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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

The Lactate Threshold

By: Andrew Jagim

Lactate is often deemed as an evil substance that ruins workouts, leads to soreness and probably causes cancer (okay maybe the last one was a bit of a stretch but I wouldn't be surprised).  However, lactate is actually not the culprit that many think it is and actually offers several benefits. So what is it? Why are people so afraid of it and how can we utilize it in training?

Let’s start at the beginning. During high intensity exercise our bodies rely on the anaerobic energy system to produce energy (in the form of ATP), which utilizes carbohydrates as a fuel source.  The more our bodies rely on this energy system (or the higher the intensity) the more we produce lactic acid as a byproduct.  In a fluid environment lactic acid dissociates into lactate and H+ ions.  When H+ accumulate they reduce the pH within skeletal muscle and the blood. 


When this happens, a lot of the enzymes, co-factors and other cellular mechanism that are responsible for the mobilization of substrates for fuel and muscle contraction are not able to optimally operate at their full potential because of the acidic environment. As a result, we have to reduce our intensity, which could mean slower our pace during a sprint, or not complete the last rep or two of a lifting session.  So it’s not necessarily the production of lactate that causes the on-set of fatigue, as it’s really more of a biomarker that serves as an indication that we are relying on anaerobic metabolism for energy production. Further, by producing lactic acid (and eventually lactate) we “buy ourselves some time” as this allows our energy systems to continue working to produce energy. Otherwise certain metabolic pathways and energy systems would get backed up (for a lack of better terms) and completely shut down. Also, our bodies actually have the ability to oxidize lactate as a fuel source and even convert it into glucose to also use as fuel if need be.  This is part of the lactate clearance process which subsequently keeps lactate levels at minimum levels as it is being produced. Eventually, these lactate clearance mechanisms become overwhelmed and lactate begins to accumulate within the bloodstream which often times is assessed and plotted to determine someone’s lactate threshold or in other words, the relative exercise intensity one can achieve before lactate levels begin to spike in a non-linear fashion.   There is strong evidence to suggest that having a higher lactate threshold is actually more beneficial than having a high overall aerobic capacity in terms of performance capabilities.  Essentially this means one would be able to train at higher intensities before suffering the consequences of lactate accumulation or more importantly the performance-limiting reduction in pH.  

So how can we improve our lactate threshold?

By training at varied intensities, particular ones at or even above our lactate threshold, we elicit several physiological adaptations that ultimately help to prevent the accumulation of lactate and buffer the reduction in pH during future training sessions.  
This allows us to maintain higher training intensities before the onset of fatigue. If applying this to a practical scenario, an 800m runner would be able to keep a faster pace throughout the event before the reduction in pH became overwhelming and they were forced to slow down.  

So in recap, lactate itself isn’t all bad as it can serve as a fuel source and it’s really more so the accumulation of H+ ions that is more detrimental to performance.  For athletes, it’s important to incorporate different styles of metabolic conditioning into their programming to improve their lactate threshold.

Monday, May 30, 2016

Mobility Monday: 10 Min Squat Test, Athletic ACL Injury Prevention


This is a video back from the original Mobility Project where it was a mobility video a day and this was day 240 out of 365.  This is a great idea of the way to put a 10 minute squat test into your mobility to make sure you are actually accomplishing what you want to with your mobility.


Kelly also talks in this Mobility Monday about how important this position is when it comes to athletes.  If we put our athletes into a strong but possibly over compensated position in squatting and deadlifting and then expect them not to default back to that when we ask them to run and jump and be athletic.  As you are training you need make sure you aren't creating poor movement patterns that set you up for failure when you are asked to call on them.

Things It Help:
-Hip mobility
-Ankle mobility
-Knee injury prevent


Note: Anytime you hurt a ligament it is a 'sprain', not a 'strain'




Thursday, May 26, 2016

Friday Food: Travel Energy Bars

We have a long long road trip coming up this weekend (by the time this is out we will probably be in Omaha, NE).  We obviously want to stay as healthy as we can which isn't easy on the road so we did some digging to find options that not only would be healthy for us but would also taste good, not spoil and generally would be a good option.  Check out what we found.

