51 posts · 39,514 views

b2d: a blog about (1) trying to understand how we work, in terms of health, fitness and well-being (2) sharing that understanding (3) trying to figure out or review research and best practice to optimize and operationalize (ie make it work) that practice for us.

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May 16, 2010
06:23 PM
5,612 views

b2d nugget: portion size is out: energy density is in for effective weight management

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

You'd think with bigger sizes, folks would feel more full after a feeding than with smaller sizes. Apparently not so.

In 2005, researchers were interested in whether the increase in portion size at restaurants and in snack foods was contributing to the obesity epidemic. Rightfully they acknowledge that while that would SEEM to make sense, it's tough to say so conclusively.

So what they did ... Read more »

Ello-Martin JA, Ledikwe JH, & Rolls BJ. (2005) The influence of food portion size and energy density on energy intake: implications for weight management. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 82(1 Suppl). PMID: 16002828

LEDIKWE, J., ELLOMARTIN, J., PELKMAN, C., BIRCH, L., MANNINO, M., & ROLLS, B. (2007) A reliable, valid questionnaire indicates that preference for dietary fat declines when following a reduced-fat diet. Appetite, 49(1), 74-83. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2006.12.001

Ello-Martin JA, Roe LS, Ledikwe JH, Beach AM, & Rolls BJ. (2007) Dietary energy density in the treatment of obesity: a year-long trial comparing 2 weight-loss diets. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 85(6), 1465-77. PMID: 17556681

March 19, 2011
01:50 PM
1,004 views

Got a side stich? Might be time to check your Thoracic Mobility.

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

Most folks who've gone for a run - sometimes a bike or horseback ride - have had a side stich, or cramp in the side. Turns out there's a formal name for this experience: exercise related transient abdominal pain (ETAP). Numerous theories have been proposed about the cause of ETAP, from blood flowing into the diaphram (nope) to ligaments among viscera getting shaken (nope), to muscle cramp (amazingly not). These theories are reviewed in an overview of ETAP from 2009 (Muir09). Turns out, the clearest connection for ETAP is thoracic mobility - or the lack of it.

Back in 2004 (Morton04), a letter in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggested that the stich effect could be induced by palpating vertebrae T8-T12 (lower part of the thoracic spine - pretty much middle of the back and connected to abdominal muscles). Trying to figure out why thoracic issues might be the cause, the authors write
The extent to which the thoracic intercostal nerves may contribute to the experience of ETAP is worthy of further investigation. It seems plausible that, in some cases mechanical compression of the nerve root may refer pain distally, resulting in abdominal pain. Alternatively, irritation of the nerve may sensitise it to stimuli such that the threshold required for activation is lessened. Hence, in this study, palpation after the pain had been relieved may have allowed tissues innervated by the intercostal nerves, such as the abdominal musculature or parietal peritoneum, to recreate sensations of pain.More recently in 2010, the issue of a possible spinal connection with ETAP resurfaced (Morton10). Two factors were considered: posture and body type. No correlation was found between body type (somatotype like mesomorph, ectomorph, etc). Where there was a connection, again, seems to be with the throracic spine. Indeed, the authors found what seems to be a correlation between incidents of reported ETAP and measures of kyphosis. As they note:
From a mechanistic viewpoint, increased curvature of the thoracic spine could influence the experience of ETAP either functionally and/or neurally. Functionally, kyphosis could affect rib cage mechanics, as asserted by Kugelmass,10 conceivably placing atypical stresses upon other abdominal structures. Kugelmass made this assertion to support his theory that ETAP was caused by compromised diaphragm function, which has since been convincingly discredited.[1], [5] and [6] From a neural perspective, the abdominal region is innervated by spinal nerves arising from thoracic vertebrae T712.19 Notably, abdominal pain similar in nature to ETAP has been evoked by lesions and compression of these spinal nerves.[12], [20] and [21] Further, we have been able to reproduce symptoms of ETAP by palpating sites adjacent to T7 through T12.4 So what's the Fix? Breath deep and Move the Spine
The authors note that in previous work by I.N. Kugelmass (1937), kids ... Read more »

Morton, D., & Callister, R. (2010) Influence of posture and body type on the experience of exercise-related transient abdominal pain. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 13(5), 485-488. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2009.10.487

Morton, D. (2004) Runner's stitch and the thoracic spine. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 38(2), 240-240. DOI: 10.1136/bjsm.2003.009308

MORTON, D., & CALLISTER, R. (2002) Factors influencing exercise-related transient abdominal pain. Medicine , 34(5), 745-749. DOI: 10.1097/00005768-200205000-00003

Muir B. (2009) Exercise related transient abdominal pain: a case report and review of the literature. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, 53(4), 251-60. PMID: 20037690

September 18, 2010
01:16 PM
983 views

Pick it Up. Again. Research poses correlation of resistance training reps to motivation type.

