining about 12 pounds per decade. If you gain a pound or so over the holidays, there it is."

Not everyone gains weight, but if you put on a few over the holiday, those pounds rarely ever come off," added Dr. Lawrence Stifler, president of Health Management Resources (HMR), which specializes in professional programs for weight and health management. Then on the upper end you have people gaining as much as 20-30 pounds during the Holiday festivities according to Leslie Fink, a nutritionist for WeightWatchers.com

Excess weight gain obviously is not just a holiday phenomenon. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight and nearly one-third of U.S. adults are obese, according to National Institutes of Health reports.

Some of my tips for the Holiday season to help prevent unwanted weight gain are:
-Try mixing in a glass of ice water in between drinks while at a party and of course try to keep the wine or beer to a minimum.
- Something that works personally well for me - try not eating or drinking after 8 PM (even if it's just during the week). Some employees at Koko Fitness take it a step further by brushing their teeth and flossing after they eat dinner - to help prevent those unwanted late evening calories.
-Shoot for activities during most days of the week that elicit elevated heart rate levels for 30-60 minutes - work in interval training - and use a heart rate monitor.
-Keep the TV watching to a minimum - for every hour of sitting in front of the tube your taking 144 less steps.
-Finally, get plenty of sleep - chronic sleep loss could have adverse effects on metabolism that in turn influence hunger and weight gain and when your constantly tired it's more diffciult to resist temptations like sweets.