Ingredients:
-1/4 cup melted coconut oil
-3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
-3 tbsp brown rice syrup
-1/4 cup ground flax seed
-1 1/4 cups apple sauce
-1 tsp vanilla
-3 cups rolled oats
-1/2 cup raisins
-1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
-1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
-1/4 cup sunflower seeds
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
-Makes 12 bars
-Preheat oven to 325 degF.  Line an 8"x8" baking pan with parchment paper

-In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the melted coconut oil, peanut butter, and brown rice syrup and stir until melted.  Remove from heat.  Add the ground flax seeds, apple sauce, and vanilla, and whisk to combine.

-In a large bowl, combine the oats with the tired fruits, seeds, cinnamon, and salt.  Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and store until well combined.

-Transfer the mixture to the baking pan, pressing with your hands to create an even surface.

-Bake until golden, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan.  Lift out and cut into 12 pieces.

-Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Wrap individual bars tightly for transporting.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Art vs. Science in Training, Nutrition and Health

By: Joel Luedke


Evidence-based practice has been the trend in most areas related to health, wellness, performance, training and treatment, and for good reason.  I'll be the first one to support how important it is have to have ideas that are being implementing with our athletes that are ground in good science and that have withstood the tests of the scientific method.  Without it we would have increasing problems with false claims, more so than we already do (and there are plenty).

That being said evidence-based practice can have its set backs as well.  An example I always like to use with my students is to go out and find some research on a specific injury or training method.  They will find a few that support exactly what they are looking for.  Then I tell them to dig a little deeper and odds are they are able to find at least a couple that say the exact opposite thing that they just found and its just as statistically different as what supported it.  So what is a clinician to do?

Lets use an example for this one and then break it down.  

In the world of athletic training iliotibial (IT) band injuries can not only be highly debilitating but also highly annoying as they don't seem to go away with any type of urgency.  So we dive into the research.  There are a couple good studies that look at hip strength and how important it is to have abductor (moving leg away from midline) strength and how this can help with biomechanics, posture and pelvic control during running and that should help prevent and rehab issues with the IT band.  Great! We have it figured out and off we go to strengthen the hips.  

Then we keep reading (because we are nerds and we do that type of thing) and we find a study that looks at strength of the hips and its correlation to IT band issues and it shows that in their case, it didn't work at all.  Their recommendation is that it doesn't matter if you strengthen the hips or not, you'll still have the potential for IT band problems.

So what are we supposed to do.

The idea of 'clinical reasoning' comes into play.  We have to stay with evidence-based practice as it is a huge cornerstone to all of the health related professions.  It gives support to everything we do and validates our ideas.  When we find information  that is contradictory I believe this is where the 'art' of it all comes in.  You have to use what you know from personal experience and observation to take in all the information you read and apply it to your knowledge base.  You take what works, discard what doesn't and try it all at least twice (maybe three times if you're stubborn).

It isn't so simple as 'art' vs. 'science' and when you can find a healthy balance between the two I think that is when you really start seeing the results and benefit to everyone.  Make sure you are open to both.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Mobility Monday: MWOD Your Bed Position

By: Joel Luedke


What's your sleep position? Is it the best one for you to help continue to keep you in the right position while you're out for 7-9 hours?  This short video breaks it down for you on some things you should look out for.  


The main point is that you should lay in your bed on your back for a minute.  Do you have to do something with your legs (i.e cross them, bring them out to a side, etc) to make it more comfortable for you?  If so you are probably on to hard of a surface and it is forcing your lower back into extension and this sets you up to continue to be in a bad position for the entire night. 

This also can occur with your shoulders and sleeping in extra internal rotations.  Starrett throws a few ideas out there to help such as a softer mattress, a foam top to the mattress to help or possibly a small pillow under your hips to help force you out of the over extension.  Check it out.

Things It Helps:
-Tight hips
-Low back pain
-Poor nights sleep



Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Study Spotlight: Omega 3 Supplementation for Potential Therapeutic Aid from MTBI


To continue with our Omega 3 theme this week we took a look at a review article that covers all the research that is coming out when it comes Omega 3 supplementation and mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) or concussion.  There has been extensive research both clinically (in animals) as well as just anecdotally supporting that Omega 3 fatty acids (especially DHA) is very important for brain health in both the 'prevention' or lessening of a concussion and the recovery process.

What They Did:

Review a tremendous amount of articles (93 to be exact) looking at Omega 3 fatty acid supplementation and the outcomes with brain health and concussion injury.


What They Found: 
Pre clinical investigations demonstrate that dietary consumption of DHA provided either before or after mTBI improves functional outcomes, such as spatial learning and memory.