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

Do you think someone who is extrinsically motivated (i want to win a gold medal) vs intrinsically motivated (i want to be the best i can be) is more or less likely to do more or less resistance work?

Yes, that's a question that's been asked in a recently published study on who uses fitness centers. The authors' abstract reads:

There is a need to better understand the behavior and sense of ... Read more »

Kathrins BP, & Turbow DJ. (2010) Motivation of fitness center participants toward resistance training. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength , 24(9), 2483-90. PMID: 20802286

. (1997) Paffenbarger Physical Activity Questionnaire. Medicine, 29(Supplement), 83-88. DOI: 10.1097/00005768-199706001-00017

Cox CL. (1985) The Health Self-Determinism Index. Nursing research, 34(3), 177-83. PMID: 3846926

April 24, 2010
01:29 PM
965 views

Hypertrophy: More sets are Better than 1, from Day 1

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

In strength training, research has looked at the question of "how many sets" to make a difference for strength - does it matter if we train with 1 set or multiple sets? Most research of late has put the strength question to bed: more sets = more strength. What is less known is the relationship of hypertrophy to strength development. Strength is about at least two things: neural adaptations - muscle firing patterns - to be able to lift stuff, and structural changes to be able to support these loads without tearing ourselves apart. The latter is generally known as hypertrophy. So an open research question has been: are the changes in real strength more about the neural side of the fence than the structural? According to work done to review a TON of studies that have ever bothered to measure hypertrophy along with strength, more seems to be better here, too. In other words, hypertrophy is playing a side-by-side roll in strength training. At least as far as we can tell from eligible studies.... Read more »

Krieger JW. (2010) Single vs. multiple sets of resistance exercise for muscle hypertrophy: a meta-analysis. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength , 24(4), 1150-9. PMID: 20300012

May 18, 2010
01:59 PM
964 views

How Chefs think about Size - Portion Size that is (another b2d nugget)

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

"Despite the focus on the increase in portion sizes and the possible role in the development of obesity, little is known about how portion sizes are determined in restaurants." This is how an intriguing discussion of Chefs and their restaurant food size practices begins. The study aslo notes that eating out has gone up from 2.3x's a week in 1981 to 5 times in 2000. Within that period we know ... Read more »

Condrasky, M., Ledikwe, J., Flood, J., & Rolls, B. (2007) Chefs’ Opinions of Restaurant Portion Sizes*. Obesity, 15(8), 2086-2094. DOI: 10.1038/oby.2007.248

Harnack, L., Steffen, L., Arnett, D., Gao, S., & Luepker, R. (2004) Accuracy of estimation of large food portions☆. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 104(5), 804-806. DOI: 10.1016/j.jada.2004.02.026

Wansink B, Painter JE, & North J. (2005) Bottomless bowls: why visual cues of portion size may influence intake. Obesity research, 13(1), 93-100. PMID: 15761167

May 23, 2010
02:03 PM
916 views

Weight Loss Ups your Power - if you're a competitive cyclist and not going nuts with the CR.

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

There's been a debate for some time as to whether or not "fasted cardio" is ok. There's a "fasted cardio roundtable" at t-nation discussing this, and good arguments on either side. The title of a recent article made me think "great - a specific study on fasted cardio with elite athletes" Here's the title: "Effects of caloric restriction and overnight fasting on cycling endurance performance." But... Read more »

Aragón-Vargas LF. (1993) Effects of fasting on endurance exercise. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 16(4), 255-65. PMID: 8248683

Knapik JJ, Meredith CN, Jones BH, Suek L, Young VR, & Evans WJ. (1988) Influence of fasting on carbohydrate and fat metabolism during rest and exercise in men. Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 64(5), 1923-9. PMID: 3292504

Ferguson LM, Rossi KA, Ward E, Jadwin E, Miller TA, & Miller WC. (2009) Effects of caloric restriction and overnight fasting on cycling endurance performance. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength , 23(2), 560-70. PMID: 19197210

March 13, 2011
11:38 AM
916 views

Different Speeds have Different Meanings in our Bodies' Performance in Pain

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

Every little thing in the complex systems that are us seems to impact every other thing - or at least a whole lot of other things. Take speed. Have you ever tried to do a familiar movement either really fast or really slow? Say whipping an egg in a bowl, making a shoulder circle, lifting a knee up and down. Speed changes performance, doesn't it? Something else we've seen change performance is pain: pain will change event what muscles get recruited,when performing an action. Recent resaerch has put pain and speed together to see what happens in normal walking mechanics.

