leanstrength's posterous

Use or lose it!!!!!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/baseball/mlb/02/19/vogelsong.hurt.ap/in...

When I first read this article this morning via New York trainer to the stars, Joe Dowdell's Facebook page, I planned a long post about the insanity I often see in the training of baseball players. I couldn't do it... I got overwhelmed with the stupidity. I can argue why an athlete might want to use the power snatch over the power clean for a microcycle, or vice versa. I can argue why full squats are vastly superior to parallel squats. Because the people who would have opposing arguments would have good points to make, and would be making their argument from a point of view of improving the athletes strength and power.

I can't find the first damn reason though that a million dollar athlete is performing dumbbell squats on a balance ball. That doesn't make him stronger and it doesn't transfer to baseball, or any other sport. It doesn't improve balance, spatial awareness, agility, or any other industry buzz word either! It's just moronic! His well paid strength coach was in fact an idiot who shouldn't be allowed around athletes!

I've long held the axiom that athletes should NEVER be injured in the weight room! Weight room injuries are the fault of piss poor programming! Inevitably you will have the occasional strain from a competitor pushing himself, but even those should be rare! The weight room is where injuries should be prevented!!!

I'm confident in my abilities enough that I will state unequivocally, not many coaches will write a strength program as well as I can. And sure, occasionally even my athletes have strains and imbalances that we must address (we fix the problem, we don't "work around it"). However, about a 1/3 of the emails I get from clients when discussing the program is how their shoulders felt really good doing one movement or another. Or a movement that they use to be unable to perform they are now performing pain free and increasing weight used on it. Most coaches would be terrified to prescribe a behind the neck press to an athlete. I have yet to have one that doesn't gush over how good it makes their shoulders feel!!!

I would love to know how much work this pitcher had done balancing the unilateral imbalances inevitably caused by last seasons pitching schedule. What's more, he stated that he had used that weight all winter!!! Hello Mr. trainer guy with I'm sure multiple "certifications" I would like to introduce you tho this doo-hickey called PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD.

Anyway, rant over, discuss among yourselves... The idiocy displayed in this profession is just almost overwhelming at times...

ADHD is one of the most common neurological disorders in the United States. It is diagnosed in up to 7% of children under age 18. It is reported that costs of treatment reaches over $50 billion annually. The most common symptoms of ADHD is inability to focus on tasks, impulsive behavior, and hyperactivity. The exact mechanism of how ADHD affects brain physiology is not fully understood, but brain scans indicate that there is altered neurotransmitter activity in the areas of the brain that control attention and activity. In individuals with ADHD, frontal lobe neurotransmitter activity is altered and a deficiency in norepinephrine is common.

The most common treatment for ADHD is amphetamine prescription, the most common being Adderall. This may seem counterintuitive, but the amphetamine allows the sufferer to concentrate and focus better on tasks and the ability to focus helps to control other impulsive behaviors, fidgeting, restlessness, etc. One treatment that should be considered by medical professionals, sufferers, and parents of children who suffer from ADHD is fish oil supplementation. Here is a discussion on a meta analysis of studies performed on children diagnosed with ADHD: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21961774/?i=18&from=Omega-3%20Fatty%20Ac...

While fish oil supplementation helped alleviate symptoms, one problem that has not been addressed by the research community is optimal dosing of fish oil. I would recommend a conservative dosage recommendation of 1,000mg per day for every year of age. Up to 10,000 mg a day. Fish oil can be consumed safely at higher dosages, but again, I offer that as a conservative starting point for researchers.

Another variable researchers need to look at is the optimal ratio of EPA to DHA. Both are found in fish oil, but each have different effects on our health. While EPA seems to have more heart healthy benefits, DHA seems to have a more positive impact on brain function. Fetal brain development, prevention of Alzheimer's, and higher IQ scores are associated with higher DHA levels.

When supplementing with fish oil, specifically DHA, norepinephrine levels in the brain increase. This can help "normalize" neurotransmitter and therefore brain function allowing ADHD sufferers to concentrate and focus on tasks better. As mentioned previously, ADHD sufferers often have low levels of norepinephrine. DHA increases norepinephrine. Why isn't that the initial and minimal starting point for treatment in the medical community?

