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Thursday, June 30, 2016

Friday Food: Sweet Potato, Squash, and Black Bean Enchiladas

By: Ashley Luedke

We received this one from a great source (Joel's sister) and it was served to someone you might classify as a "picky eater" and they were a hit.  Also they sound great and also don't skimp on the health side.  Give this one a try.


Makes 8 enchiladas or enough for 4 people

Enchilada Sauce
2 ¼ cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 ½ tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon lime juice

Filling
1 large sweet potato (about 1 pound) chopped into nickel-size pieces
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ yellow onion chopped
1 medium yellow squash, grated on your box grater (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ cups cooked black beans
1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave syrup
A pack of corn or flour tortillas
Sliced avocado
Chopped fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon of ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt

Directions
1.     Make the enchilada sauce, dump everything but the lime juice into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Use a whisk or something and make sure that the tomato paste isn’t just sitting in a clump. Let that simmer together for 10 to 15 minutes so that the sauce has time to thicken up a little. Add the lime juice and turn off the heat. Let it cool while you make the filling.

2.     To cook the sweet potato, grab a medium saucepan, fill it with an inch or two of water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Throw in your metal steamer basket and fill that with the chopped sweet potato. Cover and steam until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Dump into a bowl and smash the pieces around. Some chunks are fine, you don’t need to work too hard at making this smooth.

3.     While the sweet potato steams, grab a large skillet or wok and heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute: until it begin to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Toss in the squash and cook for another minute. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic, and black beans. Cook together for another 2 minutes and then fold in the mashed sweet potato and maple syrup and turn off the hat. Mix until combined.

4.     Now you’re going to make the enchiladas. Crank your over to 375 degrees. Grab a 9x13 inch baking dish.

5.     Cover the bottom of the baking dish with about 1 ½ cups of enchilada sauce. Using a griddle, your over or the microwave, warm up the tortillas. Dip the tortilla around in a little of the sauce in the baking dish so that the bottom is all coated. Fill the tortilla with a couple of spoonfuls of filing, then roll it up and set it seam-side down in the dish. Keep going until you run out of space or out of filling.


6.     Cover the enchiladas with the remaining sauce, cover the dish tightly with foil, and throw it in the oven for 20 minutes. Take off the foil and cook it for 5 more minutes. Let it cool for a minute. Feel free top that masterpiece with some sliced avocado or chopped cilantro.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Wait, Carbs are Good for You Again?

By: Andrew Jagim

As a follow up to my post last week regarding some of the controversy surrounding the pros and cons of dairy consumption, I figured it was only fitting to jump into another area of controversy within the nutrition world: CARBS. Some people love them (i.e. ME) and others think they are slowly killing us (i.e. the Ketogenic world and Paleo lovers).  What's my opinion of them? Check out my conclusions below, particularly in response to some new research that explores some of the health implications of carbohydrate intake.

What did they do?
Researchers conducted a systematic review to determine the potential risk of carbohydrate consumption (and potentially a dose-response relationship) to the development of cardiovascular disease, cancer and all-cause mortality. Researchers reviewed 64 publications that focused on dietary intakes and the development of health issues.

What did they find?
 The researchers actually found reductions in the risk of negative health outcomes when whole grain intake ranged from 210-225 grams per day (~7 servings of whole grains per day).  The following is a direct quote from the article:

"Intakes of specific types of whole grains including whole grain bread, whole grain breakfast cereals, and added bran, as well as total bread and total breakfast cereals were also associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and/or all cause mortality."

Take Home Message:
The good news is that when strictly looking at an individual's carbohydrate intake, there does not appear to be a link between whole grain intake and their risk of dying or development cardiovascular disease and cancer. 

