From Science Daily:

The active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies.

“The beauty of this study is that we are showing that a substance of abuse, if used prudently, may offer a new road to therapy against lung cancer,” said Anju Preet, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Experimental Medicine.

As an important side note, the THC was injected, not smoked.

From Science Daily:

A molecule designed by a Purdue University researcher could lead to the first drug treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

“This is the most exciting target today for Alzheimer’s disease intervention,” said Tang, who holds the J.G. Puterbaugh Chair in Medical Research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. “These interactions happen at a very early stage in the disease, and if we could block them, we could prevent many of the harmful steps that follow and drastically reduce the impact. In our most recent tests, a single dose of the designed compound reduced the beta-amyloid level by 30 percent.”

Warming up in the Gym is essential. We could all agree on that. But, not everyone does a very good job of it. And the reason may simply be, that warming up is not as easy as all that.

There are a few key reasons I (or any trainer for that matter) want’s people to warm up. The First is to do what the name implies, warm up the body, or raise the body temperature. Studies show that a raised temperature in the body is preventative of injury.

The second reason, related to the first, is that we want to warm up the specific joints and muscles that we will be working that day.

And the third is more about performance. We need to practice the skills we are about to perform so that we can remind our bodies how to do the movements (this is especially the case with complex lifts like the Olympic Lifts).

So to make this easy, I’m going to lay out a couple of my favorite warm ups for you, and you can just copy them exactly, or slightly modify them to suit your own needs. I’ll start simple and work my way up.

1. The Saij-1-Basic Warm Up. This is the warm up I start everyone with. It’s based on Dan John’s Concept, “Make the warm up the workout.

A1. Back Extensions

A2. OHSquats (start with a stick or PVC pipe and move up from there, but don’t go over 10k/20lbs or so. This is a warm up after all.)

A3. Push ups (You can start with Wall push-ups, then move slowly until you can do them from the floor. If you’re really good at them, do them with your hands on a swiss ball, or medicine balls).

A4. Pull ups (you can do these assisted, or even just do pull downs)

Reps: To 3 sets of 8-12 reps. NO REST between sets. Don’t kill yourself, but

2. Saij-2 Warm up. This one is like the first, but with different exercises. It’s good to switch them up sometimes.

A1. Step ups: 8 each leg, 6 each leg, 4 each leg–No rest

B1. Stiff-Leg Deadlifts

B2. Muscle snatch

B3. Press Behind the Neck

(reps for B-complex: 3×8,6,4 of each, no rest between exercises, all using the same bar–keep it very light)

3. The Burgener Warm Up. I stole this one from Coach Mike Burgener. It’s one he trains his lifters with, and the one he taught me. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and since film runs at about 32 frames a sec (or so), then that’s 32,000 words per second if I show you a video. So, here’s Coach B’s Daughter performing the Burgener Warm-up

He basically has you doing a few hang pulls, then muscle snatch, then snatch drops, then power snatches. I use this one a lot. But, if you aren’t familiar with the Olympic Moves, then it can be tricky.

After any warm up is a good time to stretch. This is not a post on Stretching, but I think it’s important to at least mention that it’s a good idea to stretch your glutes, calves, quads, hamstrings, and shoulders well.

So, there you have it. These are 3 great warm ups that I have people using all the time, that really seem to improve performance, and cut down on injuries. As Mark Rippetoe once said, “If you don’t have time to warm up, then you don’t have time to work-out.”

Qigong is an ancient Eastern practice similar to Yoga. And, it can be a good complement to an exercise training routine.

From the NYTimes:

“The realm of working out has shifted from people just wanting to build bulk and lean, toned muscles to them understanding that the inner health of the body is just as important as the outer health,” said Bernard Shannon, a medical qigong therapist who works one on one with clients and sits on the board of the National Qigong Association, a trade group.

Fitness and well being can only be achieved when a person takes as good a care of their mind as they do of their body.

