What would you do to find out what percent of your body is fat?  Archimedes came up with a pretty infallible test.  Most of the rest are proxies, pretenders at best.  I here examine, for some, the worthless BMI measure and what the military has to say on the matter. Check out the equations, BMI widget and charts.

OVER THE last two days, I’ve been obsessed with measuring fat.

Not how much fat is in a particular food whispering to me.  Not how much covers my own real estate, nicely spread out, I might add.  But how much – measured as a percent of body mass – is in, and on, every body.

This is a long story, and over time I’ll get it out on this blog in sufficient detail to make you batty, but suffice to say for today:

I want to find a way to quickly, easily and accurately measure body fat!

What’s led me to this quest is part of that aforementioned long story; this part:

As I’ve gotten older, this boomer body that once was the high temple of athleticism has over the years, very slowly, certainly imperceptibly month-to-month, gotten fatter.

About 15 years ago, my perennial 34” waist sized pants inched up to size 36.  Now big deal, because you know what?  My upper body got a bit larger too.  So the whole package looked about the same.  Same proportions.

Yes, the resistance training (aka weight lifting) kept the muscle going and the muscle kept the fat from sagging, but you know what?

It’s been dawning on me that if I take off my shirt and peer bare-chested at the mirror, it seems like some cruel artist took a thick paint brush dripping with fat and layered it on sufficient for me to more resemble the Pillsbury dough boy than ever before.

(Ahh, well, I did have that one pre-teen year when my father was stationed in Ethiopia that I was miserable, and – apparently – ate myself into to a so-called “husky” pant’s size.)

There are reasons for this beyond my own fault.

Really?

Yes, it’s not my fault that as I got older certain aspects of my socialization shifted, like from charging up Mt. Tamalpais on mountain bikes with my buddies to swirling some red wine around a glass to see what kind of “legs” it presented.

And it’s not my fault that as I got older certain aspects of my biology shifted around a bit, producing relatively more estradiol than testosterone than before.

Certainly, it’s not my fault that I actually got older.  Can’t beat that, can you?

(Actually, can surely slow it down, as chronology does not equal biology, but exploring that is for another post.)

“Just how fat are you now, Joe?”, I asked the plump figure in the mirror.

Right behind me against the wall, I have something that should be able to tell me, a Tanita BC534 Glass InnerScan Body Composition Monitor.  This means a scale that can suggest what percent of your body is fat.

It looks like this:

In the sentence above, I carefully selected the word “suggest” when describing what Tanita and every other scale does that attempts to measure body fat by a technique called Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis.

You push a button, step on the scale and an unfelt, harmless electrical current passes through your body with greater impedance in the lower water containing tissue, such as fat, than fat-free mass which contains more water. This difference is measured and out pops a reading of your body fat percentage.

The Interpretation of that electrical resistance is, in part, left to certain formulas, and they cannot account for shifting variables.

These variables include age, gender, ethnicity, body size, fitness level and how much water you’ve been drinking.  (It’s probably not enough water and that will make the scale suggest that you’re fatter than you are.  Or not.)

What it all boils down to is that you can not be certain that the egregiously high percent body fat number that gets displayed on the scale’s LCD panel after the electricity gently pervades your body is the right number.

And that’s a relief because when you see that truly big number pop up and your heart starts racing, you’ll soon remind yourself that it might just be wrong, that you might not be quite that fat.

“These damn scales just ain’t accurate!”, you’ll mutter to yourself, because no way you’re going to let anyone else near you and that scale.

And you’re right, gentle reader, but – unfortunately – they’re pretty close.

Lordy Be, I’ve Got Cognitive Dissonance

So, I know what the Tanita will tell me and I’ve been slow to accept it.  “I simply can’t be that fat”, I sputter.

Although that image in the mirror might have shades of P. Boy… after a good weight lifting session, a roll in some olive oil, dimmed lights and some squinting — why, there’s my former lean mean muscle machine self peering back at me.

The psychologists call this “cognitive dissonance”.

I’ll give you the link, but this is worthy of copying the definition here cause it underscores my point (which assumes I know where all of this is going, but I don’t… not yet…), and that is:

“Cognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting cognitions (e.g., ideas, beliefs, values, emotional reactions) simultaneously. In a state of dissonance, people may feel surprise, dread, guilt, anger, or embarrassment”

Surprise… check.

Guilt… nay

Anger… nay

Embarrassment… a bit, after all, I’m a health blogger!

Now, truth be told, if I’m willing to believe Tanita, she suggests I’m only about 10 pounds overweight, depending what is the right percent body fat for me.

Which leads me a step closer to the whole point of this post:

What Percent Fat is Too Fat?

There are two answers to this question – yours and scientists.

The scientists give us charts, like this one (click to enlarge):

And you give yourself your own acceptable level, the athlete’s being lower than the couch surfer’s.

A quick scan of the above chart will show that it’s OK from a health perspective to be relatively fatter as you age, but that such healthy fat levels are quite a bit lower than those associated with being overweight and obese.

If my readers’ bodies have the overall fat distribution of the U.S. population, there’s a 6- in-10 chance that you are in the yellow or orange section of the chart, and a 3-in-10 chance you’re orange.

And yet, I bet that you really don’t know what color you are, speaking contextually.

And, I bet that if you could turn around and grab your Tanita sitting against the wall of your bathroom, push the button, stand on it, peer down at that insulting number which races your heart, you too wouldn’t believe it.

And the fact that you might be justified in not believing it is why for over the last two days I’ve been obsessed with measuring fat.

You and I — we just want another opinion.

BMI Nonsense, and The Search for the Perfect Fat Measuring Algorithm

“BMI” stands for “Body Mass Index”, and is a proxy for human body fat based on an individual’s weight and height. Unfortunately, BMI doesn’t actually measure the percentage of body fat; rather, it’s a simple numeric measure of a person’s “thickness” or “thinness” relative to an average distribution of people (adults) in the population.

A BMI of 18.5 to 25 may indicate optimal weight; a BMI lower than 18.5 suggests the person is underweight while a number above 25 may indicate the person is overweight; a person may have a BMI below 18.5 due to disease; a number above 30 suggests the person is obese (over 40, morbidly obese).

Here’s the chart (click to enlarge):

Here’s the formulas:

English BMI Formula BMI = (Weight in Pounds / (Height in inches x Height in inches) ) x 703
Metric BMI Formula BMI = (Weight in Kilograms / (Height in Meters x Height in Meters ) )

For your convenience, here’s a widget to calculate your BMI:

The odds are that your BMI fairly represents where you sit on the chart relative to the rest of the population.  But if you’re particularly short, or tall or muscular, or an athlete (weekend warriors are disqualified), then the BMI results for you are phooey.

