How to Not Die At the GYm

Don’t wear jeans to the gym – Seriously?  Jeans?  In addition to being slow and having a restricted range of motion, jeans are heavy.  Also… you will look stupid.  Find some comfortable clothes that breathe and are not restrictive.

Don’t interrupt people during a set –I’m working here!  I don’t care about whatever it is you are yammering on about.   

No phones – You are a zillion times more likely to find your phone distracting than helpful in the gym.  Put that thing in airplane mode to keep you focused on the task at hand.  It’s also very obnoxious to be tying up gym equipment while you talk on the phone. 

New machine! – Sometimes I see a new machine at the gym and I think, “What in the world does that do?” Curiously hopping around the gym and slopping through whatever you think you’re meant to do on the machine is NOT a workout.  If you need help to understand how a machine is used, just ask someone.  (Wait until after their set) Better yet, ask a gym employee.  

Bench Pressing 1000 pounds -  Choosing a weight that is too big and then doing all the exercises wrong might impress your friends, but it is a good way to hurt yourself and will NOT help you get stronger.  Start with a light weight and learn to do things right.  Adding weight will come later.  When you are at the gym, ALWAYS start where you are.  Leave your ego at home.

Lifting on machines – Free weights are just better.  They develop better muscle coordination, utilize stabilization muscles and also…  make you look awesome.  All this means you will get a better workout.  Use machines for muscle exhaustion or the end of your workout.   If you are only working out on machines, you might be able to switch to free weights and get more of a workout in less time.

Abs - Sit ups and crunches will not give you nice abs.  As your body fat % goes down, your abs will come out of hiding.  However, everyone is different.  Some people have a six pack at 15% body fat and other people will never get there no matter how low they go.   

Biceps - Doing bicep curls won’t give you big arms.  1/3 of your arm is biceps and the other 2/3 are triceps. If you want your arms to look good, hit your triceps hard.   As a side note, don’t forget about your legs!  Just because your legs are usually hidden from sight doesn’t mean you can ignore them.  Some of your biggest muscles are in your legs.  Use them.

Treadmill – Running is SO boring on a treadmill.  Don’t start running a lot unless you are training for something specific.  20 minutes or so of cardio is fine.   Then… hit the weights.

Here are some pics to help you remember what to do (or not do) at the gym:

What Are You Eating?

Let's review some foods that are good for you.

Exercise is an important part of being healthy, but your diet may be more important than even your exercise.

The Top Power Foods for You

Medical Myths your Mom May have Mentioned.

In honor of Mother's Day, let's talk about some lies your mom may have told you.  To be fair, these are all floating around in our culture - so it's not your mom's fault.  In any case, I hope one of these topics strikes your interest and gets you doing some more reading about your health.

Your Face Will Freeze Like That

No it won’t.  But if this were true, it would be pretty funny.  Also, I would be pretty disfigured.  Well, MORE disfigured.

If you swallow your gum it will stay in your stomach for 5-7 years

Don’t make me laugh.  When Hercules swallows a LEGO it always finds its way out the other end – why wouldn’t a piece of gum?  There ARE parts of gum that don’t really digest, but it isn’t going to make you sick and it isn’t going to stay in your digestive track.  In my thinking, swallowing your gum is much better than spitting it out on the sidewalk.  YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

Sugar Makes Kids Hyper

Wrong!  Sugar makes kids FAT.  Not hyper.  Sugar is calories.  There is nothing about it that would make a kid hyper.  In fact, sugar in small amounts can prompt serotonin production which can have a calming effect.  It’s not the sugar making your kid hyper, it is likely the circumstances.  Where does your kid get lots of sugar?  Parties, sleepovers, holidays, etc.  Those are situations where EVERYONE lets loose a little.  So it's not surprising that kids get a little wild.  In addition, kids can have a sugar crash just like adults.  If your kids have mood swings after eating sugar, stop feeding them go-gurt and fruit snacks and get them something with protein in it.

You lose 90% of your body heat through your head

I have been hearing this since I was a boy scout and it is completely wrong.  The only way it could be more wrong is if a republican said it.  If you want to hear the scientific low-down on this, check out Why Bald People Don’t Freeze To Death.

