Trans-D Tropin - healthy supplement ?

Feeding Friday - a supplement you rub onto your arms !

First one friend, Lee Salino, starts persuading me to eat a few squares of Healthy Chocolate every day.

Full size view.

Second, an equally good friend, Gary Adams, has started telling me about how good Trans-D Tropin has been for him.

Now he's started to market it himself. Look at this enthusiastic 5 minute video. The same company also has this interview with a female body builder competitor (age 44). One always has the level of doubt - "Is this snake oil?" It works for my good friend Gary Adams but how ethical and safe is it ? This couple of videos by a well reputed doctor William Heim are interesting. First, about Dr Heim and then Dr Heim talking about Trans-D Tropin.

If I ever stop working as a Personal Trainer and free up enough time to really give time to body building I'll aim for the kind of results I blogged about 6 months ago.

Honest Source of Fitness and Health Information

Do you have questions about exercise and health that nobody you know has good answers.
The American Council on Exercise might be the place to go for simple, easy to understand information. Their new site provides a large library of health and fitness information. It's not aimed at 'experts' or people that have been working out for many years and know it all.

Give it a try.

You can look me up on this web site. Click on the Find a Personal Trainer button and put in zip code 30022. I'm about 20 down - you have lots of choice of personal trainers in the Atlanta Metro area.

Still a favorite is the Len Kravitz web-site and lurking deep in the site library is a concise set of practical guidelines for health fitness professionals and personal trainers. I quote Len's guidelines in their entirety:

1. Develop programs that will utilize a greater amount of energy expenditure during the workouts. Programs that utilize the larger muscle groups provide a structural basis for the preferred loading that is recommended for improvements in bone mass and mineral density. This will also contribute to the caloric cost of the programs, helping to facilitate weight management goals.

2. Use moderate intensity programs, with multiple sets of 8 to 12 repetitions (Stone et al., 1991) . A frequency of 2 - 3 times a week of resistance training appears applicable and attainable. Programs designed to increase total workout volume (total repetitions x weight) are encouraged.

3. As with any effective exercise prescription, individualize the program, with a carefully planned, progressive overload.

4. Be guarded in the use of isometric contractions and high-intensity load training due to the marked increase observed in diastolic and systolic blood pressure.

5. Incorporate a variety of exercises. In order to avoid the effects of over-training, muscle soreness, and injury, a prescription of resistance training using a variety of exercises is prudent.

6. With certain organic conditions, such as musculo-skeletal conditions (i.e., arthritis), hypertension, and previous injuries, it may be advisable to seek the guidance of a qualified health practitioner for suggestions in designing a safe and effective resistance training program.

7. Take the time to teach the correct performance techniques of the resistance exercises. In the methodology sections in a number of the studies, the researchers emphasized the importance of teaching the subjects safe and correct resistance training mechanics.


8. Be aware that the training demands of resistance training may be greater for novice, low-fitness level, and elder individuals, due to the unique physiological challenges of the activity, and the level of fitness of the individuals. Often times, the use of longer rest periods between sets may be beneficial to help these populations adapt to the training demands.

9. Multiple-joint exercises are more demanding than single-joint exercises, and thus suggest that the training frequency (days per week) may need to be provide adequate recovery (up to 48 hrs) for the clients, especially when just beginning a resistance training program.

10. Develop an effective dialog with your students. In an attempt to keep the training regimen satisfactory for the study, some researchers mentioned the importance of communication with the subjects in order to sustain the investigation. Effective communication is also consequential in developing and maintaining effective training programs for your students.

Fish or Omega-3 in a capsule ?

Fish for a Feeding Friday ?

The September 2008 edition of The Johns Hopkins Medical Letter nicely and concisely summarizes advice on fish eating and Omega-3 supplementation from the American Heart Association.

The summary:

• Everyone should eat fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, anchovies and herring.Twice a week eat fish that has been baked or broiled i.e. NOT deep fried. About 4 ounces a serving. If it's salmon you are eating then that will get you about 1,800 mg of Omega-3 (specifically EPA and DHA). This would average out to around 250 mg of Omega-3 (EPA and DHA) a day.
• If you have had a heart attack then consult with your doctor about adding Omega-3 capsules to supplement your fish eating meals. The medical recommendation is to increase Omega-3 intake to around 1,000 mg of Omega-3 a day.
  
• If you have high triglycerides (and hence are at risk of Metabolic Syndrome as well as heart issues) then the medical recommendation is to go really high with Omega-3 - up to 4,000 mg of Omega-3 a day (if you are not at high risk of ulcer or hemorrhagic stroke). These high levels of Omega-3 are to try and reduce the triglyceride levels in the blood.