BMI simply does not account for non-average muscle size, density or frame size.

I’m large framed, tall and lift weights regularly.  I wonder what BMI would say about me?

I popped my numbers into the BMI widget:

Which brings me back to my “cognitive dissonance”, for as you can see, with a BMI of 25.8, I’m considered overweight.

Overweight on the above Body Fat Ranges chart (OK, they call it “Overfat”) would put me at around 23% body fat.

Even Tanita isn’t that cruel!

I want another approach.  Enter stage right, the Navy and Air force (and others) to the rescue.

The Navy, Air Force and Whatever Algorithms

Let’s cut to the chase – these fine institutions recognize that BMI ain’t where it’s at, that there needs to be some way to factor in density, muscle and frame size.

The Navy, Air Force and others came up with proxies – decent representations – for density, muscle, fat and frame sized based upon thousands of data points that show a strong relationship between certain physical parts and these attributes.

They are, depending on the test: wrist size (proxy for frame size), neck size (proxy for muscle) and belly size (proxy for fat).

Here are some examples of the equations:

males: % body fat = 86.010 x log10(abdomen – neck) – 70.041 x log10(height) + 36.76

females: % body fat = 163.205 x log10(waist + hip – neck) – 97.684 x log10(height) – 78.387

The bad news is that I don’t have a handy widget for this to present you so you can calculate your own body fat via this method.

The good news is that you can use these formulas in Excel, plug in your numbers and get your results.

I did.

My result was 19% body fat… lower than what BMI suggests and Tanita whispers, but leaving me stuck in my cognitive dissonance nonetheless.

So, I’m going to stay obsessed with this… in fact, I’m seeking to come up with my own simple and accurate body percent fat calculation method… till I get what I want to hear… err, I mean, till I get it right.

Have you any thoughts on this matter? 

If so, please submit them in the Comments section below.

Extreme Makeover’s trainer Chris Powell inspires people to lose hundreds of pounds through his “FITT” exercise program. Here, I present a woman who shed 130 pounds (and counting) by following Powell and FITT.

IT SEEMS to me that there’s a perfectly good reason why people get so confused about which diet or exercise routine is best for them.

You read or watch some presentation of a certain group of foods you could eat (and not eat), or a particular exercise regime you could huff and puff over, and you wonder if it will work for you.

Yes, of course, you’ve noted that such and such has worked for Jane and John Doe, and perhaps thousands of others; nonetheless, you wonder…

“Will it work for me?”

“Is it worth trying?”

It could be that this doubt and hesitation is an excuse to stay mired in whatever you’re doing (or not doing) that’s not working for you.  Or it could be a legitimate question that you need to answer in the affirmative in order to compel yourself to change.

Cause change is hard.  Entropy makes it so.

Unless you have a shrink or a really good companion you can’t bluff, only you can determine if you’re excuse making or legitimately confused when presented with a seemingly perfectly good scheme to change behavior.

It makes sense if you’re confused.

We’re all different.  You know that.  And so you know that because, basically, few people are just like you… the same age, gender, fitness level, lean body mass, health conditions, psychology, access to certain foods and equipment, etc… that this diet and/or exercise routine you’re considering may be great for Ms. Doe, but not for you.

I guess it would be really helpful if some definitive study was done that could conclusively typecast, say, 20 different sets of people, each set comprised of the same attributes.  Then the ideal diet and exercise routine could be prescribed for each of the 20 sets.

Well, to my knowledge, this has yet to be created.  Which means, you’re left to taking a deep breath and plowing into the information swamp, hoping to get clear about what’s best for you.

Which (somehow) brings me to “choose to lose” Chris Powell’s “FITT” concept.

Chris Powell is a fitness trainer on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition.  In a recent post on Yahoo/ABC News, a woman named Dana Atkins, who was inspired by Mr. Powell to exercise and diet, was profiled.

The title of the post shouts: “Inspired by Chris Powell, Woman Loses 130 Lbs”.

I have a couple of family members who have struggled with weight, which has made me sympathetic to the plight of those who carry large amounts of excess poundage on their frames every second of every day.

Over the years, I’ve watched how my relatives compensate for this extra load: moving slowly, seldom; sweating over small exertions; needing to concentrate and commit their will to stand up off the couch.

So, when I read about how someone well over 100 pounds overweight was inspired to finally do something about it, I’m curious.

Dana Atkins lost 130 pounds by learning what she could do from watching Chris Powell and then doing it.

Inspired by Chris Powell, Dana Atkins Loses 130 Lbs

A lot of overweight people watch Extreme Makeover.  But few lose weight by taking what they learn by watching it, and then applying it.  As I know from some recalcitrant, perennial issues in my own life, identifying a problem and knowing the solution is very different than actually executing the solution.

The “Just Do It” Thing

As you’re probably aware from dealing with your own stuff, the bottom-line issue is often not what you don’t know that keeps you from achieving what you want.  Instead, it’s what you know that you don’t do that hold you back.

Dana Atkins was probably obese her whole adult life.  Now 36 years old, something clicked that enabled her to finally do something about it, to execute what she already knew.

A friend of mine likes to paraphrase William Blake, who said something like:

“Execution is the chariot of genius.”

For Ms. Atkins, that chariot finally arrived one day as she was watching Extreme Makeover. She said this to Chris Powell:

“I was watching your show one day, and I thought, ‘if these people can do it, so can I.’ And so I thank you. You have no idea how much you inspired me.”

Dana Atkins went to the gym five days a week, cut and counted calories using an app called Lose It, began eating breakfast every day, and not eating carbs after 5:00 PM.

We all need inspiration, something to help us push through the tough times.  For Dana Atkins that was Chris Powell’s voice and image.  When her energy would begin to crash, she’d imagine Mr. Powell beside her, urging her on.

She began her road to fitness at 380 pounds, a weight that would keep most people firmly affixed to the couch instead of struggling on a stationary bike.  But as one day follows the next, Atkins persevered and went from 380 pounds to 253 and a size 30 to 18.

By her own measure, she has a long way to go, but is confidant that by consistently applying Chris Powell’s tips, she’ll reach her destination.

Dana Atkins Uses Chris Powell’s Workout Tips – The FITT Concept

Mr. Powell promotes the FITT concept, one that recognizes that in order to become fit, your body needs to be challenged with workouts that get progressively harder to do.