ADHD was recognized in 1902, but underwent several names and much misunderstanding until 1980 when the American Psychiatric Association formalized the name. While available research is extensive, a cause is unknown and current therapies are often questionable and controversial. Furthermore, the research on fish oil supplementation, while fairly extensive, doesn't adequately address its benefit for people with ADHD. However, the evidence of fish oil having excellent, and often miraculous, health benefits is quite extensive. Therefore I propose that all ADHD suffers supplement with fish oil. It may not be able to alleviate the need for drug treatment, but it certainly seems that it can alleviate some of the symptoms of the disorder. Hence I believe is more than worthwhile for those with ADHD to include fish oil in their diet.

Walk into the gym, put 30 minutes on the clock and perform as many pull ups and dips using just your bodyweight as possible. Perform as many sets as you feel like, keep rest to a minimum, and keep up with total reps for each movement. Going to failure on each set is unadvisable as fatigue with short rest intervals accumulates quickly. Just catch a quick breath or sip of water between sets. If you can't perform a total of 20 or more reps in a single set, you will likely experience both hypertrophy and strength increases. If you are more advanced and can perform 20+ reps in either, you will improve your strength endurance and help stave off atrophy that can result from missing workouts. So give thirty minutes of pull ups and dips a try the next time your pressed for time.

Also, note, I said pull ups and dips, NOT PULL DOWNS, NOR DIP MACHINES!!!!

The vast majority of doctors and main stream media will read that title and immediately have a conniption fit... but as usual, I have facts that prove them incorrect! Butter is good for you and you should enjoy it with your meals and cook with it! Butter has been unfairly demonized as fattening and bad for cholesterol, however there are actually several reasons why butter is good for you, but today we're going to focus on just one. Butyric Acid. In fact Butyric acid gets its name from the Latin word for butter, "butyrum."

Butyric acid is a short chain fatty acid that is extremely important for colon health. In fact, it is believed to help prevent one of the most widespread forms of cancer, colon cancer. It is found primarily in butter, but also, Parmesan cheese, and Kombucha tea.

Butyric acid provides a primary food source for cells in the lining of the colon called colonocytes. The lining of the colon that these cells maintain is important not only for our health, but also in preventing inflammatory bowel disease, other digestion problems, and potentially colon cancer. Butyric acid oral supplements and enemas are also used in the treatment for Crohn's disease. Researchers have found that Butyric acid can prevent the spread of cancerous colonocyte cells. More research is needed, but this is important in regards to treating and preventing the third most common form of cancer in the U.S. Over 100,00 people are diagnosed with Colon cancer annually, but because of lack of screening and the fact that the symptoms of colon cancer are relatively mild, even more cases go undiagnosed until it is too late.

Butter is often maligned due to its fat content and the misguided notion that it and other fatty foods can increase cholesterol. This is false, and dietary cholesterol has little if any effect on blood cholesterol. Blood cholesterol levels are more closely associated with sugar intake than dietary fat intake. However, butter is typically 3%-5% Butyric acid. This makes it our richest source of Butyric acid! One of the benefits of eating a diet high in fiber is that while soluble fiber isn't digested by the body, in the large intestine, there are bacteria that allow it to ferment, and, like Kombucha tea, form Butyric acid. During this process, Low Density Lipo-Protein is formed. This is LDL otherwise known as the "good cholesterol." Therefore, the notion that the medical community tell people with high cholesterol and/or heart disease to avoid a food like butter is suspicious. Do they make that recommendation based on data that demonstrates butter is unhealthy, or based on silly dogma? I have to conclude the latter.

Yet another benefit of Butyric acid is that it fights inflammation. I've discussed inflammation in past posts and how it plays a hand in virtually every disease that afflicts mankind. Hippocrates said that all disease starts in the gut. This is not far from the truth. Butyric acid helps to maintain an optimally healthy gut and therefore reduces inflammation which is associated with insulin resistance and type II diabetes, all forms of cancer, heart disease and obesity.

So, when cooking vegetables, meat, eggs, or virtually anything else, don't be afraid to add some butter! It enhances the flavor of almost anything and now you can honestly admit that it has very healthy benefits!