At one time it was thought that high intake of Omega-3 could increase the risk of bleeding. However the newsletter says that recent studies show that no such danger exists up to 7,000 mg of Omega-3 a day.

The medical advice is to increase Omega-3 intake but if you are planning to go above 3,000 mg of Omega-3 a day then you'd better have a medical discussion to look at all sides of your health.

Eye Sight - Glaucoma, Cataracts - should I worry ?

Nutrition, Exercise, health - Worry Thursday

Early one morning about 2 weeks ago, it was about 5.30am so I feel entitled to refer to it as early, I was running with a client and we passed a placard stuck in the ground urging one to vote for somebody for Sheriff. As we came up to it I diverted across the road to read the sign because I was having trouble reading it from across the road. It was still pre-dawn and I didn't think getting closer to read it was in any way strange. However my client, a medical doctor, commented that he could read it easily and that I should get my eyes checked because I might have a correctable eye condition such as glaucoma.

In his view there are many failings which people put down to old age and then put up with them when in fact the condition might well be easily correctable.

Sounds like sensible advice and a lot better than just worrying and not doing anything !

So I've had my eyes tested and no sign of glaucoma. One less thing to worry about.

During the eye examination the eye doctor commented that there was no sign of cataracts in either eye. Now this made me consider because I'd not thought about cataracts and not thought them a potential issue. After putting this thought to her she responded that "at my age" I really should expect to see early signs of cataracts but in my case - not even early signs.

I have updated reading glasses for low light situations and for the first time glasses to wear when driving at night with non-reflective coatings. Because I start most days (Monday to Friday) driving to the home of one client or another and always in the dark (Summer and Winter), driving glasses for the first time make sense.

How Often to workout ?

How Often to Workout ? Wednesday Workout

Shall we do arms today ?

It's a perfectly reasonable suggestion that Personal Trainers many times get from clients. So what's wrong with it ?

The problem is that one small set of muscles get over-worked and the rest of the muscles get nothing at all.

So why do the top body builders split their training into body part specific work-outs ?

If you are working out hard and heavy with weights (or resistance) 4 days a week then using a split routine is the best way to go. Especially if you are doing cardio on another 1 or 2 days a week. A split routine means that you do upper body one workout and then lower body the next. Alternatively you could get creative and do front of body one workout and back (legs and everything else) at the following workout.

However if you are working out with a trainer less often, say once or twice a week then doing a split routine is a waste or your time and money.

If you are working out twice a week and do upper body one day and lower body on the other day, then you are not 'hitting' the same muscles repeatedly to get a big enough training stimulus. To get a training stimulus you need to 'hit' a set of muscles at least twice a week. Two times a week will work well if each workout is 'hard' meaning that reps per set are typically in the 5 to 10 reps per set. Somewhere between 5 and 10 reps the muscle being worked 'poops out' and is fried for at least a minute or so.

If you are working less intensively at say 12 and upwards reps per set then you probably need to work those muscles 3 times a week to get a good training effect.

If you've not been getting any noticeable results from your workouts then this might be worth pondering upon !

At this point you might be thinking "There aren't enough days in the week !"

The answer worth thinking about is going for whole body training 3 times aweek.
Whole body means exactly what it says.
You workout the majority of muscles at each workout.

To do full body workouts effectively you need three different workouts and you use them in strict rotation. The main principle is to 'hit' muscles with a different exercise each workout in a week. Fo instance, you could work on the pecs by using a dumbbell chest press or a barbell chest press or a dumbbell chest flye or a pushup off the ground or a pushup off an exercise ball or a chest press standing using a cable machine or . . . You get the idea, there are multiple exercises to go at any one muscle. You do not want to always use the same exercise for the same muscle. I've been encouraging clients to move to full body workouts and at the same time to increase workout intensity.

I've been creating spread-sheets of full body workouts for individuals and soon I'll publish them on my web site after I workout how to get spreadsheets reliably downloadable.

Early in the post I mentioned cardio. How does cardio fit with full body workouts ?

The basic rule is to keep hard cardio and hard weights workouts separated by at least 8 hours. The reactions of your body to cardio and weights are very different and can interact stoping you make good progress on either. Full Body Workouts will make you sweat and will get the heart rate up high. So you might not need separate cardio workouts.

However if a triathalon of half-marathon is in your fitness plans then you will need separate hard (and easy) cardio to prepare for your event.