What It All Means:
Omega 3 (n-3) fatty acids, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have important structural and functional roles in the brain, with established clinical benefits for supporting brain development and cognitive function throughout life.  While a lot of the studies reviewed are clinically based around animal trials and we can't make a direct comparison to humans due to many factors the results are extremely promising.

Concussions are not only serious in the acute or immediate stages of the injury but the long term effects they may have are still relatively unknown (although with the discovery of CTE this is becoming more apparent).  The possibility of blunting the damage caused by a concussion injury and potentially helping repair the brain is huge (Check out our podcast of the week with talking about neurogenesis).  While nothing is set yet for recommendations an idea of supplementing levels of Omega 3 (specifically DHA) both for someone who has suffered an injury recently or one that has a history could be very beneficial to their overall health.  Generally recommendations are 1-3 grams of Omega 3's with at least 1g being DHA.


Resource:
Omega 3 Fatty acid supplementation as a potential therapeutic aid for the recovery from mild traumatic brain injury and concussion
Erin Cernkovich
Adv. Nutr. 5: 268-277, 2014

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Omega 3 Fats-They are That Important....For Everything

By: Joel Luedke

I got to spend a good amount of time in the car this weekend and with that I'm always getting into some podcasts.   The ones I got into this weekend put a shock into me.  How you ask?  Well I've known for awhile that Omega-3 fatty acids are important and can do wonders for your health.  Whether you are getting it from wild caught fish, well produced sardines or through supplementation this is a fat you need.

A lot of this stemmed from a previous Podcast of the Week we had from Bulletproof Radio ft. Mark Hyman.  In this podcast they talk about Dr. Hyman's new book, "Eat Fat, Get Thin".  This is a stark contrast to what we have believed for so long in that fat was terrible for you.  Now we are talking about how good fat can be for you and that the dietary guidelines are removing restrictions on fat.  

When it comes to the discussion on fat Omega-3s take the center stage.  There is endless research coming out touting the importance of these fats in the make up of your cell, neurons, their ability to help control inflammation and that just scratches the surface.  This is where it hit home and how beneficial Omega-3s are early in life (as early as possible actually) and later in life.

In the second podcast with Brant Cortright the discussion focused on neurogenesis (the growing of brain cells) and how we can set up our diet to best facilitate this.  Omega-3s came to the forefront again.  Brant touched on how important they are during pregnancy and how they can be very beneficial to the growing fetus and its brain development over the course of time.  He then moved on to talking about older age and how diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimers and how for some of these there isn't a pharmaceutical fix yet and that holistic is the best route we currently have.  Brant talked about how Omega-3s are the building blocks to not only help slow decline of neurons and their breaking down but also the ability to potentially rebuild and create new neurons.


Bottom line is that you need to make sure you are getting your fair share of Omega 3's in your diet and in your life.  Whole foods are always your best option if you can make that happen but supplementation is a close second for this one.  Recommendations vary but you want to focus on high DHA products and shoot for ~1-3 grams daily total.  Invest yourself and your health and hopefully prevent (or reverse) potential problems coming down the line.


LINKS:
Podcast: Bulletproof Radio-Mark Hyman: Meat is the New Ketchup

Podcast: Bulletproof Radio-Brant Cortright-Neurogenesis Diet & Cognitive Decline

Article: Go Fish For Health

Omega 3 Breakdown
-DHA:  This is by far the most important and one that you want to get into your diet as much as you can and when we talk about a recommendation for ~1-3 grams a day you want the majority of it to be this type of Omega 3 fatty acid.

-EPA: Secondary (if that really is a thing in this case) to DHA this is also an important part of the Omega 3 fatty acid and is big in helping reduce excess platelet production.

-ALA:  This is commonly found in Flax Seed oil and is often consumed by vegetarians as their source of Omega-3s.  The only problem is that it isn't converted well to DHA which is the most beneficial.  If you are vegetarian you have a much harder road to get your DHA.


Monday, May 16, 2016

Mobility Monday: Groin Flexion Mob

By: Joel Luedke


If you're anything like me and my mobility working on you adductors or your groin might be your least favorite thing....ever.  Remember when you were a kid and could at least pretend to do the splits?  That all disappeared didn't it?  While the splits aren't exactly 'functional' in everyday life having the ability to move through a full range of motion can do wonders for aches and pains and make your life feel that much easier.  I think you'll be surprised at how many little things become easier when you are able to move better through your hips.


Be careful with these but make sure you get after them.  It is worth it.