I'm fascinated by the study because of how it reinforces how quickly we see systemic adapatations to the new demands of a change in the system: in this case, two changes: pain and various speeds.

The researchers used a standard protocol to induce DOMS at the knee. Perhaps not surprisingly, they found that with the DOMS effect up, different speeds showed different kinds of compromise.

Here's the abstract:
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010 Nov;110(5):977-88. Epub 2010 Jul 29.
The effects of muscle damage on walking biomechanics are speed-dependent.
Tsatalas T, Giakas G, Spyropoulos G, Paschalis V, Nikolaidis MG, Tsaopoulos DE, Theodorou AA, Jamurtas AZ, Koutedakis Y.

Institute of Human Performance and Rehabilitation, Center for Research and Technology, Trikala, Thessaly, Greece.
Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of muscle damage on walking biomechanics at different speeds. Seventeen young women completed a muscle damage protocol of 5 × 15 maximal eccentric actions of the knee extensors and flexors of both legs at 60°/s. Lower body kinematics and swing-phase kinetics were assessed on a horizontal treadmill pre- and 48 h post-muscle damaging exercise at four walking speeds. Evaluated muscle damage indices included isometric torque, delayed onset muscle soreness, and serum creatine kinase. All muscle damage indices changed significantly after exercise, indicating muscle injury. Kinematic results indicated that post-exercise knee joint was significantly more flexed (31-260%) during stance-phase and knee range of motion was reduced at certain phases of the gait cycle at all speeds. Walking post-exercise at the two lower speeds revealed a more extended knee joint (3.1-3.6%) during the swing-phase, but no differences were found between pre- and post-exercise conditions at the two higher speeds. As speed increased, maximum dorsiflexion angle during stance-phase significantly decreased pre-exercise (5.7-11.8%), but remained unaltered post-exercise across all speeds (p > 0.05). Moreover, post-exercise maximum hip extension decreased (3.6-18.8%), pelvic tilt increased (5.5-10.6%), and tempo-spatial differences were found across all speeds (p < 0.05). Limited effects of muscle damage were observed regarding swing-phase kinetics. In conclusion, walking biomechanics following muscle damage are affected differently at relatively higher walking speeds, especially with respect to knee and ankle joint motion. The importance of speed in evaluating walking biomechanics following muscle damage is highlighted.In other words, different speeds, but especially punching up the tempo in a walk a wee bit seriously effected ankle joint ROM (it decreased) knee joint flexion (bigger), hip extension (leg going back) got smaller, pelvic tilt (more strain on the lower back) also increased, and just general tempo was also buggered up: participants were taking a wider stance while walking.

In the Discussion section of the article, the authors speculate about what might be happening at say the hip or knee or ankle such that the gait changes in different parts of the gait cycle, and even what may be happening with pain messaging.

Just for context, here's a look at the walking gait cycle:

Main thing: the cycle has two phases: stance and swing. Swing phase is where the action is: toes are cleared; limbs move forward.

Some Observations by the Authors:
Less knee flexion in the swing phase was observed in slow speeds. The authors speculate that this is as a result of less desire to call upon the hamstrings to work to pull up the knee/clear the foot due to pain. At faster speeds though, the ankle goes wonky - destabilizing at the ankle. THe authors wonder if fear of falling from walking fast on a narrow treadmill is why this is happening. In other words, the knees look "normal" at faster speeds, but the ankles pay for it.

Also, hip flexion is shrunk as speed goes up: greater hip flexion means more involvement of the quads and they're sore: so compensation is more steps; tinier range of motion. Another compensation here is that to keep the stride length more or less up (tho compromised), without involving the hip flexors, the authors suggest a kind of psuedo hip extension by getting anterior pelvic tilt to compensate for missing hip flexion. Indeed, the authors note, there's a well observed pattern of positive correlation from other studies between reduced hip extension and anterior pelvic tilt. So a little bit of DOMS brings on a variety of gait pattern changes and systemic effects depending on speed.