I feel like it's important to at least mention this first as this conclusion alone dispels a lot of misconceptions that are thrown around the industry without much supporting evidence.  How is this possible? Well it's likely that whole grains actually contain some beneficial nutrients despite what a lot of people like to think. For example, whole grains provide valuable sources of fiber, B complex vitamins, prebiotic starches and not to mention can be a great source of fuel for active individuals.  Is there evidence that supports the opposite of these findings? Sure, and that's the nutrition world for you. What we don't know with some of these studies, is what does the rest of their lifestyle look like? How many total calories are they consuming? Protein and fat intake? Activity levels? Do they have any pre-existing conditions? Are the genetically more/less susceptible to the development of these medical conditions or better able to tolerate certain dietary practices? These issues and other potential confounding factors are what make "one-size fits all diets" impossible to recommend because in my opinion not everyone should eat the same way. We pride ourselves at Total Athletic Therapy in recommending INDIVIDUALIZED dietary and training strategies based upon each person's needs. I don't even really buy into the "good carb vs. bad carb" argument. Instead, I believe there is a time and a place for all carbohydrates; particularly as we learn more about how the glycemic index (and our response to it) may not be as important as once thought (For more on this click here). 

If you are interested in reading the full research article check out the link below:

What about weight gain issues relating to carbohydrates?
Some people like to blame carbohydrates, particularly sugar, for a lot of health and obesity related issues in today's world. However, Dr. Layne Norton wrote an excellent piece dispelling a lot of those misconceptions also.

When it's all said and done, I firmly believe that carbohydrates can be a part of anyone's regular diet and won't completely sway your health status either way as long... as you don't go overboard with them of course.  As I mentioned earlier, they have a lot of valuable nutrients, they taste amazing and they make the logistics of eating just a hell of a lot easier.  Do we NEED to eat them to survive? No. So it's up to you whether or not you want to eat them as long as it works for you and fits with your current goals.

Monday, June 27, 2016

Mobility Monday: Extension of a Psoas Flavor


The Psoas.  This deep hip flexor muscle is to quote Kelly "the filet mignon" of the human body, isn't that a pretty picture.  At the same time it can cause you all kinds of problems with your low back and your hips due to its origin and insertion points.  Especially if you are in a seated position all day you the psoas can help you compensate in moving around and sitting forward to reach something at your desk like Kelly explains here.  Check out this simple stretch to get the psoas moving.


Things It Helps:
-Tightness in front of hips
-Tightness from sitting a lot
-Low back pain
-"Man Belly"


Thursday, June 23, 2016

Friday Food: Caramelized Cabbage, Whole-Wheat Penne and Provolone


By: Joel Luedke

I've been craving pasta so I figured I might as well try to find something that is 'good' for you but still delicious.  This is the recipe we came up with and it looks pretty good to me.  Would be something that would be great to pair up with a piece of salmon or another favorite protein.  Enjoy.

Ingredients:
-6 ounces uncooked whole-wheat penne
-3 tbsp olive oil
-2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
-6 cups coarsely chopped green cabbage
-1/2 tsp kosher salt
-1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-1 Fresno chile, thinly sliced
-2 tsp grated lemon rind
-3 ounces aged provolone cheese, shredded and divided (about 3/4 cup)
-1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

Preparation:
-Bring a large saucepan filled with water to a boil.  Add pasta; cook 7 to 9 minutes or until al dente.  Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.
-Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add oil; swirl to coat.  Add garlic to pan; saute 30 seconds or until beginning to brown.  Remove garlic from pan with a slotted spoon; set aside. Increase heat to medium-high.  Add cabbage to pan; cook 6 minutes or until browned and tender, stirring occasionally.  Stir in salt, black pepper, and chile; cook 2 minutes. Stir in pasta, reserved 1/4 cup pasta cooking liquid and reserved garlic.  Stir in rind and 1.5 ounces cheese.

Source: myrecipes.com

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Study Spotlight: Strength Training on Squat and Sprint Performance in Soccer Players

Lifting and training or an enormous part of your ability to improve at sport but can you do it in-season?  It is most definitely important in-season and typically the goal is to maintain your strength and speed and not always to optimize it or improve it.  This Study Spotlight takes a look at how working on high intensity squats utilized in season can help with strength and speed improvements.