Initially on the weight loss journey, fat commonly comes off quickly in response to diet and exercise.  This is because our physical systems (cardiovascular, muscular, respiratory, etc) are extremely inefficient.  Being inefficient, our bodies require more calories in the beginning of a new health regime than later on when it adjusts to the new tasks performed.

If you do not increase the exercise workload, your body will get too efficient and comfortable doing it. Over time, that 15-pound dumbbell you once struggled to heave over your head 10 times can now be done easily.

So, now the trick is to not let your body adapt to the exercise.  It needs to be consistently challenged. You do this in various ways that Chris Powell refers to as “FITT”.

In the following examples, he recommends that you increase one of the following FITT components every six to 10 workouts:

Frequency.  If you typically exercise three days a week, increase to four days.

Intensity.  If you typically walk at a 3.0 rate on the treadmill, increase to a 3.5.  Or if you run a mile in nine minutes, aim for 8:30.

Time. If you typically exercise for 30 minutes, increase to 35 minutes.

Type.  If you typically jog for exercise, try a different type of exercise like rowing, cycling, or boxing.

Some FITT Considerations

As I wrote at the start of this post, we’re all a bit different and respond to the same thing differently.  With this in mind, I’d like to add some considerations to how you may apply FITT to your exercise routine.

All of FITT’s four components – Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type are interrelated, often inversely.  For instance, the greater the Frequency of the same set of exercises, the less the Intensity can be.  This is because most of us need more time to recover from an exercise done intensely than casually.

If, then, you decide to increase all four components of an exercise routine simultaneously, you’re likely to find that can’t maintain the regimen.  After all, in this example you’ve increased Frequency and Intensity and Time, and have also introduced a new exercise Type for which you’re not yet conditioned.

You’re in trouble.

Again, without knowing your unique attributes, and specifically what your exercise routine is, it’s hard to suggest exactly how to progress as your body gets conditioned to your current exercise regime.

That leaves you.  You need to experiment.  If you increase Intensity, at first you may have to maintain your current Time and/or Frequency, or even reduce it a bit until your body is ready.  Or if you increase Frequency or Time, you may need to continue on with your current Intensity level for awhile.

The bottom line: Don’t let the uncertainty of a new system of doing something – diet, exercise or something else – keep you from trying it.  A mentor of mine likes to say:

“A human being’s purpose is to make known the unknown.”

So, if some new diet or exercise routine makes sense, is touted by someone you trust, and others are achieving their dreams… try it, and make the adjustments you need along the way. Beats sitting on the couch.

Related posts:

1. Weighing the Evidence on Exercise and Diet to Lose Weight
2. Lose Weight Without Dieting
3. Artifical Sweeteners Make You Fat, Neotame Makes You Sick

Gynostemma pentaphyllum, also called jiaogulan, is a powerful adaptagen-type herb.  Studies indicate it may help reverse some chronic illness and give your longevity a boost.  Listen to health advocate David Wolfe and herbalist Truth Calkins explore the benefits of Gynostemma.

Gynostemma, a Poweful Herbal Adaptagen

EVER ON the lookout for the means to help us live a long and strong life, I regularly dive into information that may lead me on my Ponce de León quest for the Fountain of Youth.

What’s become clear is that – so far – no one thing will do it; rather, living a long and strong life requires a mix of simultaneous, consistent actions, which include these six:

1.  Attitude: The “right” mindset, achieving equanimity, reducing stress.

[Resource: Inspirational Alice – Dancing Under the Gallows at 107]

2. Nutrition: Clean, non-manufactured, unadulterated, organic (preferably), superfood-based food, drink and supplements.

[Resources: Diet 101 and Superfoods Anyone?]

3. Nurtaceuticals: The common term for these are “vitamin supplements” and I break them out from “Nutrition” because, although food/drink can be the best from of bioavailable nutrition, certain nutracueticals, such as antioxidants and herbs, are often more targeted and potent.

[Resources: Dr. Hyman: 4 Supplements Reduce Healthcare Costs and Groovy Supplements.]

4. Detoxification: Cleansing the ubiquitous toxins of the modern world from our lungs, skin, kidney, liver and gastrointestinal track.

[Resources: It’s Detox Time and The Ultimate Heavy Metal Detox.]

5. Exercise: Beyond helping you be more functionally fit so you can climb stairs and lift yourself over a wall (hey, it may happen someday), exercise includes being flexible and properly aligned.

[Resources: How Exercise Slows the Aging Process and How to Boost Your Human Growth Hormone in 20 Minutes.]

6.  Socially/Emotionally Connected: The data clearly shows that people who are connected with their family and community live longer and happier lives.

[Resource: A Mega-Pastor and Three Famous Doctors Hatch “The Daniel Plan”]

So, as you can see, this longevity gig is not some casual, short term endeavor.  It takes a lifetime to live a long time.  And over time, we’re going to learn a lot, requiring constant tweaking of habits.  Almost daily, it seems, science is declaring yet another insight and/or another protocol that may help us reach a very ripe young age – young in terms of how we feel and what we can do.

Today, I want to introduce you to Gynostemma pentaphyllum, also called Jiaogulan, a herbaceous vine indigenous to southern China, northern Vietnam, southern Korea, and Japan.

Gynostemma/Jiaogulan is best known as a herbal medicine reputed to have powerful antioxidant and adaptogenic effects that are thought to increase longevity. Clinical research has indicated a number of therapeutic qualities of Gynostemma, such as lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure, strengthening immunity, and inhibiting cancer growth.

Here’s a quick look through some of the reported benefits of Gynostemma, as presented by wikipedia (check wikipedia for sources of the studies cited below), followed by an audio file interview between health advocate David Wolfe and herbalist Truth Calkins.  Their conversation may convince you to try this remarkable herb.

Antioxidant

Gynostemma/Jiaogulan has been found to increase superoxide dismutase (SOD), which is a powerful endogenous cellular antioxidant. Studies have found it increases the activities of macrophages, T lymphocytes and natural killer cells and that it acts as a tumor inhibitor.

Adaptogen

Gynostemma/Jiaogulan is known as an adaptogen, which is an herb reputed to help the body to maintain optimal homeostasis, which many scientists think is a key for longevity. Most research has been done since the 1960s when the Chinese realized that it might be an inexpensive source of adaptogenic compounds, taking pressure off of the ginseng stock.

Blood pressure

Laboratory tests demonstrate that Gynostemma/Jiaogulan stimulates the release of nitric oxide, causing blood vessels to relax, which is one mechanism by which it reduces high blood pressure. In a double-blind study, Gynostemma/Jiaogulan administered to those with Grade II hypertension showed 82% effectiveness in reducing hypertension, compared to 46% for ginseng and 93% for Indapamide (a hypertension medication).