Qigong (pronounched CHEE-kong) is a term that includes a whole range of practice, from simple “healing” (questionable) techniques to Tai-Chi (fantastic). It is less commercialised, so far, than Yoga, and doesn’t include the excessive back extensions and other moves that I find to be unacceptable in Yoga practice (for safety reasons, and long term lower back health).

What I would NOT want anyone to do is to think that Qigong, Tai-Chi, or Yoga (not even Power Yoga) are a substitute for the Gym. They aren’t. They are totally different. Both important, but different. You wouldn’t think you could turn in a paper about Shakespeare to your Math Instructor, would you? It wouldn’t work. You’d fail out of school.

Remember that life is about balance. So, do some kind of Mindfulness practice, whether it’s Yoga, Tai-Chi, some other kind of Qigong, or simply Meditation or learning to breath properly. And make sure you’re getting to the Gym. Balance the two and you will be rewarded. Focus on only one, and you will chase your tail.

PBS has a show on tonight (at least in my area) called, “Fat, What No one is Telling you.”  I haven’t watched it yet, but I’m going to.

D.T. Suzuki is, for the west, the best ambasidor of Zen Buddhism to have come around. Zen is an elusive faith, that has great implications for those who are trying to reduce their own stress levels. PBS has a page on him, and his thoughts on Faith, God, and the meaning of Life.

Loprinzi’s Gym (the Gym I Train at) is faced with quite the challenge. A Golds gym is set to open up just a few blocks away, and the fate of this little neighborhood spot may not be so fantastic.

Here’s an article about the conflict in the Oregonian

And a Video about the gym, from OregonLive.com

The outlook may not be so dire. But, it is indicative of the kind of corporate take over of small businesses that has been the story of the previous 50 years or more. We are a large corporate nation, where Starbucks is ubiquitous, and McDonald’s even more so.

I don’t have a problem, per se, with Golds Gym being there. My gut instinct is that Loprinzi’s will likely survive. But, it’s the Golds mentality of Sales over Substance that I object to. I don’t want to see my neighbors going there and not seeing the results they want, because the gym they belong to sees them not as people, but as walking wallets.

There are fewer and fewer good places to train anymore. And that’s sad to a nostalgic guy like me, who can’t imagine training anywhere where they don’t allow chalk, and dropping weights is forbidden.

But, I have to say, at least if Golds means some people who wouldn’t do any exercise at all, get up and start moving … then I guess I’ll begrudgingly be all for it.

Ricky Williams is on permanent suspension from the NFL because he used Pot as a pain killer to help him get through games.  NFL players often need to be medicated to make it through their games, as the injuries of the past are constantly haunting them.  But, apparently there is a deep double standard when it comes to WHICH drugs the NFL will let you use.

It is regular practice for an NFL player to receive mega-high doses of drugs of the legal variety, drugs that sometimes come with mega-high risks of side effects.  But, if you take Pot … You’re out.

The NFL is like the rest of America … Totally hypocritical. Alcohol and Legal drugs are FAR worse for your body physiologically than pot. In fact, according to most studies, pot is among the safest drugs available (especially when ingested rather than smoked). But, because our nations’ puritanical streak doesn’t allow us to see facts as they are, we are forced to live in a world where the emotions of the mob dictate our laws, and by extension, our lives.

For an interesting look at the Myths commonly associated with Marijuana, click Here

This is a tough one, but if your swamped for time, and need a quick whole body workout, it fits the bill.

Stand with the bar on your back and squat down.  Then Press the Bar up while remaining in the full squat position.  You’ll feel your thighs burning, and your back struggling to stay upright.  Check out the Video on Crossfit.

Try this as a quick workout:

Superset:

Scotts Press

Chin ups

-5 rounds in decending reps:  15, 12, 10, 8, 6

Take only 30 sec’s rest between sets.

I’ve always thought that people who tanned all the time where junkies.  Now there’s proof.