What They Did:

The researchers in this study looked at the possibility of improving squat strength and short sprint speed by focusing on heavy squatting during competitive season.  They did this by testing 1 rep max prior to the season and then using a 6 week, 2x per week, workout program that used weights in the 85-90% of 1RM squat maxes.  Maxes and sprint times were retested post intervention.

What They Found:
Researchers found both an increase in absolute strength and relative strength after implementation of the program.  They also found small increases in short sprint speed after the program was completed.

What It All Means:
It isn't uncommon to think that the stronger you are in your lower body and specifically squats will lead to a faster short spring performance.  It is still becoming well known that  you can still make these adaptations while in your competitive sport season (in this case soccer) and not have it affect your performance.  Especially at two times a week you can still get the benefits of lifting heavy without destroying your body and its ability to perform and increase that performance during the season.

Bottom line: keep working out in-season and make the most of it as it can still benefit you and your performance.

Link: Strength Training on Squat and Sprint Performance in Soccer Players

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Aaron Rodgers Apparently Does Not "Got Milk"

By: Andrew Jagim

I have heard a lot of rumors circulating lately that Aaron Rodgers has recently given up milk. In most states/professional organizations this sort of thing probably wouldn't even make the news....but when you play for the Green Bay Packers in the heart of Wisconsin aka Dairy Capitol of the World, this is earth shattering news and almost as painful as watching Brandon Bostick trying to recover a kickoff; Too soon?

Anyways, you may be wondering why someone who trains at such a high level and whose professional career is determined by how he performs would give up such a high quality source of nutrition? (At least that's what the USDA and the American Dairy Association tells us). The truth is, Milk or any dairy products for that matter, may not be everyone.  There is often a lot of controversy when it comes to milk and whether or not we should even drink it in the first place and whether or not it actually: "Does our bodies good..."

The Dark Side of Milk
Believe it or not, the majority of the world's population was not designed to consume milk (from cows).  In fact, some reports estimate that approximately 65% of the world is classified as lactose intolerant which means they lack the enzyme lactase that aids in the digestion of one of the primary milk-derived sugars, lactose.  Without this enzyme, lactose will go undigested throughout the GI tract where it will ferment and create unpleasant digestive symptoms which most commonly include: bloating, gas, cramping and diarrhea.  Luckily, for those in the upper Midwest (Because of our Western European descent), we actually live in one of the few pockets of the world that seem to be able to effectively digest lactose and therefore don't seem to have many issues with milk. 

At the same time, there are also reports that certain constituents in dairy, whether it be the sugars, proteins or byproducts may be associated with other detrimental health outcomes. There are published reports of dairy being one of the more common food allergies. In addition, dairy consumption has been linked to higher incidence of cancer, auto-immune conditions and systemic inflammation. However, these are really just associations and most of them have only been established in animal models.

The Upside of Milk
For all of the negative attention that surrounds milk there is just as much (if not more) positive benefits to regularly consuming milk. Bovine milk (from cows) gives us two of the highest quality proteins available to us: whey and casein.  Both of these proteins have been shown to be high quality protein options that are highly bioavailable and offer different benefits in regards to how fast and long they can help stimulate muscle growth. Hundreds of publications (in humans) have shown that milk can help increase bone mineral density, stimulate muscle growth, improve recovery and even help improve body composition.  In particular, there seems to be a lot of support for the use of chocolate milk following training/competition as it has a great ratio of carbohydrates to protein, provides a good source of fluids and tastes amazing.

All in all, milk may serve as a great nutritional source for a lot of people. It is a good source of liquid calories (for those on a high calorie diet), a good source of protein, carbohydrates, fluid, calcium and often times Vitamin D.