It's just the Knee muscles? And that's screwing up Ankle Flexion, hip flexion and pelivic tilt?One of the things that really strikes me about this is that the only muscles worked into the DOMS state were the knee extensors and flexors (we talked about these when we discussed the ottoman pistol: extensors; flexors). In other words, all these effects from giving one DOMS in the knees.

To induce the muscle damage and hence DOMS, the resaerchers have the participants do finely set up leg extensions from 100 degrees to 0 degrees (knee fully extended, getting the quads) and then knee flexions of 0 to 100 degrees (getting the hamstrings). 5 sets 15 reps each set; 3 min break btwn sets on an isokinetic dynamometer. As hard as possible with the dyno set at 60o/s. (If you're really intrigued, here's a video of the cybex; if you'd like to learn about active dynomometry and overview is here).

From here, at different times after these exercises, a standard set of muscle damage / doms tests were run via bloodwork and other measures. They were really thorough (review of doms measuring here).

The researchers pre and post tested the participants using a treadmill set at different speeds, including letting participants choose their own comfortable walking speeds/transition speeds.

Pain changes everything?
Perhaps it's not novel at all to suggest that pain changes everything when it comes to movement.

I guess why this study is so striking to me is that it looked in a very controlled way at inducing and measuring a particular level of actual damage and correlated pain and muscular limitations to investigate specifically what pain does to problably our most basic movement pattern, walking. It focued on typical measures of lower body involvement in the gait cylce, and saw that especially when changing speed, gait mechanics change, but even when not changing speed, spatio-temporal movements changed: widened base of support, different tempo of gait. None of these changes is positive. More anterior pelvic tilt is not a happy compensation for reduced hip ROM as anyone with chronic low back pain may attest.

Speed of Adaptation/Compensation: It's Immediate. Look at how quickly the body begins to compensate to this single joint pain: Compensations are seen at the hip, pelvis ankle and the knees as well. They're different at different speeds. This study only looked at gait; it would be interesting to have seen shoulder and head involvement in these altered patterns as well.

What happens when we move from an acute pain bout to something more chronic, and those adaptations become more chronic too? Those adaptations are going to stick around and cause their own compensations.

Training at Speeds: High... Read more »

Tsatalas, T., Giakas, G., Spyropoulos, G., Paschalis, V., Nikolaidis, M., Tsaopoulos, D., Theodorou, A., Jamurtas, A., & Koutedakis, Y. (2010) The effects of muscle damage on walking biomechanics are speed-dependent. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 110(5), 977-988. DOI: 10.1007/s00421-010-1589-1

February 10, 2010
06:32 PM
909 views

Heart Rate Variability: Depression Monitor for Work?

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

we may be able to use heart rate variability (HRV) to help detect and so address depression - another stressor. A 2009 study has shown promising results in terms of using HRV to detect if someone is still suffering from the effects of depression. The study looked at folks who were returning to work after being off for depression, and having been cleared to come back to work.... Read more »

Takada, M., Ebara, T., & Kamijima, M. (2009) Heart rate variability assessment in Japanese workers recovered from depressive disorders resulting from job stress: measurements in the workplace. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. DOI: 10.1007/s00420-009-0499-1

May 23, 2010
07:06 AM
877 views

Building & Protecting Bone: Odd Angle Exercise, Resistance, Movement (and shaking) Work

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

A fear for many women is that as we age, we seem to be more vulnerable to the "Help Help, i've fallen and i can't get up" hip fracture and related. Awhile ago, i wrote about bone building, and what's known about strategies to keep it together and enhance it. Quick review: bone builds in response to demand. Woolf's law is "use it or lose it" - our bone is "remodeling" all the time. So while ... Read more »

Lirani-Galvão, A., & Lazaretti-Castro, M. (2010) Physical approach for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Arquivos Brasileiros de Endocrinologia , 54(2). DOI: 10.1590/S0004-27302010000200013