Things It Helps:
-Loosen hips after sitting too much in the day.
-Low back pain
-Restricted motion
-Better walking and running



Thursday, May 12, 2016

Friday Food: Vegan Southwestern Salad

By: Joel Luedke

We tend to feature a lot of meat on our Friday Food so we thought we would switch it up a little bit this week.  We are still aiming for high protein as we've found that to be a source of nutrition that it often under utilized by most people.  So here is a high protein vegan recipe for everyone to try out.

Ingredients (Makes 1 serving):
2-4 cups chopped romaine lettuce or leafy green of choice
1 serving red quinoa cooked and chilled (1/4 cup dry)
½ cup black beans
½ cup corn
½ cup jicama, sliced
½ cup red pepper, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
2 Tbsp red onion, diced
Optional: barbeque tempeh or tempeh bacon and/or avocado slices and/or pumpkin seeds

For the dressing (use as much as you like and save the rest for later!):
1/4 of a 10oz container of soft silken tofu, drained
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tsp minced garlic
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cider vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions: Put all of the salad ingredients in a bowl, blend up the dressing ingredients in a food processor, use it to top the salad, and enjoy!

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Study Spotlight: Hip Strength Predicts Non-contact ACL Injury in Athletes-A Prospective Study

By: Joel Luedke

ACL injuries are one of many nightmares that athletes might have.  They are season ending and take a lot of time and effort to return from.  Some you cannot prevent, the contact ones, that someone barrels into you and there is nothing you can do.  Others though, the non-contact ones, can be and should be preventable.  There are many options to go to out there for 'ACL Prevention Programs' and you can spend as much money as you want to try them out but it all comes back to is really good fundamental training.


This Study Spotlight talks about hip strength and injury risk and how it is correlated.

What They Did:
Prior to the competitive season isometric (limb held in place against resistance) strength was measured for both external rotation (rotating hip out) and abduction (moving leg to outside) of the hip of 501 athletes.  During the sport season contact vs. non-contact ACL injuries were tracked for the tested individuals.

What They Found:
There were a total of 15 non-contact ACL injuries with an overall incidence of 3.0% (2.5% for males and 4.3% for females).  Use a bunch of statistics they found that impaired hip strength in external rotation and abduction independently increased future injury risk.

What It All Means:
The conclusion of this study suggests that you should include an assessment of isometric hip abduction and/or external rotation strength prior to training or the competitive season.  This is one option when it comes to testing out the potential of injury.  This can also be a lot of extra effort depending on the work situation you are in.  

Focusing on training these motions is the bottom line of this.  As we mentioned above the best ACL prevention program is good training prior to practicing and competition.  If you are performing large movements correctly (i.e. squats, deadlifts, RDLs, pull progressions) you are going to have a good baseline of strength in these muscles.  You can also add in complimentary exercises to address muscles specifically to add even more strength to the area.

Make sure you are training these areas properly and especially if you sit all day to decrease your non-contact ACL risk.


Resource:
Click Here

Monday, May 9, 2016

Mobility Monday: The Two Squat Squat

By: Joel Luedke

Squatting is such an important part of our day that we often take it for granted.  Sitting in a chair and
getting up and down is a squat (whether we focus on form or not).  Reaching down to grab something or lift something up again at least should be a squat, 'use your legs not your back'.  And then finally as you are working out you also most likely at some point are going to need to squat.  With all these different uses of the squat the bottom line doesn't change in how you should set up to perform that squat.

Starrett in this video shows the importance of you start prep when getting ready for your squat under both extreme loads and also under a much smaller load and that they don't differ.  Prepping yourself for this motion is imperative to not only protect your spine but also allow you to increase your performance.



Friday, May 6, 2016

Friday Food: Post Race-Nut Butter, Cranberry and Flax Cookies


Seems mildly counter intuitive, ok down right wrong, but really this isn't a bad idea to have after your race and you might enjoy it much more than that terrible protein bar.  Filled with great sources of Omega-3 and also good anti inflammatory sources this can taste good and also help set you body up to start recovering immediately after the race.  Check it out.



  • 2 cups whole-wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
  • 1 cup almond, peanut, cashew, NuttZo* or nut butter of your choice
  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat baking mats.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the almond butter, maple syrup, oil and vanilla extract. Stir until combined.
Pour the flour mixture over the almond butter mixture, and stir until just combined. Sprinkle in the dried cranberries, and stir gently. Use a tablespoon or small melon baller to drop cookie batter onto sheets. Press down gently on each cookie with the back of a fork. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes—don't overbake or the cookies will be dry. Remove from oven and let cool on sheets before transferring to a cooling rack.