With that being said, not everyone will be able to tolerate dairy/milk and with certain individuals it will definitely do more harm than good.  By now you are likely aware of whether or not you have issues digesting dairy whether it be a simple lactose intolerance, which in that case choosing lactaid products (the enzyme you lack has been added) or a more severe food sensitivity/allergy. If it's the latter , you are likely better off avoiding dairy products in all together, which isn't fun for anyone however you may feel better opting for coconut or almond milk-based products instead.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Mobility Monday: Overhead First Rib of Death


Our last couple of Mobility Monday's have health with working on your overhead shoulder position and your front rack position.  Both very important and you have to focus on those areas of the shoulder but there is a whole other part of the shoulder that often is forgotten and this mob takes care of that business.


This one is very very intense but a game changer especially if you ever have any problems with symptoms going down your arm.  You can work with all the motions that bother you by working overhead and hanging or just by reaching overhead and rotating into internal and external rotation.

Things It Can Fix:
-Anterior Shoulder Pain
-Nerve pain running down the arm
-Over rotated shoulders


Friday, June 17, 2016

Friday Food: Berries and Coconut Cream

Simple and sweet without having to worry about all the sugar in this desert.  It makes a great snack or something to have after dinner and it couldn't be simpler.  Enjoy this one this weekend.

Ingredients:
-10 ounces mixed berries (blackberries, blueberries and raspberries)
-1/2 cup well chilled coconut cream
-1/4 tsp mold-free vanilla powder
-1/2 to 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
-1 to 2 tsp maple syrup (optional)

Directions:
-Divide the berries between 2 bowls.
-In a separate large bowl, combine coconut milk, vanilla powder, lemon juice, and maple syrup (if using) and whisk to soft peaks.
-Place dollops of the whipped coconut cream on top of the berries.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Caffeine: Friend or Foe?

By: Andrew Jagim

In honor of transparency and unbiased writing, we feel as though it is only fair to discuss the other side of the story when it comes to caffeine use. It's no secret that Joel and I are very much pro-caffeine and can fully admit we are addicted. We often discuss the performance and health benefits of regular caffeine and/or coffee consumption. But what about some of the studies that show the opposite? What about some of the studies that report regular coffee consumption actually increases your risk for Cardiovascular Disease or actually makes people perform worse? How can something that is so widely used by people yield such conflicting findings in the literature?

The answer may lie within our genetic makeup. We are learning more and more about how genetics influence our livelihood and performance capabilities which may dictate how we respond to certain foods and activities.  I recently attended a presentation on Nutrigenomics at the 2016 International Society of Sports Nutrition National Conference in Clearwater Beach, FL. Nutrigenomics is a booming field which we can get into at a later time (Click Here For More Details). 


The focus of the talk was the how certain genes may dictate whether or not caffeine is good or bad for us.  Specifically it appears as though certain people posses a genotype (CYP1A2 Genotype) and if we possess it we are "fast metabolizers" and are better suited to positively respond to caffeine which over time means that we experience certain health benefits. Conversely, if we lack this geneotype, we are labeled as "slow metabolizer" and therefore will negatively respond to caffeine ultimately increasing our risk for the development of cardiovascular disease and other health issues.   It should be noted that whether or not we possess this genotype does not influence whether or not we "feel" the stimulatory effects of caffeine. For most individuals they will still feel the boost in energy whether or not they have it. If you don't, then you likely are a regular caffeine consumer and your body has built up a tolerance and you have become desensitized. Again, this can occur regardless of whether or not you have the genotype.


The relationship between the genotype and how we metabolize caffeine is why some of the literature on caffeine use and the potential health/performance benefits are conflicting; and why some show a benefit while others show the exact opposite.  What's crazy about this is that 50% of individuals do not have this genotype. So essentially you may have a 50/50 shot of whether or not caffeine is good or bad for you. 50/50 ?! S***! To me, someone who would rather vote for caffeine in this year's presidential election over some of our candidates, this is kind of disturbing news. The presenter at the conference does work for a company (Nutrigenomix) that offers genetic testing (via saliva sampling) and can tell you whether or not you have the genotype, in addition to several others, and can offer specific nutritional recommendations for you.  Since damn near 100% of the population loves caffeine it's probably a good idea that we check into whether or not we have this genotype so we know if we need to make any modifications.