November 3, 2010
09:13 AM
863 views

Cola Drinking Frequency Associated with Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a condition we hear about increasingly that relates usually to pre-diabetes (type II), obesity and other factors that create a perfect storm of mainly lifestyle-oriented disease.A recent report that looked at a survey of near 18000 people in Norway shows a pretty strong correlation between something as simple as cola consumption and MetS.The simple take away is: drinking more than one glass of cola a day, coupled with ANY of the risk factors associated with MetS means the likelihood of getting MetS goes up significantly. The post discusses the study and concludes with a few possible strategies & resources.The abstract of the study follows:Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2010 Oct;35(5):635-42.The Oslo Health Study: Soft drink intake is associated with the metabolic syndrome.Høstmark AT.Section of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Oslo, Box 1130, Blindern, 0318 Oslo, Norway (e-mail: a.t.hostmark@medisin.uio.no). AbstractIt has been reported that the frequency of cola intake (COLA) is positively associated with serum triglycerides and negatively associated with high-density-lioprotein (HDL) cholesterol, both components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). The question now is whether noncola soft drink intake (NCOLA) is associated with MetS. Among the 18 770 participants in the Oslo Health Study, 5373 men and 6181 women had data on COLA and NCOLA and risk factors for MetS (except fasting glucose). Main MetS requirements are central obesity and 2 of the following: increased triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, increased systolic or diastolic blood pressure, and elevated fasting blood glucose. The MetSRisk index was calculated to estimate many MetS components. Using regression analyses, the association between COLA (NCOLA) and MetS (MetSRisk) was studied. In young (aged 30 years), middle-aged (aged 40 and 45 years), and senior (aged 59 and 60 years) men and women, there was, in general, a positive correlation between COLA and MetSRisk, and between COLA and single MetS risk factors, except HDL cholesterol, which was negatively correlated. A less consistent picture was found for NCOLA. By regression analyses, after adjustment for sex, age, time since last meal, and use of sugar-sweetened soft drinks, a positive association between COLA (NCOLA) and MetSRisk (MetS) was still found. However, when also controlling for cheese, fatty fish, coffee, alcohol, smoking, physical activity, education, and birthplace, only the association with COLA remained significant, irrespective of the presence or absence of sugar. In conclusion, the self-reported intake frequency of soft drinks can be positively associated with MetS.What does this result mean? The authors looked at two measures of Metabolic Syndrome. First, they used the MetSRisk requirements whicn = obesity + any 2 of the following: increased triglycerides (fatty acids ), low HDL cholesterol (usually refered to as the good stuff cholesterol - but really it's ratios of high and low that are important), increased blood pressure, high fasting blood glucose (this latter as i understand it can happen when insulin (a hormone) is out of whack trying to its job to get the glucose from consumed carbs shoved into the cells for use as energy, and it's not working very well).The authors note that they could not measure fasting glucose rates in the study, so they suggest that the strength of the association they see may well be UNDERestimated, based on reality.What does Frequency Mean?Here's how the study measured frequency of intake by creating three main groups:For beverages, there were 5 levels: 1, rarely–never; 2, 1 to 6 glasses per week; 3, 1 glass per day; 4, 2 to 3 glasses per day; and 5, 4 or more glasses per day. For the intake frequency of colas and noncolas, the midpoint in each frequency interval was used to calculate a rough approximation of intake per week. To obtain a reasonable number of subjects, the population was divided into 3 intake groups: never–rarely (1999 men; 3302 women); 1 to 6 glasses per week (2302 men; 2086 women); and ≥1 glass per day (1072 men; 793 women).Results on Risk MatchingThe authors show that "the frequency of cola intake in model 1 was significantly (p < 0.001 for most) associated with all of the single MetS-related risk factors, with the compound risk estimate of MetSRisk, and with the complete MetS." Right - but how much does that risk go up?The authors find that the differences bewteen group 1 (rarely/never) and group three (more than 1 glass of cola a day) go up a lot, across all ages and genders:going from group 1 (intake never–rarely) to group 3 (intake ≥1 glass per day), there was a mean increase in SumRisk points of 16.5% in young men (p < 0.001, 1-way ANOVA, with Bonferroni correction), 11.9% in middle-aged men (p < 0.001), and 11.1% in senior men (p = 0.006). Corresponding percentage increases in the 3 age groups of women were 11.1% (p < 0.001), 12.2% (p < 0.001), and 10.8% (p < 0.001).Also, intriguingly, the study makes clear that whether or not the cola had real sugar or not didn't make a difference. Diet cola in other words doesn't change the association. Fig. 1. Relationship between the frequency of cola intake and MetSRisk. Group 1, intake never–rarely; group 2, intake of 1 to 6 glasses per week; group 3, intake of ≥1 glass per day. Number of subjects in cola intake groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively, was, for young (30 y) men, 368, 836, and 433; for middle-aged (40 + 45 y) men, 884, 1009, and 465; and for senior men (59–60 y), 747, 457, and 174. Corresponding numbers in women were 770, 814, and 314 (30 y); 1511, 959, and 370 (40 + 45 y); and 1021, 313, and 109 (59–60 y); mean values, with SE, are indicated. Note the broken axes and the variation in range for the MetSRisk score between age groups.Waist Circumference and Cola. The authors also actually saw that waist circumference is more strongly associated with cola than BMI. This finding is a rather nice one since so many of us rather question the whole BMI measure. Waist circumference seems a much clearer one to assess.Take AwayThe authors make clear that what they have seen is evidence of an association between cola frequency and MetSRisk. That doesn't show (yet) that there is a causal relationship. That is, they're not saying that someone who kicks back a can of coke daily will be at risk of MetS. What it does suggest however is that the presence of a daily cola intake greater than a glass, along with any of the other MetSRisk factors is a pretty good indicator of trouble ahead. As the authors put it in their discussion of results:It seems reasonable to assume that the complete MetS takes a long time to develop, presumably several years. Accordingly, preceding the appearance of the complete MetS, metabolic disturbances, reflected in the level of 1 or more MetS-related factors, such as waist circumference, body mass index, serum lipids, and blood pressure, are likely. In keeping with this assumption, the results of this study show a direct relationship between cola intake and many single MetS-related risk factors, as well as the compound variable MetSRisk.What may also be deducible is that, if at risk of MetS, to un-cola oneself may be a great start at backing away from MetS. How do this? how about one really tiny super guaranteed not to fail one step at a time? Practice: Awhile ago i proposed mc's change one thing sure fire diet based on the z-health sustena... Read more »