Courtesy of Active.com

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

The Use of NSAIDS prior to Exercise: More Harm Than Good?

By: Andrew Jagim

With increased training frequency and intensity often comes increased symptoms of pain such as stiffness, soreness and other inflammatory related conditions. Several athletes often try to get ahead of the pain by consuming non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAID's) prior to training or competitions but are they causing more harm than good? This explores some of the risks and benefits associated with the prophylactic use of NSAIDs by athletes.

What did they do?
A researcher examined several published articles that focused on the prevalence, benefits and risks of ingesting NSAID's.

What did they find?
The results are actually quite troubling.  The researcher found that approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of Olympic athletes reported using NSAIDs 3 days prior to random drug testing and in some sports the value was as high as >50%!  Anecdotal reports from the athletes suggest that most people consume them with the assumption they will result in reduced pain and tissue damage during activity. However, the scientific research supporting such benefits are few and far between. In fact, some would argue that reducing inflammation following intense training is counterproductive to the recovery process as a whole.

In addition, the potential benefits may not outweigh the risks.  Several studies have found that the ingestion of NSAIDs prior to exercise may actually exacerbate some of the exercise induced stresses and tissue damage experienced by athletes. One study found that prophylactic NSAID use actually increased gastrointestinal distress during exercise and also lead to increased GI permeability or more commonly referred to as "Leaky Gut" which many attribute to several autoimmune disorders and food sensitivities. Further, several studies have suggested that NSAID use can actually reduce collagen formation and rates of protein synthesis following exercise or in other words: NSAID's may reduce your ability to heal following strenuous training and attenuate tissue adaptations over time

Take Home Message:
There are much better recovery methods that can be implemented into an athlete's training regimen that are not only more beneficial but also come with a lower risk of side-effects. Such methods include:

1) Natural or Nutrition-based anti-inflammatory foods such as fish oil, curcumin, polyphenols etc.
2) Soft-tissue mobilization (i.e. foam rolling, Graston, massage etc.)
3) Active recovery (i.e. light walking, biking, cycling etc.)
4) Temperature Therapy (i.e. contrast water therapy, saunas, hot-tubs, cryotherapy etc.)
5) Active Perfusion (i.e. MarcPro, Compression Gear etc.)


Click Here for Article

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

What if HealthCare Actually Wanted to Keep you Healthy?

I've heard some different ideas and thoughts on changing up the healthcare system from being creative to being proactive.  Instead of waiting for you to get sick after you paid a lot of money into insurance premiums healthcare would focus what it could do to keep you healthy and stay that way.  

Healthcare costs are rising and there are a lot of people that now will look to pay cash for services such as chiropractic, physical therapy, performance training, wellness coaching, functional doctors, and even MRIs.  These services that used to be out of reach without insurance can now actually be more affordable to pay in cash.  This is incredible especially in an industry that is trillions of dollar in size.

Now, with a market that size that opens up lots of interesting opportunities and MD Insider is one company that is taking advantage of that size.  They are using big data in order to score physicians and medical providers all of over the country.  Their idea? Simple.  Patients want access to the best care out there and want to know who to look for and who to go to.  Hospitals also want to provide the best quality care they can from their providers and reward those providers for their service and care to their patients.

This represents a potential shift in the healthcare system.  What would you think about still paying your premiums like you do currently but instead of now waiting until something might happen or you might get sick your provider works for you to not get sick, you know prevent something from happening.  This could be done through endless ideas that could help:

  • Biomechanical and movement screening
  • Regular lab testing 
  • Nutritional consultation
  • Performance/Strength & Conditioning Training
  • Body composition
This just scratches the surface but like I mentioned that possibilities are endless.  Would you like to pay your premium for health prevention instead of reactive care?  It might be closer than we think.

TED Talk:  What if our healthcare system kept us healthy?

Monday, May 2, 2016

Mobility Monday: Posture and Gun Operator Shoulder (or Bride Shoulder)


So this one starts out interesting, bear with it, but the message is so important.  Kelly talks aboutposture and rounded shoulders (also 'bride shoulders') and the importance of maintaining good posture and how it can help not only your position and performance but also your pain.  So many problems come from this rounded shoulder position and it is well worth the time thinking.


As he references building (and showing) that musculature between your shoulder blades is huge and something you should be aiming to achieve (both for function and aesthetics).