Granted, this field of research is still very much in its infancy and therefore it may not be as simple as having or not having 1 genotype. There very well may be several genotypes at play when it comes to whether or not caffeine is good/bad for us but some of the recent research in this area certainly points to this being the case.  So, make sure you really pay attention to how you feel and how your body responds to caffeine or actually get some genetic testing done before you jump aboard the caffeine train with us.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Mobility Monday: Solving Front Rack Problems

By: Joel Luedke


Again this one tends to be towards weight lifting and getting into a front squat and/or a clean position but that doesn't mean that it isn't applicable to daily life.  Having the ability to get your arms into this position is going to show you that you have full motion through your wrists, elbows and your shoulders.


Often times we find that if you are working to get into positions and doing so pain free it will relieve aches and pains in your life that you didn't even know you had.  That is the ultimate goal and you don't even have to work into that specific position.  Working on general movement practice is going to be something that is going to help you out so much and get to a much more pain free state.

Things It Can Help:
-Shoulder pain
-Wrist pain
-Pain reaching out and/or over your head
-Anterior tightness of shoulders


Thursday, June 9, 2016

Friday Food: Oven-Fried Pork Chops

By: Joel Luedke

Pork chops are a great option for a protein source and are great on the grill but eventually you need to switch it up.  This is a great option and as close to healthy as you can when it comes to fried.  Check it out, I know I will.


Ingredients:
-4 pork chops, trimmed
-2 tbsp butter, melted
-1 egg, beaten
-2 tbsp milk
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-1 cup herb-seasoned dry break stuffing mix

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425 degF.  Pour butter into a 9x13 inch baking pan.
-Stir together egg, milk and pepper.  Dip pork chops in egg mixture, coat with stuffing mix and place in pan.
-Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Turn chops and bake for another 10 minutes, or until no pink remains in the meat and juices run clear.

#tbt: Barbell Shrugged Favorites

After the tragic passing of Chris Moore of Barbell Shrugged we thought it only would be right for us to pay tribute to him and the Barbell Shrugged group with some of our favorite episodes.  That crew was our inspiration to start Clinically Pressed and work to make the dent that they did in the world of health, nutrition, wellness and performance.

Thank you for all that you guys do and rest in peace Mr. Moore.






Julien Pineau Part I & II




Eleiko Barbells

Tim Ferriss

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Training Smarter Not Just Harder

By: Joel Luedke

*Addendum At the Bottom

I wrote this for the Point After II for the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association and it ties into everything that we talk about on TAT.  While its been quite the year learning more about sports performance it has been unbelievably beneficial. Check it all out.

Being an athletic trainer by education and spending my career thus far focused on that profession I make my living on athletes being injured.  They come in, we start with assessment, move to treatment and rehabilitation and then eventually progress them back to their full activity.  Without athletes suffering from injuries I don’t have a job.  Now, that all being said I never want to see our athletes come down to the Athletic Training Center unless it is to say “Hi” and so I can see how their day is going, thus my focus on prevention and recovery.

The initial idea for prevention and recovery was to go at it from the athletic training side.  Ideas like   Turns out, our athletes have a lot of things going on and adding something else might be too much.  Starting with weights in the morning, class all day, athletic training room, film, practice, dinner, and homework before getting up for the next day, was adding another session really the answer?
adding sessions to workouts, having guys stay longer to foam roll, stretch, do ‘prehab’ would allow the athletes to get better and we would see our injury rates drop.

For this past year I have been fortunate enough to step into the role of Interim Director of Sports Performance.  This opened up an entirely new option for us to look at prevention work and recovery with our athletes, specifically the football team.  We wanted maximize our time and not add anything else to the days of our student-athletes yet at the same time making it effective.  With phenomenal support and planning from UW-La Crosse professor Glenn Wright PhD we were able to implement such a system.  This system allowed for us to work on prevention, mobility, stability and injury reduction all during our time in the Sports Performance Center and some additional sessions that our football players could do on their own on off days.  Below is the general layout of how we looked at in season and out of season and implemented these ideas for ‘prehab’ and recovery.