Olympics - Competing with Cancer

Cancer and Exercise - Malady Monday

The American College of Sports Medicine is running a blog about health and injuries while the Olympics are on.

The piece about Eric Shanteau and his brush with testicular cancer caught the eye - probably because one of my relatives is currently living through chemo treatment to overcome the problem. My nephew has found the chemo really tough and now has pneumonia after the most recent round of chemo.

On Eric's web site there is a link to send him best wishes.

For unknown reasons testicular cancer is an increasing problem. It's doubled in the last 40 years and is now the most common malignancy in white men 20 to 35 years. A deeper analysis of why testicular cancer occurs.

If all of this has made any male nervous then you might find instructions on how to do a self check useful.

Firstly a set of written instructions.

Secondly a video illustrating how to self exam. Don't get too squeamish - the video uses two eggs in a plastic bag to demonstrate - nothing unpleasant !

Saturday - Education Day

Monday through Friday by 6.30am I've been up for more than an hour and worked out with at least one client. Saturday's are different, much slower paced.

This Saturday the alarm squawked unpleasantly at 6.30am. It was time to breakfast (old fashioned oatmeal - what is called porridge by the British).

Then it was time to drive off to the Power Systems day of education on all things fitness.

The day started with Dr Len Kravitz talking about the latest research on exercise physiology. I love this stuff even though it makes me feel a nerd to admit it. Of course Len has a web-site and it's stuffed full of papers on exercise and fitness. Also no surprise Len has a book out that he's pushing. I'll probably buy it very soon.

Then it was time for diminutive Shannon Fable to bounce on stage and check if everyone could see her. I work on balance with most clients and Shannon definitely added to my stock of knowledge. Shannon has four new DVD's out. Look at her web-site.

The afternoon started with Matt Poe. Matt mainly works with athletes. My clients are not that interested in running 40 yards really fast then spinning around on a silver dollar and coming back just as fast. However there was a lot in his presentation that I can apply. This is a guy you just have to love - enough personality to stop a rodeo. Of course Matt has a web-site.

The first web page shows Matt doing a barbell shoulder press with a 350 pound Burmese Python on the bar. Press the play button to watch. Both Matt and the python seem remarkably good tempered about the whole workout.

The education day finished with Daryl Shute who was great and showed us a bunch of exercises that can be done with very simple equipment.

Amazingly Daryl does not have a web-site !

I would have bought hurdles from Power Systems at the seminar but they sold out before I could get to the sales clerk.

By the time I reached home I was hungry. Of course I'd taken food with me but not enough because I'd expected a sitting down listening day but most of the presenters got the audience out of their seats and trying things out.

Dinner was salmon (about 3 ounces) with peas and mushrooms flavored with flakes of red pepper and a pinch of cumin.

Fast Easy but definitely NOT Fast Food

Food on a Plate - Feeding Friday


It's late Friday afternoon, end of the week. I ran this morning then did yard work earlier this afternoon.

A small snack is called for and a bag of chips is definitely not my style.

This small plate has a variety of nuts (no great care in selecting the nuts), a dried fig and a piece of whole grain bread with about a tablespoon of hummus (not my own).

Nuts are a steady part of my diet as they provide a supply of non-saturated fats and a variety of vitamins and minerals.

Figs both dried and fresh are a delight. A supply of slow digesting sugar plus anti-oxidants and vitamins.

Hummus provides protein plus healthy fats. Traditionally hummus is made from chick peas but there are many recipe variations.

Whole-grain bread provides fiber plus slow digesting carbs.

All of this washed down with hot black tea and rice milk (no sugar of course).

Leg Strength - Gain it or Lose it

Strengthen your Legs - by Standing on them

Wednesday Workout

Leg Presses are good for getting leg muscles to grow but for strength when it matters then you have to strengthen your legs standing up.

Strength where it matters is that moment when you are about to lose your balance, about to slip, trying to lift something really heavy. Then you need to know that the leg muscles are going to do what your brain tells them. 

This only comes from strengthening the legs in an upright position.

Look at these three pictures of me struggling with various pieces of equipment. 

The top picture shows me pulling my leg forward against resistance (you can just see the attachment to my right foot). This makes the moving leg (in this case the right leg) work hard. However the standing leg (the left in the picture) also has to work very hard to keep me in position. The thighs on the moving leg and the lower part of the standing leg get an excellent workout. Moreover this strength exercise carries over directly to real life (and real sport like golf).

The less you hold the more the standing leg has to work.

The second picture shows me working in the opposite direction. This time the moving leg is pulling back against resistance. Now the hamstrings are having to work. Again the standing leg is also having to work hard just to stay in position.