You Need to Stretch before Your Workout

Nope.  This is OLD info.  We used to think this was true, but it has been shown to be false.  In fact, in some cases stretching before a workout can increase your risk of injury. Warming up is a great idea.  Stretching AFTER your workout, also a good idea.  Stretching before – nope. 

Homeopathy is a Natural Remedy

Nope.  Homeopathy is not a remedy.  It’s diluted so far as to be absolutely useless as a medicine.  And let’s not be confused into thinking that being “natural” is the same as “good for you”.  Tons of terrible things are natural.  And tons of fantastic things are “unnatural”.  Just think Pop Rocks.  Need I say more?

Eating Fish (taking fish oil) Makes You Smarter

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.  Well, kind of.  It is true in small kids.  Their brains are developing, so get them some tilapia on the double.  But for grown-ups, the best way to make yourself smarter is to USE your brain.

Warm Milk/Turkey Will Make You Sleepy

At least every Thanksgiving, I hear some genius tell everyone that they are tired because of the tryptophan in turkey.  Last year I almost sprained my eyes from rolling them so hard.   I hate to break it to you, but you are tired because you just ate your body weight in white rolls, pie and stuffing.  It has NOTHING – NOTHING – to do with tryptophan.   The effect of tryptophan is SO TEENY that you would have to eat a LOT to have even a small effect. 

The whole warm milk story is the same lie.  Milk has tryptophan.  It does nothing.  There is trypotophan in milk, cheese, chocolate and oats.  When was the last time you heard someone say they were sleepy because they just had some oatmeal?  Do people sometimes feel more sleepy after drinking it?  Maybe.  It’s called the placebo effect.  Give them a warm glass of ANYTHING and they will probably go back to sleep.

Your Body Needs to be Detoxed

There are a zillion “detox” gimmicks.  They are all a ridiculous waste of money, and potentially dangerous.  Your body knows how to get rid of waste and bad chemicals and does not need your help.  (Unless you have certain SERIOUS medical conditions).   If you want to read more, see “Colon Cleansers are a Load of Crap”.

You Can Spot Tone a Target Area of the Body

If people really could spot tone a specific area, then why is it that no one but Ben Faux has a Thigh master?  First of all, there is no such thing as “toning”.  You are either building muscle or losing muscle.   Second, the key to looking more fit is: (drumroll)  diet diet diet.   If your problem area is your arms, then you are going to have to lose weight on YOUR WHOLE BODY.  Depending on epigenetics and other factors, a proportion of your weightloss will come off your arms, making them appear more defined.  So throw away your out dated machines in favor of eating right and exercising the whole body.

Healthy People Don't Go Hungry

If you think that in order to lose weight you need to starve yourself or be hungry all the time... YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.

Check out this CDC article on how you can actually lose weight by eating more and being FULL.  It's not a pill.  It's not magic.  It's called science.  Real science.  The kind done by scientists.

Happy eating!

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/energy_density.html

Your Mom takes Vitamins

Should you be taking a vitamin every day? 

Check out the article below to findout if spending all that money on vitamins is actually helping you.

http://fletcherallenblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/should-you-take-a-multivitamin/

As always, check with your doctor before you do something new with your bod.  You only get one, so try to avoid breaking it.

As a side note, I told a woman once that she appeared to have a "Vitamin Me" deficiency.  I thought it was a pretty effective pick up line but she said, "I don't like prison, so I've decided not to stab you."  Sheesh.  That's the last time I try a new pick up line on a nun.

Sitting All Day Kills

For all you people who hate reading...  here's a video!

Research has shown that sitting for long periods of time may be just as deadly as smoking cigarettes. Scary, right? When we sit for long periods of time our body goes into storage mode and stops working as effectively as it should. I know we are all busy behind our computers, but our challenge for you this week is to get up and get moving a few times during the day. The best solution is to stand up for a period of 10 minutes or so after each hour that you sit just to get your blood flowing and remind your body that it’s not in storage mode.

http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/09/16431050-obesity-expert-says-daily-workouts-cant-undo-damage-done-from-sitting-all-day?lite

Beating Fatigue

One of the top reasons people list for not taking care of themselves is: “I don’t have the energy”.  It’s a pretty compelling reason.  If you have ever tried to work out or do something strenuous when your body was working against you, you know it is pretty taxing.  So here are some facts about how energy works and how you can increase your energy levels.