Høstmark, A. (2010) The Oslo Health Study: Soft drink intake is associated with the metabolic syndrome. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 35(5), 635-642. DOI: 10.1139/H10-059

February 2, 2010
04:37 PM
859 views

Optimising Fat Burning on Non-HIIT days

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

We can't HIIT all the time, nor can we work steady state at the top end of our aerobic capacit all the time. Our central nervous system would come up and strangle us. That's another word for overtraining. But if we still want to make sure that we're optimizing our non-HIIT time for both endurance capacity and fat mobilization, can we do both at the same time? Outlook looks good that there's a sweet spot for such work in the 60-80% MaxHR zone.... Read more »

Carey, DG. (2009) Quantifying Differences in the "Fat Burning" Zone and the Aerobic Zone: Implications For Training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: , 23(7), 2090-2095. info:/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181bac5c5

August 20, 2010
10:33 AM
829 views

Cocoa drink reduces DOMS. Really? Well, Maybe...

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

What if cocoa in a drink of protein and carbs could mitigate DOMS - delayed onset muscle soreness? This is what researchers in a newly published Aug 2010 study have explored. And thank goodness, since most of us have struggled with DOMS at one time or another - new routine and next day or next few days our muscles pay for it. We walk like cowboys coming off a long jaunt in the saddle. Could ... Read more »

McBrier NM, Vairo GL, Bagshaw D, Lekan JM, Bordi PL, & Kris-Etherton PM. (2010) Cocoa-based protein and carbohydrate drink decreases perceived soreness after exhaustive aerobic exercise: a pragmatic preliminary analysis. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength , 24(8), 2203-10. PMID: 20634742

Karp JR, Johnston JD, Tecklenburg S, Mickleborough TD, Fly AD, & Stager JM. (2006) Chocolate milk as a post-exercise recovery aid. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 16(1), 78-91. PMID: 16676705

Mathur S, Devaraj S, Grundy SM, & Jialal I. (2002) Cocoa products decrease low density lipoprotein oxidative susceptibility but do not affect biomarkers of inflammation in humans. The Journal of nutrition, 132(12), 3663-7. PMID: 12468604

Wiswedel, I., Hirsch, D., Kropf, S., Gruening, M., Pfister, E., Schewe, T., & Sies, H. (2004) Flavanol-rich cocoa drink lowers plasma F2-isoprostane concentrations in humans. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 37(3), 411-421. DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2004.05.013

Green MS, Corona BT, Doyle JA, & Ingalls CP. (2008) Carbohydrate-protein drinks do not enhance recovery from exercise-induced muscle injury. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 18(1), 1-18. PMID: 18272930

July 27, 2010
08:46 AM
810 views

Head Shift: Why not look for More Time to Move rather than as Little as Possible?