Cholesterol reduction

Numerous clinical studies in Chinese medical literature have shown that Gynostemma/Jiaogulan lowers serum cholesterol,^[18] triglycerides, and LDL (the “bad” cholesterol) while raising HDL (“good” cholesterol) levels, with reported effectiveness rates ranging from 67% to 93%.

Diabetes

Gynostemma/Jiaogulan tea has been studied in a randomized controlled trial in type 2 diabetic patients. It may have potential as a hypoglycemic treatment to reduce blood glucose.

Now, Listen to health advocate David Wolfe and herbalist Truth Calkins explore the benefits of Gynostemma by clicking the picture below:

Listen to health advocate David Wolfe and herbalist Truth Calkins explore the benefits of Gynostemma

If you’ve used Gynostemma, let us know what you think in the Comments below.

Related posts:

1. Eating for a Long Life: WebMD’s 13 Tips
2. Three Months to Longer Life
3. Ray Kurzweil’s March to Extend Life

Watch Dr. Mercol and exercise physiologist Phil Campbell do a 20-minute exercise protocol that can stimulate your own production of HGH by 771%.  HGH levels and telomere length are indicators of life span and health.

How to boost your human growth hormone by 771% in 20 minutes

People are interested in Human Growth Hormone (“HGH”) because they’ve heard that it’s important for preserving youthful vigor, looks and strength.  HGH is on my radar because one of my main focuses in life is to live a long and strong life.

Attaining this without HGH would be an overwhelming challenge.

Just look at what happens to your body’s production of HGH over time:

Even you twenty-somethings are at the halfway mark of HGH production.  At forty, you’re producing about half as much as at twenty, or about 3.5 times less than at your peak.  The rate of decline slows after forty, but the slope is still downward.

Why Care About HGH?

There is debate about the value of stimulating the HGH levels of someone at the norm per the above chart.  WebMD has a succinct post, on the subject, which distills down to:

“It isn’t clear if human growth hormone may provide other benefits to healthy adults.”

The “other” in “other benefits” refers to an increase in muscle mass and a concurrent reduction in body fat; however, strangely, the increased muscle doesn’t seem to increase strength.

Could it be that strength wasn’t increased because WebMD’s review, like most evaluations of HGH, is based upon it being injected or introduced some other way into the human body?

That’s not what I’m writing about.

I’m reporting about stimulating more HGH naturally by your own body through doing a certain, precise type of exercise.

This is something I’ve been doing myself for about a month.

But before I get into the exercise bit and it’s affect on HGH production, a word from Dr. Mercola about HGH’s influence on health and longevity:

“Peak Fitness” promotes the production of HGH, “a synergistic, foundational biochemical underpinning that promotes muscle and effectively burns excessive fat. It also plays an important part in promoting overall health and longevity.”

“If you’re over the age of 30, especially if you lead an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, you’ve likely entered a phase known as somatopause (age-related growth hormone deficiency). As your HGH levels decrease, your levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) also decrease. This is another important part of what drives your body’s aging process.”

The Telomere Factor

The telomere story about its affect on longevity is deserving of it’s own post, or series of them, and, indeed I have written about them before and will continue to do so.

[See Three Months to Longer Life, How Exercise Slows the Aging Process and How to Live to 100.]

But I want to sneak telomeres in here because they too are favorably impacted by the exercise protocol I’m about to divulge, which is what Dr. Mercola refers to as “Peak Performance”, and what exercise physiologist Phil Campbell calls “Sprint 8”.

Telomeres are found at the ends of chromosomes.  Their length foretell life span. They shorten as cells divide.  The shorter they are, the closer you are to meeting your maker.

Back to Dr. Mercola, who says:

“Interestingly enough, telomere length is also modulated by the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor system, which confirms the beneficial influence of high-intensity exercises on physical aging.”

Enter a Univeristy of Ohio study published in 2008, which maintains that the two interventions most consistently associated with increased lifespan in animal models are caloric restriction, and (as with HGH) the repression of the HGH/IGF-1/insulin axis:

“In humans as well as other species, a reduction in the GH/IGF-1 axis is correlated with increased percentage of total body and visceral fat, decreased muscle mass, decreased physical fitness, decreased immune function, and physiological declines in estrogen and androgen concentrations.”

“Thus, the natural declines in GH and IGF-1 that accompanies age-related degenerative processes implies that the GH/IGF-1 axis may be a causative determinant.”

So, what we have so far is the contention that HGH levels and Telomere length are both determinants of longevity and overall health, and that a certain type of exercise protocol can positively impact them.

Bust Your Ass 8

Since Phil Campbell and Dr. Mercola have their respective names for this exercise protocol that boosts HGH and telomere length, I’m going to pen one of my own:

“BYA8”, short for “Bust Your Ass 8”

Perhaps not poetic, but quite descriptive, my newly named BYA8 protocol (the same as “Peak Performance” and “Sprint 8”) has been tested to maximize the body’s own production of HGH.

This exercise protocol can boots HGH by 771% in just twenty minutes.

The name suggests the protocol, for to achieve the HGH boost you must bust your ass eight times.  And, indeed, the type of exercise you’re busting yourself over must involve your buttocks, one of our largest muscles.

How to do BYA8:

1. The Exercise Type.  Choose an anaerobic exercise such as sprinting, running up stairs, running up a hill, biking, stationary biking, an elliptical exerciser or rowing machine.  (Note that any of these will, at minimum, engage your entire quadriceps, hamstrings and buttocks  — the big muscles in the body that you need to exhaust.)

As Phil Campbell puts it:

“There are many different ways you could do Sprint 8. As long as you can get totally exhausted in 30 seconds or less. That’s the key. If you can’t go longer than 30 seconds — no matter if you’re a professional athlete or just starting — that means you’re doing it correctly. It has to be so intense that after 30 seconds, you’re just praying for those last seconds to go by … “

2. Do 8 Sets, 30 Seconds Each.  After a warm-up, do the exercise as fast/hard as you can for 30 seconds.  Then slow way down (for instance, if you’re sprinting, walk) for 90 seconds and then leap to it again for 30 seconds, and so on eight times.

3. Ingest Protein. Within 30 minutes after the BYA8 session, ingest 20 to 30 grams of protein, either a protein drink (whey is good) or food.  You will accentuate HGH production and muscle building if you minimize carbohydrates here, but accentuate recovery if you consume carbs.

