The Workout of the Day is a new feature where I’ll post a new workout for you to try 3-5 days a week. Since not everybody lives in Portland and has access to me training them in person, this is the next best thing. It isn’t Ideal, and if you can find yourself a local trainer that knows their stuff (not as easy as it sounds), then I still recommend that you go that route. A Trainer, in person, can correct flaws in your technique, listen to your concerns, modify a routine based on your own personal needs and history, etc. But, in lieu of that, these workouts can help you go in the right direction.
You don’t need to do them on the days they are posted, but doing them in the right order is not a bad Idea. So if I post 3 workouts in a week on Mon, Wed, Fri. Then you could do those same workouts on Tues, Thurs, Sat, respectively.
First thing’s first: The warm up. I’m not going to go too far into it here, but suffice it to say, that warming up is absolutely essential. For more on specific warm ups, see my post, “Don’t Forget The Warm-Up: A Few Techniques“.
We might as well just dive right in (I’ll have a bit about terminology at the end of the post).
Workout of the Day (WOD), Monday, April 23st
Warm up
A1: Front Squats: 3×12
A2: Pull Ups: 3×12 (if you can’t do pull ups, do either pull downs, or use a Pull Up assist machine.)
B1: Step ups: 3×12
B2: Push ups: 3×12 (Start with Wall push-ups, then once you get better, you can do these from the floor. If you’re really good at push ups, do clap push ups, or put your hands on Medicine balls, etc)
C1: Dumbbell Swing: 3×12
C2: Ab Roller: 3×12
A Key to Terminology:
When I write A1, A2 that means that you treat everything in the A-set as a superset. Unless I say otherwise, I’ll always mean you should do one set of one exercise, then rest for 30-60 sec’s, then do an exercise of the next exercise in the A-category, then do the second set of the the first, etc. Once you’ve done all the A-sets, then you move on to the B’s, then the C’s.
Between the A, B, and C categories you should rest about 3 min’s. That means that the entire workout won’t take all that long at all. But, it will be VERY hard. By the time you get to the ab rollers, you’ll be panting like a dog.
A disturbing trend has taken hold in the South. With rising Obesity rates, Diabetes, hypertension, and a lack of access to doctors and medical care, Child Mortality rates are rising.
For most people, having a trainer for both exercise and Nutrition coaching can make a world of difference.
A bit of Tai Chi can go a long way in relieving the symptoms of Shingles, says new research.
Shingles is a Neurological disease brought on by the chicken pox virus. And is very painful, often showing itself in people over the age of 50.
In a study paid for by the National Institutes of Health, researchers took 112 volunteers ages 59 to 86 and split them into two groups. One was given 40-minute tai chi lessons three times a week for 16 weeks. The other was given health-counseling classes.
The researchers, led by Dr. Michael R. Irwin of the University of California, Los Angeles, found that the people who did tai chi improved their immunity to varicella-zoster. They also found that when the volunteers were vaccinated later against the virus, the tai chi practitioners had a better response to the vaccine. The study appears in the current issue of The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
A doctor answers questions about Heart Disease.
Green tea contains a substance called EGCG. We’ve all become familiar with it as a diet aid, one that really does help. It also has cancer fighting properties. But, now there is evidence that EGCG may decrease the production of a hormone called Beta-Amyloid Protein that is responsible for the brain plaque accumulation at the heart of the disease.
But make sure you are not only drinking green tea, but are taking a dedicated green tea supplement.
The Florida team showed that other flavonoids in green tea actually block EGCG’s ability to prevent the harmful build up of beta-amyloid.
Those flavanoids are very important, and you should be taking them in though the tea itself. But, I advise people to take an EGCG supplement at a separate time of the day to make sure there is no conflict.
More good news for tea lovers:
The US research compared the tea-drinking habits of 1,400 people with skin cancer and 700 who had not developed the disease.
The study, in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention, suggests chemicals in tea could have a protective effect.
Researchers at Columbia University found a link between Bacon and other cured meats and incidences of Lung Disease.
Dr Rui Jiang, leading the research, said high levels of nitrites are used in cured meats such as bacon as preservatives, anti-bacterial agents and colour fixatives.
He said reactive nitrogen species, molecules that can damage body tissues, might be the key.
He said: “Nitrites generate reactive nitrogen species that may cause damage to the lungs, producing structural changes resembling emphysema.”
A new episode of the The Fitcast has guests John Berardi and Dave Tate. Dave Tate, a Champion Powerlifter who’s bad eating habbits nearly cost him his life, worked with John Berardi to not only lose weight, but to become a healthier individual.
Here’s a video about a type of heart disease called Angina. If you have chest pains during exercise, then you should see a doctor about the possibility of having Angina.
GEORGE A. BELLER, MD, MACC: The signs and symptoms of angina are very straightforward. The patient experiences a feeling of pain or pressure, particularly with exertion, that is localized predominantly in the center of the chest, behind the breastbone. And it’s feeling of a diffuse nature, and it can move up into the neck and jaw and down either arm. But some people can experience it only up in the throat or jaw, and some will experience it way down, almost at the top of the stomach. But it typically occurs with physical activity, and then is relieved by rest.