How does body energy work?

All your cells have power plants in them called mitochondria (except for red blood cells).   The mitochondria pump out ATP (adenosine triphosphate).  The ATP is “burned” by your body for energy. Adenosine triphospate used during exercise is replaced by both odidative and non-oxidative resynthesis.  You can worry about that part later. 

The amount of energy you have throughout the day depends on how much ATP your mitochondria can produce.   Your ATP production levels vary according to all sorts of factors like diet, genetics, thyroid activity and… age.  Mitochondria efficiency can decrease by up to 1% per year.  Over 10 years, that is a huge drop in energy levels. 

You might be tempted to think that certain “lucky” people can exercise because they naturally have lots of energy.  But it’s just the opposite – those people have lots of energy because they exercise. 
Issues like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and diabetes have been linked to mitochondrial dysfunction, so taking care of your mitochondria should be on your To-Do list.

Things that can cause low energy

Low levels of Vitamin D, Niacin, B vitamins, zinc, iron, iodine, testosterone, and serotonin can cause fatigue.  If nothing else is helping you, talk to your doc about checking your levels.

If you hop onto Pubmed, you will see that there are a zillion reasons people have low energy.  If you have fatigue that is not helped by sleep, ask your doctor for help.   On the bright side, for nearly every cause of low energy two of the primary solutions are the same!

What can I do about it? Exercise!

The good news is that you can increase your body’s energy production by exercising!  Working out increases your energy in three ways:

1.       Increased blood flow to the brain helps manage stress and make decision making easier

2.       Increased mitochondria in your cells which in turn increases your ATP resynthesis rate

3.       Stronger muscle and cardiovascular system make your daily tasks easier

We all know we should be working out.  But what if you are trying to get healthy while fighting fatigue? Start easy.  Walk for 5 minutes on the morning.  If that goes well, do another 5 at night.  Do that 3 times per week and then increase your time slowly.  Your body WILL adapt by producing more energy – even if you feel like you want to die during the exercise.  Mitochondrial specialist Dr. Donald Johns calls this staying within your “energy envelope”.  You want to work out enough to get your body running at a higher speed without being unable to move two days later.

What can I do about it? Diet!

This part isn’t rocket science. Eat nutrient rich foods that are high in lean protein and low in fat and salt.  Some people maintain that if you exercise you can eat whatever you want.   This is sort of true.  However, you can’t exercise out of a bad diet.  Your energy levels WILL reflect the way you eat.  Eventually, so will your body.  Not all calories are equal and your mitochondria know it.

As a side note, a multivitamin won’t actually help you unless you have a specific deficiency in some area. Before you start taking eye-of-newt or whatever weird supplements that your neighbor sells – talk to your doctor.  If you actually DO have a mitochondrial dysfunction you may need coenzyme Q10, creatine, B12 or any number of things.  Let a real doctor decide what you need.

If low energy levels are keeping you from being healthy, start with some diet and exercise changes.  If that doesn’t help over several weeks, talk to your doc and find out if something else might be going on.  The good news is that no matter what your problem is, exercise is usually one of the solutions. It’s time to start using that fact for your own advantage.

 Sources

Wu I-C et al, “Metabolic Analysis of 13C-labeled Pyruvate for Noninvasive Assessment of Mitochondrial Function,” Annals NY Acad Sci 1201 (2010): 111-120.

Lo M-C et al, “Glycoxidative Stress-induced Mitophagy Modulates Mitochondrial Fates,” Annals NY Acad Sci 1201 (2010): 1-7.

Clay A et al, “Mitochondrial Disease,” Chest 120 (2001): 634-648.

Kim J et al, “Role of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Insulin Resistance,” Circ Res 102, no. 4 (2008): 401-414.

Lane RJM et al, “Muscle Fibre Characteristics and Lactate Responses to Exercise in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,” J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 64 (1998): 362-367.

Choi E-Y, Cho Y-O, “Effect of Vitamin B-6 Deficiency on Antioxidative Status in Rats with Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress,” Nutrition Res Practice 3, no. 3 (2009): 208-211.

Personal communication from Donald Johns, M.D. when he was chairperson of Neurology at Beth Israel-Deaconess Hospital in Boston, MA.