BYA8 Words of Wisdom:

1. Ease Into It.  You will not be able to do 8 sets right away.  If you do, you’re probably not busting enough during the 30 seconds.  Particularly if you’re past 40 years of age or have been rather sedentary, begin slowly.  After warming up, try doing the 30 seconds at half power at first.  I’m doing four at full bust and four slower. Doing eight, even if just two sets are hard, is a good idea so that you’ll get accustomed to the protocol.

2. Rest.  Most of us will need at least two days of recovery.  For most of us, you will injure or exhaust yourself if you try to do BYA8 more frequently than every third day.

3. Eat Protein. You’ll need to eat more protein than usual to feed your muscles during the anabolic and growth phases post exercise; otherwise you won’t build sufficient muscle or recovery sufficiently to keep the program going. (Anabolic recovery begins about 45 minutes after exercise, and the growth phase kicks in thereafter till the next catabolic, muscle break-down, creating workout.)

Now, before you get all “gun ho” about this, watch the two videos below.  One is Dr. Mercola’s interview with Phil Campbell (yes it’s long).  The other is of Mr. Campbell putting Dr. Mercola through the protocol on an elliptical machine, which Campbell considers the best equipment for this ass busting.

You may also wish to read Dr Mercola’s views on HGH and exercise, a post he titled, Boosts Your Youth Hormone by 771% in Just 20 Minutes. There’s more juice on the subject there.

Finally, as mentioned, I’ve jumped into and am busting my butt with this protocol. I’ll write about my experience once I have something definitive to report.

Let us know what you think of all this in the Comments below.  Are you interested in trying it out?  If not, why do you hesitate?

Ciao for now.

Related posts:

1. How to Live to 100. Watch.
2. Five Diet and Exercise Myths that Need to Die
3. How Exercise Slows the Aging Process

Ever wonder if those “before” and “after” muscle photos are real?  Could be, but Furious Pete’s now viral, famous video, we’re shown one gimmick to make the same body look both fat and buff just five hours apart.  Watch midway down.

Furious Pete Debunks "Before" and "After" Photos

FURIOUS PETE is going viral!!

As I write this, his youtube video (below) has now been viewed more than 3,400,000 times.

Why?

Well it’s not because of his eating heroics, as Furious Pete is a record holder for various eat-a-lot eating contests. Rather, the reason this particular video of his has gone viral is because it exposes something about which we are all familiar and have wondered about:

“Are those before and after pictures real?”

You know those commercials.  Eat this, or do this, supplement with this and in x months you’ll go from looking like this (fat) to looking like this (buff).

We watch, perhaps mouth agape, and wonder if it’s possible.

What Furious Pete has done is to show how it’s possible to actually present yourself before the camera in both the “fat” and “buff” mode within five hours of each other (“before” and “after”), without having taking or doing anything a marketer could sell.

But what Mr. Pete does do has to do with doing something.  In fact, a rather specific set of something.

Take the After Photo First

Furious Pete first takes the “after” picture.  Before this picture is taken, he goes to the gym and pumps up his body via weightlifting.

He gets a tan.  He lifts more.  He sprays oil on his body.  He manipulates some lightening.  Takes the picture.  Does just a little photoshop tweaking and… viola… a buff Furious Pete in the “after” photo.

Take the Before Photo After

Next, this man who knows how to eat, eats.  He eats foods with high sugar, salt and fat content to bloat his body, particularly his stomach.  When you watch this, you might cringe as you recognize some of the food you regularly eat.

(“Martha, I just can’t figure why my belly is so bloated.”)

Without the help of engorged muscles, good lightening and that wee bit of photoshop, Furious Pete’s “before” body looks like, well, a very different body – certainly not one that is five hours behind the buff version.

This video will demonstrate the tale:

Although I was surprised by how Furious Pete was able to do this, it quickly dawned on me that people like Tim Ferris have long demonstrated how malleable the body is; how quickly influenced it can be by the things we do these often overused and overwhelmed physical units in which we have our earthly experiences.

Tim Ferris, in fact, has written a book that deals quite a bit with this concept, the idea of “hacking” your body.  In the book, The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman, Ferris shows several examples of how quickly the body can respond to various inputs, such as food, supplements and exercise.  His overarching aim is to present the most efficient pathways to have the particular result sought.

And so in the end, I’m no longer surprised by what Furious Pete was able to do.  The body is a malleable thing.

[Furious Pete’s web site is here.]

Related posts:

1. Not Building Strength or Muscle? Go Negative!
2. Why It’s Critical that You Muscle Up as You Age
3. How to get the Green Lantern’s, aka Ryan Reynolds, Buff Body

Baby boomers want to cling to any remnant of youth possible, and calorie restricted diets are a proven way to extend longevity, but very few are willing to do it.  (You’d hafta tape my mouth shut and tie my hands.) Until the age-defying pill is invented, here are five suggestions to live a longer and stronger life.

Alternatives to a caloric restricted diet for longevity

IF YOU’RE a Rhesus Monkey you have a chance to live substantially longer than your peers; that is if some scientist has caged you and is feeding you a calorie-restricted diet.

Caloric restriction – where you eat just enough of highly nutritious foods to maintain health, but not one calorie extra – has been a focal point of anti-aging research for decades, long enough to have proven its effectiveness with a creature remarkably similar to we humans, the Rhesus Monkey.

But it’s not all about monkeys.  At this point, many studies done over a period of 70 years, and with a diverse range of species, have proven that “caloric restriction remains the most effective natural intervention for increasing longevity”, says Jay Williams, Ph.D., an acclaimed physiologist, medical nutritionist, author and researcher.

Studies on Rhesus Monkeys proves calorie restrictive diets improve longevity

So, given the all time high demand for a plethora of anti-aging products, procedures and gizmos, what percent of the population do you think are on a caloric-restricted diet?

Nearly zero percent.

A quick glance around any shopping mall is not a scientific method, but it will sure enough confirm my zero percent assertion.

Despite that the baby boomer generation is clinging to their quickly vanishing youth, and are willing to spend money on anything suggesting to be an age modifier, virtually no one is substantially reducing their caloric intake for the purpose of prolonging their health and life span.

That’s because it would take a Herculean effort, and is decidedly no fun.  We’re talking a 20 to 40 percent reduction in calories.

Yes, besides longevity, there are benefits to the caloric reduction eating system, such as substantial reductions in diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, brain atrophy – and even wrinkles.

However, this is a two-sided coin.  There are issues with such a diet, such as the potential for musculoskeletal losses, insufficient calories and amino acids (protein) for exercise, adverse effects for pregnant women, and more, which you can examine at Wikipedia’s exposition on the topic.

