Here’s Mike Roussell on why you should be very carefull when you buy protein bars. Not all are created equal. In fact some are just worthless (eg. Power bars, etc) and are no better than a candy bar.

Money Quote:

The first ingredient was a protein blend but the next three ingredients were corn syrup, brown rice syrup, and high fructose corn syrup. The bar had 51 grams of carbs, 25 of which came from sugar. Oh yeah it also contained partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Total crap.

The moral of the story is that reading labels is important. Just because a protein bar is called a “protein bar” doesn’t make it good for you. Odds are, it isn’t.

No time? No Problem.

I often hear people complaining to me that the reason they never workout is because they have no time.  Well, now you have no excuse.

This isn’t exactly easy, but if you follow this plan for 6 weeks, and you’ll look better, you’ll be leaner, and you’ll be whole lot healthier.

The Plan:

You’ve got 2 Weight training workouts:  an “A” day, and a “B” day.

And will do these workouts 3 days a week, alternating the workouts back and forth on NON-consecutive days (like Mon, Wed, Fri).  So week 1, you’ll do A-B-A, then week 2 you’ll do B-A-B, etc.

On the 2 days inbetween your workouts you’ll do 15 min’s of interval training.

Here’s the weight training:

A-day

a1:  Front squats: (or Goblet Squats)  15 reps

rest 10 sec

a2:  chin-ups(or lat pulldowns):  15 reps

rest 10 sec

a3:  push-ups (or wall/knee push-ups):  15 reps

rest 10 sec

REPEAT for a total of 3 rounds.    If you can get all the reps, then go up in weight next time, if not, stay at the same weight until you can get ALL the reps in the desired time.

This should take a TOTAL of 5 min’s or so.

B-Day 

 a1:  Sumo Deadlift:  15 reps

rest 10 sec

a2:  Dips/or bench dips:  15 reps

rest 10 sec

a3:  Dumbell Swings:  15 reps

rest 10 sec

Repeat for a total of 3 rounds.

TIP:  start with REALLY light weights on these.  I know that 5 min’s of exercise seems like a cake walk, but it isn’t.  Only resting 10 seconds is brutal.

Many women can start the front squats with NO weight at first and be just fine.  Then use a light dumbell and do Goblet Squats (the video shows them at the beginning).

For the Sumo deads you can start with a light dumbbell, then move up to the bar when you can.

Don’t push the weight unless you really can.  The point is to get the reps, and don’t rest too long.

Do this program, doing each workout 4 to 6 times, then switch to something else.

A study that appeared in the July issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, said:

Overweight or obese adolescents may lower their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by doing strength training exercises at least twice a week, a recent study showed. The study was conducted by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC). 

And

The results showed that 91 percent of the study participants considerably improved their insulin sensitivity. Although there was no change in the boys’ total body fat mass, their percentages of body fat significantly decreased and lean muscle mass increased.

“This shows that lifting weights is a good form of exercise that overweight teens can excel at and benefit from. Whether they lose weight or not is not important—they still benefit by increasing muscle mass,” Dr. Michael Goran, the study’s leader and USC professor of preventive medicine, said in a press release.

Here’s a rockin recipe for a Mango and Chicken Stir Fry, from Food Network chef Ming Tsai.

INGREDIENTS

● 2 pounds boneless, skinless
chicken thighs, cut into
1-inch pieces
● 1 tablespoon sesame oil
● 1 tablespoon cornstarch
● 1 tablespoon naturally
brewed soy sauce
● 1 pound snap peas,
blanched in salted water,
refreshed in ice water
and drained
● 2 cups Spicy Mango Salsa*
½ cup reserved for garnish
● 4 cups cooked white rice

1 In a large bowl, mix chicken with sesame oil, cornstarch
and naturally brewed soy sauce and let stand for 10 minutes.
2 Heat a wok or heavy saute pan over high heat. Add oil,
add chicken and stir-fry until just cooked through, about
6-8 minutes.

3 Add snap peas and Spicy Mango Salsa. Season with salt
and pepper and check for fl avor.

4 Servings with white rice.

A Meta-Analysis has shown that:

High levels of vitamin D can significantly reduce the relative risks of breast and colorectal cancer

PBS just had a great program on Heart disease, that ended in a round table with Larry King. King had a heart attack and bypass surgery in 1987.

More Women die of Heart Disease than all cancers combined.  It is a HUGE deal.

A new Study, showed a corrolation between Sleep and Obesity in Children.  Those kids that slept more, had lower BMI’s.

“Literature suggests that with restricted sleep comes changes in certain hormones that could alter intake of food,” said Dr. Robert Vorona, a sleep specialist and an associate professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va. “Leptin (which decreases food intake) and ghrelin (which increases food intake) are respectively reduced and increased by lack of sleep.”

“I expect as Philadelphia’s food-service establishments replace artificial trans fat with currently available heart-healthy alternatives, the result could be as much as a 6 percent reduction in coronary heart disease events in our community,” Councilman Juan Ramos, who sponsored the ban, said in the Philadelphia Inquirer.–From Science Daily

I recently posted on the effects of Grape juice vs. Wine and their effects on Cardiovascular disease.  But, as Mike Roussel points out on his blog, the article I sited was misleading.  While the study certainly bought up some interesting possibilities, it was clearly not saying that Grape juice could give the same benifits as red wine.

But, don’t delude yourself into believing that Wine is the answer to your heart problems.

According to BBC News, there’s a new study stating that lack of sleep means NO new brain cells … bad, very bad.