The third picture shows both feet firmly on the ground but swinging around in a rotate. This exercise works legs, all of the core muscles plus arms & shoulders. Bend both knees slightly, grip the handle with your 'inside' hand and put the other hand on top of the 'inside' hand. Swing across your body and slightly down. Let the handle go back slowly and feel the pressure all the way on the return journey.

Hip Replacement - working out afterwards

FITNESS - Malady Monday

Living and Exercising after Total Hip Replacement

Amongst my clients one has had both knees replaced, another has had a hip replacement and right now another is thinking about a hip replacement. So let's get it out up front, I'm not qualified as a Physiotherapist nor as a Rehab Specialist. However I have clients who need a lot of help after finishing rehab. What to say ?

"My hip really hurts some nights, stops me sleeping and it still hurts when I get into the office."

"Sitting for hours at meetings is the worst, my hip hurts like stink for hours afterwards."

Working out with a client like this needs a lot of care. That hip needs specialist medical attention. All I can say is "buyer beware." Hip replacements are not all the same. The hips being implanted are high tech devices and sometimes high tech devices go wrong - maybe even fail altogether. Read this New York Times article.

For what it's worth my thoughts:

• workout as hard as the hip allows before going for the hip replacement because strength and flexibility before will be of great benefit after the procedure.
• during the first few days and weeks after your procedure do these rehab exercises religiously.
• as soon as you can increase the intensity. Vanderbilt has good detailed rehab instructions.
• all of this might still not be enough ! The University of Louisville has been gathering evidence that current rehab strategies are not sufficient for complete recovery.
• Medical researchers in Denmark published their views April 2008 in The Journal of Applied Physiology that resistance training was essential to both build muscle size and muscle strength post-operation.

Getting enough protein

Getting Enough Protein - Feeding Friday

Sometimes preparing food and then eating it can be more effort than you have energy for.
Toast spread with jam can be the easy way out !

I admit that most discussions with clients are about how to cut calories and lose weight but this week's chat with Ray was all about not losing weight, not losing muscle. He's 70 this year, weight looks OK maybe on the skinny side. He works out with me twice a week with the objective of gaining strength and remaining independent and vigorous for as many years as possible.

Ray lives alone, rarely goes out at night because his eye's are no longer reliable for night driving. So eat eats at home a lot. Ray is 5' 8" and weighs 140 pounds. He looks OK apart from a small belly bulge maybe even somewhat skinny.

This brought up the question of how to get sufficient protein when you really do not want to eat big meals and you want to be careful with the amount of saturated fat being taken in. Ray was not keen on going to a nutritionist to get a complete diet plan. He just wanted a few simple meal ideas.

How much protein does he need ?

The US health guidelines indicate that for someone of this age and weight 70 grams of protein is about right. By the way if you are lighter or heavier than this, divide your weight in pounds in half and that gives an indication of how much protein in grams. So you weight 180 pounds, you are over 65, then 90 grams of protein is your guideline.

This then brings up the question of how to get 70 grams of protein without a burger or sausage feeding frenzy and all the while keeping it healthy and balanced.

• Strangely enough bread ( wholegrain of course) should not be forgotten. Team a thick toasted slice with 1 cup of baked beans (vegetarian for preference - implying to animal fat included) and you have around 15 to 18 grams of protein in an easy to prepare form. Do what the British do and add a dash of brown sauce to the beans.
• Eggs, soft or hard boiled, are an ease to digest source of protein. Boil for 4 minutes for soft and runny. While eggs are cooking toast a thin slice of wholegrain bread. Cut toast into slices. Dip slices into soft egg for what is called in Britain Egg and Soldiers. You need to imagine each slice as a guards man with a big yellow helmet. This is another easy to prepare 15 to 18 grams of protein.
• Cottage cheese: 1 cup gets you 28 grams of protein. Think about teaming with a couple of dried prunes to add in fiber and anti-oxidants.
• Some cereals have a surprising amount of protein. For instance Kashi's cereal is a mixture of soy, barley, wheat, oats and other stuff but 1 cup packs in a lot of protein - 13 grams.

Ray needs to vary what he eats and not have exactly the same thing every day but one 'proper' meal a day plus this kind of healthy snacks should make sure he gets enough protein. If you need to know how much protein is in food items then look at this list from the US Department of Agriculture (admittedly it's the same government department that gave us the Food Pyramid but this list has a solid scientific pedigree).


The next discussion will have to be about eating before and after exercise but that is a discussion for another day.