An Alternative to Caloric Restriction

In my view, and in my life, the caloric-restriction diet does not give sufficient benefits to outweigh the risks, plus the desire to maximize the joie de vivre of my life.  Although Epicurus might judge my habits to be too merry-less, I concur with Dr. Williams’ suggestions for some eating behaviors that are safer, more enjoyable and sure to help with longevity and health.

Here are Dr. Williams’ four suggestions for a long and strong life — sprinkled, of course, with my expositions – with the addition of one of mine, number 5:

1. Don’t Overeat.  The most important factor in your daily eating habits is to ensure you never eat to, or past, the point of fullness. The long-lived Japanese on Okinawa have a term for this: Hara hachi bu! – eat until 80 percent full.  Although you may not feel full at the 80 percent mark, about twenty minutes after you put the fork down, you may be.  It takes about this amount of time for the stomach to signal the hypothalamus in the brain that no more food is required.

2. Eat Nutritionally Dense Food.  Focus on eating smaller meals with a lower caloric density and high nutrient density. Think plant-based diet, rich in vegetables and whole grains. Read my Diet 101 and 86 Year-olds Recipe for Longevity.

Eat fresh, nutrient dense foods

3. Know The Ingredients. Avoid eating meals with too many unknown ingredients. Often restaurants add excess oils and ingredients that make a seemingly healthy meal much higher in calories than you’d expect.

4. Exercise Aerobically. Aerobic exercise (the type that builds endurance) is an effective way to improve the production of certain sirtuins. Although you don’t need to be so aerobically devoted to benefit by sirtuin production, a 2010 study on marathon runners displayed a significant increase in sirtuin production post marathon.

And now to my added suggestion, number 5:

5. Exercise Anaerobically.  Anaerobic exercise (the type that builds muscle) is now known to help cells maintain their DNA during successive cell division and to amp the production of a protein that slows the aging process.  For more on this, read: How Exercise Slows the Aging Process and New Research – Muscles = Longevity.

So, What are Sirtuins?

Sirtuins are proteins that are involved with the regulation of both metabolism and stress homeostasis, and are linked to longer life spans in a range of species from yeast to mice.

Seven forms of sirtuins have been located in humans and have been identified in playing key roles in energy homeostasis in metabolic tissues that are important for longevity.

How do you make more sirtuins? You can either reduce your calories by 20 to 40 percent, or as Dr. Williams puts it:

“Maintaining a healthy energy balance of calories in and out through conscious eating and exercise not only aid in sirtuin mechanisms and metabolism maintenance, but also prevent the deterioration of physiological fitness during the process of aging including oxidative damage, inflammation and lack of protein turnover. These factors are what contribute to our disease susceptibility and our overall aging as well.”

The Bottom Line

What you eat, how much you eat, along with persistent physical activity are the most effective way to age gracefully and live longer.

Someday there may be a pill for longevity, but if you want to live to see that day, better eat better, eat less and exercise more.

Yep.

P.S.  Read more specifics about Dr. Williams views on this topic in her post: Restricting Calories to Live Longer: Does it Work?.

Related posts:

1. Longevity Tips from the World’s Oldest Man
2. New Research: Muscles = Longevity!
3. Ten Foods for Longevity

Three famous doctors and one mega-Pastor have hatched a health plan.  It’s called “The Daniel Plan” and thousands at the Saddleback Church are losing weight and just plain getting healthier.  Here’s what’s happening at The Daniel Plan.

WHAT DO you get when you create a health team with a plan devoted to educating and encouraging people to improve their health, and the players are Dr. Oz, Dr. Hyman, Dr. Amen and Pastor Rick Warren, among others?

Answer:  The Daniel Plan.

Well, unless you’re a member Pastor Rick’s Saddleback Church, that answer begs the question:

“What’s the Daniel Plan?”

Answer: A health strategy with the medical input of heart surgeon Doctor Oz, functional medicine specialist Dr. Hyman and brain health expert Dr. Amen… and the spiritual guidance and community backing of Rick Warren, Pastor of one of the largest churches in the Nation, the Saddleback Church.

You may have heard about Rick Warren from his national best seller, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?.  Rick Warren has, and continues to sell, so many copies of this book that he not only does not take a salary from the church, but also donates most of his earnings to charity.

So, I would venture to suggest, that the man’s heart is in the right place, even if I can’t bend my mind to his religiosity.

(No, I don’t really think it’s “God’s Prescription for Your Health” as one particular byline states, nor do I think anything humans can do would “glorify God” as the byline on the web site suggests.  But, right down here on earth, The Daniel Plan sure could be your prescription to improve your health!)

Why The Daniel Plan?

The reason I’m writing about the Daniel Plan is because several thousand adherents to the plan are losing weight and getting healthier.

It’s obvious that the plan’s methodology is working, and that should be no surprise given the input of those aforementioned doctors, as well as the ability of Pastor Rick to exhort his flock to follow the righteous health path.

And it’s that last point, I think, that’s the real key to success – having a “flock” and a “path”.  The flock is a group of like-minded, connected individuals who support each other along a proven path that leads to health.

This approach has a statistically higher chance of success than trying any behavior modification program by yourself and of your own construction.

The Daniel Plan embraces “The Simple Six” Core Principles:

1. CONNECT for Success – Get in touch with your health and with others!
2. RELY on God’s Power – Willpower is not enough. You need God’s power.
3. EAT Delicious Whole Foods – Imagine the Garden of Eden as your food source.
4. MOVE Your Way to Health – Get going. The more exercise, the more energy!
5. THINK Sharper and Smarter – Better brain health = better life!
6. HEAL for Life – Make a game plan for permanent changes that heal.

Given that this plan speaks to church-going folks and is animated by a church pastor, the agnostics and atheists among you might allow the Plan its principle #2.  Certainly, it can’t hurt to believe that a power greater than yours is guiding you past the fridge at midnight.

Check out the success stories, and this video full of testimonials which looks like this —->

(Suggest you allow the stream to load before playing the video otherwise it may be choppy.)

And here’s a success story about Chef Jenny Ross.

UPDATE: Dr. Hyman in the HuffPost today (1/31/12) reports the following Daniel Plan results:

“Not only were there estimated weight reductions of 250,000 pounds but also equal reductions in medication use, hospitalizations and doctors visits. And it was free.

In a survey after 10 months of the program, participants reported the following:

An average weight loss of 13.5 pounds (and 18 pounds for those who said they followed the program closely)
72 percent of those who wanted to lose weight did
53 percent reported increased energy levels
34 percent reported better sleep
27 percent improvement in blood work
20 percent reported improvement in blood pressure
11 percent reported reduction in medications
31 percent reported improvement in mood

Those who did the plan together lost twice as much weight as those who did it alone.”