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

Maybe we should seek to move more rather than the least amount possible in a week. Maybe that's a much better place to be. Let's consider why that might help us out in so many parts of our lives, and the research that supports it. This proposal is set against popular approaches to fitness. Lots of folks celebrate ways for us to "take less time" to work out. After all, there's more to life than ... Read more »

Castelli DM, Hillman CH, Buck SM, & Erwin HE. (2007) Physical fitness and academic achievement in third- and fifth-grade students. Journal of sport , 29(2), 239-52. PMID: 17568069

Eveland-Sayers BM, Farley RS, Fuller DK, Morgan DW, & Caputo JL. (2009) Physical fitness and academic achievement in elementary school children. Journal of physical activity , 6(1), 99-104. PMID: 19211963

Chomitz, V., Slining, M., McGowan, R., Mitchell, S., Dawson, G., & Hacker, K. (2009) Is There a Relationship Between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement? Positive Results From Public School Children in the Northeastern United States. Journal of School Health, 79(1), 30-37. DOI: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2008.00371.x

Baker LD, Frank LL, Foster-Schubert K, Green PS, Wilkinson CW, McTiernan A, Plymate SR, Fishel MA, Watson GS, Cholerton BA.... (2010) Effects of aerobic exercise on mild cognitive impairment: a controlled trial. Archives of neurology, 67(1), 71-9. PMID: 20065132

Berchtold, N., Castello, N., & Cotman, C. (2010) Exercise and time-dependent benefits to learning and memory. Neuroscience, 167(3), 588-597. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2010.02.050

June 3, 2010
02:50 PM
787 views

660 seconds (11 mins) of minimal resistance training = a HUGE difference for fat burning

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

We know pretty unequivocally that the biggest part of a fat loss program is nutrition. That's first. BUT we also know that exercise can really help with keeping that program going. If we look at work on obesity and the role of exercise, we're looking at 5 hours of exercise a week (along with diet and expert support).

5 hours may be a good and healthy norm, but do you know any geeks who will say ... Read more »

KIRK, E., DONNELLY, J., SMITH, B., HONAS, J., LeCHEMINANT, J., BAILEY, B., JACOBSEN, D., & WASHBURN, R. (2009) Minimal Resistance Training Improves Daily Energy Expenditure and Fat Oxidation. Medicine , 41(5), 1122-1129. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e318193c64e

Miller, W., Koceja, D., & Hamilton, E. (1997) A meta-analysis of the past 25 years of weight loss research using diet, exercise or diet plus exercise intervention. International Journal of Obesity, 21(10), 941-947. DOI: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0800499

April 29, 2010
04:15 PM
778 views

Kettlebell Swings: harder than Circuit Weight Training; easier than Treadmill? That depends...

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

ResearchBlogging.orgThere's a new study in English of Kettlebells that shows 12mins of two handed swings is tougher/harder than circuit weight training, but not as hard as treadmill work. That's probably a surprise for folks used to swinging kettlebells, and certainly how kettelbells have been promoted as an amazing, tough, cardio conditioning endurance tool, where more is more. What this great new study does, therefore, is help us ask some questions about studying kb's. It also gives us new ways to think about where kb work might be situated relative to other activities. So this post is a wee overview of one of the first english language, peer reviewed articles on Kettlebells... Read more »

Farrar RE, Mayhew JL, & Koch AJ. (2010) Oxygen cost of kettlebell swings. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength , 24(4), 1034-6. PMID: 20300022

May 3, 2010
04:32 PM
777 views

Occlusion Training: Tightening up everything we don't know about Hypertrophy

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

If we asked someone "what should i do to build muscle" probably not a lot of people would say "cut off the blood flow to a working limb." Turns out though, that this latter kind of work - called occlusion training, or blood flow restriction (BFR) - has proven a powerful technique for inducing hypertrophy at very low loads (10-30% of a 1RM). While it's mainly been explored as a rehab technique to... Read more »

Wernbom M, Augustsson J, & Raastad T. (2008) Ischemic strength training: a low-load alternative to heavy resistance exercise?. Scandinavian journal of medicine , 18(4), 401-16. PMID: 18466185

