Importance of Exercise

In the above video, Dr. Mike Evans talks about the benefit of exercise as medicine.  I don't deny the value of modern medicine, but there is no substitute for positive lifestyle changes.

An Incomplete List of Strength Training Rules

• Warm-up.  A good guideline is to do about 5-10 minutes of aerobic exercise and then a short calisthenic circuit (push-ups, body squats, lunges, bicycle crunches, ect.).  The more reps in a set the shorter the warm-up needs to be, the heavier and more intense the set, the longer the warm-up.
• Work the entire body.  I often see women doing endless crunches, and men doing nothing but bench press and curls.  If this is done for an extended period of time it may be worse than doing nothing.  Not working other muscle groups is not only ineffective, but will ultimately lead to injury.
• Your workout should focus on major compound exercises (exercises that use multiple muscle groups). Big muscles and big movements first.
• The five best exercise for strength development:  Variations of push-ups, pull-ups, dips, squats, and dead-lifts.
• There are no bad exercises, just bad application.
• Over time vary reps, weight, sets, exercises, and the order of exercises.
• If you can lift a weight for more than a minute straight you are not using enough weight.
• Push yourself.  You can't spell workout without work.  For the first six months of training you should be adding weight and/or reps almost every workout.
• Rest is an important part of working out.  Muscles repair themselves and grow at rest, not while you're working out.  Listen to your body and take time to rest your stressed muscles.
• Every exercise should have a purpose.
• Ladies:  Don't worry about bulking up into the incredible hulk.  Gaining muscle mass is influenced by several factors other than lifting, among them:  testosterone and diet.  Any given man will have at least 10 times the testosterone of any given woman.  Female body builders train a lot, diet specifically to gain mass, cut down to little body fat, and take as many, if not more steroids then the men.  Also, it takes time to gain significant muscle mass.  Logic states that if you thought you were gaining too much mass, all you would have to do is stop and so would the gains to mass.  Finally, muscle burns fat and chances are, if you weren't gaining muscle, you'd be gaining fat instead.
• Keep a log of exercises sets, weight, reps, how you're feeling, etc.
• Train your weaknesses.
• Don't over-complicate working out.  Just remember to work opposing muscle groups.
• Something is always better than nothing.
• Learn the exercises, check and re-check form, make sure you can feel the targeted muscle working.

Good luck and keep training.

Simple Nutrition and Exercise

This post will be how about how to guide your eating habits as simply as possible.  You can bet there will be more detailed posts that thoroughly examine the science behind it, but right now I'm going to keep it simple.

Here are some good guidelines regardless of your goal:

• Eat as few processed foods as possible.  The world is polluted enough, try not to unnecessarily pollute your body with chemicals you can't pronounce.
• You need all the basic macro-nutrients (i.e. fats, proteins, and carbohydrates), so eat all of them. The key is quality and quantity.  Well, in theory you don't need carbs, but we're talking reality, not theory so eat them.
• Avoid added sugars.  Note, I said added sugars, not sugars in fruits.  Also note, I said fruits, not fruit juice.  Fruit juice is at best, equivalent to soda with vitamins in it.
• You don't need supplements, but sometimes they can help.
• Eat breakfast.  Try to get something with a good mix of protein and fat.  An egg sandwich (preferably not between syrup injected breads and sausage in the middle) or trail mix are some good quick examples.
• Chew your food.
• Eat as many different colors as you can.  This is a good guideline to get essential nutrients.
• If you're going to eat junk, it's best to eat it right after you work out.  After you workout, muscles are primed to absorb nutrients. So that Big Mac will hopefully be partially absorbed by your muscles and not your gut.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Eat your fiber.  It's important to shit normally.
• Eat foods you like.  If your diet calls for eating a bunch of shit you don't like, you won't stick to it very long.  If you can't stick to it, then it's not a good diet.
• There are no foods you should never eat, just foods you shouldn't eat a lot.
• Most people lack ideal amounts of zinc, magnesium, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids.  These supplements and maybe glucosomine (if you have joint trouble) are worth considering (talk to your doctor first).
• For three days to a week, record what you eat and drink in detail.  Also record what kind of activity you do.  This can give you a decent idea of what your body needs.  You can calculate your calorie requirements here or at Bodybuilding.com .  Both of these calculators have their weaknesses, but if you use the advanced versions you can get a decent idea of what you need.