There’s a rich amount of information at The Daniel Plan site.  The program is comprised of Eat, Move, Think, Heal and Connect, each with all the component parts necessary to get healthy.

For example:

Eat delves into nutrition, recipes, budgets and Superfoods.

Move gets into motivation and fitness programs for an individual and family.

Think presents the information helpful to understand behavior modification and brain health.

Heal speaks to mental health, hormones, energy, weight, skin, etc.

Connect ties in success stories, God and community.

The search function also brings up lots of information for a particular query. For instance, I searched at the site for “weight loss” and got these results:

The Daniel Plan Conquer Your Cravings
Studies show that people who maintain weight loss eat a healthy breakfast. Add
a dash of cinnamon. This fragrant spice has been found to help regulate blood …

The Daniel Plan Eating Out Rules
I’m going to order a salad to lose weight and be healthy. Because I’m … Often we fool ourselves into thinking that, “if I eat a salad, I’ll lose weight and be healthy.

The Daniel Plan – Food Groups
Calories, Hyman · Calories Count, Amen · Get Dunked · Why Most Diets Don’t Work ·

The Daniel Plan Shopping List
National Weight Control Registry · Why Most Diets Don’t Work

The Daniel Plan Vitamin Supplements
Sleep more soundly, lose weight and improve your overall health and vitality.

The Daniel Plan Recommended Foods
Calories Count, Amen · Get Dunked · National Weight Control Registry · Why Most Diets Don’t Work

The Daniel Plan – Get Your Kids Involved Early
7 Tips to Lose Weight · Calories, Hyman · Calories Count, Amen · Get Dunked · National Weight Control Registry · Why Most Diets Don’t Work

The Daniel Plan Main Dishes
Two bricks, individually wrapped in aluminum foil, make the best heavy weight for pressing …

If you’ve gotten this far without clicking over to The Daniel Plan, might as well fulfill your curiosity now.  Here’s the link.

Related posts:

1. Sugar is a Toxin, say Three Celebrity Doctors. Watch the Interviews.
2. Dr Oz and the 14-Day Reboot Diet Plan
3. The Problem with Dr. Oz’s 4-Step Butt-Blasting Plan

The Reboot Juice Cleanse, or Reboot Diet, is a popular and effective diet and/or cleanse; however, if you don’t approach it right, you will abandon it quickly as you struggle with hunger and detox headaches.  Here, I answer two common questions from Reboot beginners who struggle to get the Reboot right.

YOU MIGHT have heard by now of the “Reboot Diet”, or the “Reboot Juice Cleanse” made very popular by Australian Joe Cross’ documentary, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.

A fast recap of the film: Joe Cross is fat, sick and although not “nearly dead”, he’s on that path.  (Yes, I know we all are, but his was shorter than many.)  The good entrepreneur that he is, Joe decided to make a documentary of his approach to losing weight and getting fit.  For 60 days, he ambled across the USA while consuming nothing but vegetable-fruit juices made by his trusty Breville juicer (the same one I use).  We witness Joe getting thinner and more vital, as does a couple of inspiring people who join him on his juicing quest.

So, now web sites have sprouted on the Interwebs to promote and support the Reboot Juice Cleanse.  I myself have written about it, seeking to add my two cents about how to best go about successfully implementing this Reboot Diet.

In Fat Sick and Nearly Dead – The Reboot Plan, I introduce the documentary and suggest some improvements about how to do the Reboot Juice Cleanse.

In The Reboot Diet and the Detox Effect, I caution that diving from a meat and potatoes dietary existence into an all-juice, all-the-time diet/cleanse is a recipe for headaches, discomfort, hunger and an overall f_ _k you attitude manifested by throwing the Breville juicer out the window.

With all that as background, the reason I write this particular post is to share two comments I made to questions asked at the Join the Reboot site.  I’ll present the questions asked by two earnest, beginner juicers, and my response to each.

Two Questions, Two Answers

Jon asks:

“I am new here and took the assessment which recommended that I should use the 15 Day Reboot program. I was actually interested in shooting for the 60 day juice fast as was demonstrated in the movie ”Fat Sick and Nearly Dead”. Is there anyone currently working towards a 60 day plan here? Should I give it a shot or should I stay with what was recommended?”

My Reply:

“Jon, I’ve been cleansing and juicing off and on for 30 years, and have helped friends do the same. Given that experience, let me suggest that you first learn to add the juicing to whatever diet you now have. Over time, begin substituting fresh foods for the stuff that inhabits cabinets. Then, drop a meal, add juice. Spend a week with that. Then drop two meals, add juice. Once you’ve gotten to this point, you may be ready to sustain a long juice-only cleanse.

This process will help ensure success and also minimize the detox effect, which could upend the whole juice cleanse. Don’t know if this site will allow it, but I’ll try to copy a link to “The Reboot Diet and the Detox Effect” for more about this: http://wp.me/pA04z-MQ

If it doesn’t show up just google, “The Reboot Diet and the Detox Effect”.”

Doris asks:

“Hi I want to workout where will I get my protein”?

My Reply:

“Doris, getting protein during a cleanse is not easy… I mean enough to keep or build muscle while cleansing.

Most protein sources (meat, fish, eggs) is acidic and should be avoided during a cleanse. Unfortunately, even if you don’t do exercise that breaks down muscle tissue during a cleanse, most people lose lean muscle tissue. Of course, this is compounded if you do the sort of exercise that does tax the muscles.

As a long-time cleanser and exerciser, I’ve faced this issue many times. Sometimes I just say, “the heck with it”, and keep ingesting my whey protein in water. I still get good cleansing results. But perhaps a better solution would be to eat a vegetable-based protein, like pea protein, or hemp protein.

Whichever you do, I suggest that if you’re going to exercise during your cleanse –assuming you’re just ingesting juice — do it with less intensity. After all, an important part of cleansing is to let your body excise toxins, rest and recover.”

Now, I share these two questions because they are common questions for beginners seeking to do a juice cleanse, or substantially reduce the foods common to the American diet in favor of vegetable/fruit juices.

The Bottom Line

As with any journey, where you start on the Reboot Cleanse depends on where you are.  The further away is your regular, every day diet from an all vegetable and fruit diet — the slower must be your transition into a veggie/fruit juice diet/cleanse. Given that a cleanse demands rest, you should choose to do it when you can be less active than normal, and that includes ratcheting down the exercise intensity.