Madarame, H., Kurano, M., Takano, H., Iida, H., Sato, Y., Ohshima, H., Abe, T., Ishii, N., Morita, T., & Nakajima, T. (2010) Effects of low-intensity resistance exercise with blood flow restriction on coagulation system in healthy subjects. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging, 30(3), 210-213. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-097X.2010.00927.x

Loenneke, J., & Pujol, T. (2009) The Use of Occlusion Training to Produce Muscle Hypertrophy. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 31(3), 77-84. DOI: 10.1519/SSC.0b013e3181a5a352

August 12, 2010
01:15 PM
773 views

The Eyes Have It - sometimes: using eye position to enhance strength

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

I was fascinated by Geoff Neupert's article in the latest Power by Pavel Newsletter about his experience using eye position in the kettlebell press. Absolutely awesome to see eye position highlighted in relation to how that action can support movement practice, but also how that support is variable depending on rather a lot else going on in our sensory-motor system, or where the issues are in a complex movement. So let's look at eye position and postural reflexes and how they support muscle action.... Read more »

Morningstar, M., Pettibon, B., Schlappi, H., Schlappi, M., & Ireland, T. (2005) Reflex control of the spine and posture: a review of the literature from a chiropractic perspective. Chiropractic , 13(1), 16. DOI: 10.1186/1746-1340-13-16

Riemann BL, & Lephart SM. (2002) The Sensorimotor System, Part II: The Role of Proprioception in Motor Control and Functional Joint Stability. Journal of athletic training, 37(1), 80-4. PMID: 16558671

Rougier P, & Garin M. (2007) Performing saccadic eye movements or blinking improves postural control. Motor control, 11(3), 213-23. PMID: 17715456

May 20, 2010
07:58 AM
748 views

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness - Can be a Big Issue predictor.

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

Sleep is so important. Sleepiness during the day may likewise be a really critical health marker. Sleepiness itself is usually taken as a sign that we just didn't get enough kip. Sometimes figuring out why is easy, and we can fix it; sometimes figuring out why is a little more elusive, and getting some knowledgable help is a great idea. But no matter what, we know chronic sleepiness"older adults"... Read more »

Newman AB, Spiekerman CF, Enright P, Lefkowitz D, Manolio T, Reynolds CF, & Robbins J. (2000) Daytime sleepiness predicts mortality and cardiovascular disease in older adults. The Cardiovascular Health Study Research Group. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 48(2), 115-23. PMID: 10682939

Baldwin CM, Ervin AM, Mays MZ, Robbins J, Shafazand S, Walsleben J, & Weaver T. (2010) Sleep disturbances, quality of life, and ethnicity: the Sleep Heart Health Study. Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 6(2), 176-83. PMID: 20411696

Boulos MI, & Murray BJ. (2010) Current evaluation and management of excessive daytime sleepiness. The Canadian journal of neurological sciences. Le journal canadien des sciences neurologiques, 37(2), 167-76. PMID: 20437926

Chokroverty S. (2010) Overview of sleep . The Indian journal of medical research, 126-40. PMID: 20308738

July 22, 2010
12:31 PM
738 views

Hormones - what are they really? upper level managers for the body's state.

by mc in begin to dig (b2d)

What do you think of when someone says Hormones? Maybe muscle oriented folks think about testosterone. Women tending towards a certain age think about estrogen. Athletes may think about adrenelein. Diet conscious may think about Insulin. Someone totally stressed may not know what to think about but that's epinepherine and cortisol. In the sesame street way of what goes together, all of these are... Read more »

HERMANS, E., PUTMAN, P., BAAS, J., KOPPESCHAAR, H., & VANHONK, J. (2006) A Single Administration of Testosterone Reduces Fear-Potentiated Startle in Humans. Biological Psychiatry, 59(9), 872-874. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.11.015

Van den Buuse, M. (2001) Estrogen increases prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle in rats. European Journal of Pharmacology, 425(1), 33-41. DOI: 10.1016/S0014-2999(01)01139-6

Toufexis, D. (2005) Sex Differences in Hormonal Modulation of Anxiety Measured with Light-Enhanced Startle: Possible Role for Arginine Vasopressin in the Male. Journal of Neuroscience, 25(39), 9010-9016. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0127-05.2005

Zouhal, H., Jacob, C., Delamarche, P., & Gratas-Delamarche, A. (2008) Catecholamines and the Effects of Exercise, Training and Gender. Sports Medicine, 38(5), 401-423. DOI: 10.2165/00007256-200838050-00004

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