During a cleanse, you’re likely to lose both fat and muscle, so you could supplement with vegetable-based protein like pea or hemp protein.  I’ve used whey protein powder (see ), which frankly is not ideal because whey is a diary product and diary is acidic, whereas a cleanse is about getting your body more alkaline; however, I still benefited from my cleanses even while using whey.  (This is the whey product I use.)

If you’ve had any experience with juicing, how ‘bout you tell us about it in the Comments section below.

Thanks for reading!

Yep.

 
P.S. Here’s the Breville Juicer that Joe Cross and I use. Click the image and learn more about it at Amazon.com, and there you can decide if it’s the juicer for you.

Related posts:

1. The Reboot Diet and the Detox Effect
2. Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead — The Reboot Plan
3. “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead”: One Year Later, Countless Lives Changed

The data doesn’t lie. Sitting for hours each day does the body harm.  Sitting can reduce your lifespan, nullify the benefits of exercise, increase cancer risk, and other unhappy things.  Read why you have to get up and move.  Often!

Six Powerful Reasons to Sit LESS

WHAT BETTER moment to write about the dangers of sitting on your duff than when I am doing just that, along with a dozen others languorously sitting in this sunny Sausalito café?

I’m not a full-time blogger, nor am I a full-time (so-called) knowledge-worker, who typically massages his knowledge for employers while sitting.  And yet, my derrière can be often found spread out on a chair.

Former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, famously used a standing desk.  Some people use a large stability ball. (Which I do too, here and there.)

Standing actually burns substantially more calories than sitting.  The stability ball is better than a chair because muscles that support your core must subtly work to keep you balanced and properly seated (aligned) on the ball, which also burns more calories than simply sitting in a chair.

So, what are you waiting for? More data?  Well, consider these six reasons that I grabbed and will here summarize from a Huffington Post article called, Sitting: 6 New Reasons It’s Bad For Your Health.

Six Reasons to Get Up and Move!

UPDATE: Let’s add a seventh reason brought to you by physical therapist and Cross Fit guru, “Kstar” in his post and video entitled, Why Sitting Wrecks Your Mad Hip Action. As the man says: “The easiest way to get hold of your shoulder and back pain, and to improve your performance is to literally look at sitting as toxic.”

For more insights about the perils of sitting all day, go to MobilityWOD.com and search for “sitting”. You’ll learn a lot and never look at a chair in quite the same way.

Now, onto the original “Six”:

1. Sitting can diminish the benefits of exercise. Researchers from the University of Missouri published results suggesting that sitting throughout most of the day may put individuals at higher risk for diabetes, obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease — even if you clear time for daily exercise.

2. Sitting can increase the risk of death.  As HuffPost editor Amanda Chan reported, a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that women who sat six or more hours a day were nearly 40 percent more likely to die over a 13-year-stretch than those who sat less than three hours.

Men fared better… sitting for more than six hours was linked with an 18-percent higher risk of death.

3. That no-good TV.  Every hour you sit in front of the TV, you can slash your life expectancy by nearly 22 minutes.   Sound like nonsense?  Well, here’s the study from the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Do those hours add up to, say, six per day?  Well, couch potato, off your feat consistently for that long can cut your life expectancy by five years.

4. Sitting increases cancer risk. Is it ridiculous to suggest that sitting may be responsible for more than 170,000 cases of cancer yearly — with breast and colon cancers being the most influenced by rates of physical activity (and inactivity)?

Christine Friedenreich, an epidemiologist with Alberta Health Services told this to MSNBC: “For many of the most common cancers, it seems like something as simple as a brisk walk for 30 minutes a day can help reduce cancer risk.”

5. Sitting adds to butt fat. HuffPost UK reported this:

“In a bid to explain why sedentary behaviour causes weight-gain, scientists believe that the precursors to fat cells turn into flab (and end up producing more) when subjected to prolonged periods of sitting down, otherwise known as ‘mechanical stretching loads.’”

Translation and conclusion: Putting prolonged pressure on your bottom can produce up to 50% more fat on it.

6. Sitting is an independent risk factor for serious cardiovascular events. Men’s Health covered a study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, in which researchers from Louisiana found that people who sit for the majority of the day are 54 percent more likely to die of a heart attack.

Now, you may feel fine sitting all day long.  I feel fine.  But I can tell you that facts matter to me, and I’m going to make sure that I consciously get off my duff every hour, walk around, stretch, do a few squats, before spreading the glutes back over the cushion.

Amen.

Related posts:

1. 30 Reasons to Take Vitamin D — Watch
2. Knowledge Workers Beware — Sitting Could Kill You
3. Nine Reasons to Drink Green Tea (and limit coffee)

Who isn’t physically imbalanced?  Such as the left arm, or leg, is weaker than the right; or one side is stronger than the other.  Such imbalances can get worse with age.   No better time to get balanced than now.  Buddha would approve.

Get Physically Balanced; Start with your Core

I JUST answered a question posed by someone using Quora, a site that links answers to questions.  I get emailed health oriented questions from Quora, and if I have the time and can add some value, I do.

I answered one today that I’d like to share here on GoH because I think it’s a commonly experienced situation.  The questioned was:

“What is the best way to fix muscular imbalances/disproportionate muscles?”

What follows is my answer.

“This would be my approach to fix muscular imbalances.

Say I could press more weight overhead (military press) with my left arm than my right. I would do four things to balance things out:

1. I’d do various deltoids exercises with dumbbells so the stronger side didn’t contribute a disproportionate amount of work, as it might when lifting a barbell. You could try using less weight on the weaker side but doing more reps, and then more weight, fewer reps.  Mix it up.  You want to shock the weaker side to grow.

2. I would check opposing muscle groups and test their balance. Since, deltoids push, I’d look at pulling muscles, such as the lats and biceps. Make sure they’re even, left vs right, and not weak relative to pushing muscles.  If they are weak, do #1.

3. I’d completely stretch the muscles after workouts. A master of this is the physical therapist/weightlifter at the mobilitywod.com site. Search for the stretch you wish to learn and learn from a master.

4. Finally, I’d work the core. Could be uneven on the left vs right sides, and therefore doesn’t give balanced support to each side when lifting. Strength emanates out from the core to the arms and legs.  Core exercises abound all over the Internet, so look around.  Here’s a place to learn about getting strong where it counts, the core.”

Yep

Related posts:

1. Not Building Strength or Muscle? Go Negative!
2. How to get the Green Lantern’s, aka Ryan Reynolds, Buff Body
3. The Homestead Workout — Watch