Generals
We did away with the ‘warm up’ when it comes to training and performance sessions.  It was now added as part of the workout.  We used this time to work on specific mobility and stability exercises that would not only get our student-athletes moving but focus on ‘turning on’ muscles that weren’t firing and mobilizing joints that were lacking range of motion.  Along with this we focused on total body stabilization, making sure we can transfer force as we need to.

In Season
In season we took the approach of lifting our ‘travelers’ twice a week (typically Tuesday/Thursday).  These workouts consisted of two primary movements, two main accessory movements and mobility and corrective or stability exercises worked in.  In all the workouts were performed in two circuits that allowed every athlete to keep moving during their workout time and accomplish the lift in forty five minutes. 

This combination of exercises proved to be beneficial for our athletes in terms of maintaining their strength, improving their mobility and reducing soft tissue injury throughout the year*.  Keeping the time concise allowed our athletes to get in and out of their workout in a timely fashion while maintaining the training effects.

Our third training day was Sunday.  Here we split our ‘travelers’ and ‘non-travelers’ for their workout.  ‘Non-travelers’ completed an axillary workout in the weight room to compliment their workouts earlier in the week.  The ‘travelers’ took part in a movement and recovery workout.  Both workouts took forty minutes again but one focused on strength maintenance and development while the recovery workout focused on reducing soreness, relieving tightness and preparing the body for the next week of practice.

Out of Season
Out of season we are able to really focus on working all aspects of our student-athletes ability not only in their training and conditioning but their mobility, stabilization and movement efficiency.  We stayed again with three days in the weight room a week.  We are able to accomplish all we need to in these days for increasing size and strength by utilizing a similar program as in-season.  The workouts start with movement preparation and stability and mobility work.  We then progress into workouts that have variations of the number of prime movements, accessory movements, mobility exercises as well as corrective exercises.

The efficiency plays a role here as we can get an hour and a half of work done (with five guys on a rack) in just over an hour and still get the training effects we are looking for.  With increased focus on stability and mobility we are able to start the process of our athletes moving better to allow for more force production as well as injury prevention.  These workout sessions are combined with our ‘conditioning’ work that consists of teaching the basics of force transmission, body awareness and control and general energy system development.

On ‘off’ days of the program we have ‘interval’ work and ‘regeneration’ workouts for our student-athletes to help continue to build their fitness base but also to help recovery from the previous days workout and prepare them for the next one.  These workouts consist of more moderate energy system development as well as self soft tissue mobilization, stretching and other exercises to help set the body up to get ready for the next workout.  The benefit of these ‘regeneration’ workouts is paramount as it allows our guys to continue to develop their training base while helping themselves recover.  We get better efforts on intense days and do so at a decreased injury risk.

Putting it All Together
There is a definitive trend in sports performance and training that smarter not harder is the way to go, more isn’t always better and can actually harm your athletes and recovery is key.  There are many ways you can work recovery right into your daily work with your athletes and not have to create another session or even extend your current sessions to accommodate it.

While I write this piece predominately from an athletic training point of view and look at prevention my time working in sports performance has shown it isn’t all prevention, its unlocking hidden torque and power that previously was untapped due to mobility and stability restriction.  Implementing this style of training is a two for one and those are hard to find.  If you make it a priority and work it into your current systems the results will speak for themselves.

*A sample size of our players in a study showed that the overwhelming majority of our players maintained or actually increased lean body mass during the football season.  We also saw a reduction in soft tissue injuries throughout the season from the start of camp, possibly due to increase mobility work throughout the year.

Addendum
Nutrition
Bottom line when it comes down to performance when it comes to nutrition and recovery you just need to eat.  All too often we see athletes trying to be very exact with nutrition and which powders and pills they need to take when they aren't even putting in enough calories.  When it comes to smarter nutrition you need to know how much your body needs and the more exact you can be, the better off you are.  There are many equations out there you can use and they have their ups and downs.  Your best option is getting tested for Resting Energy Expenditure which will tell you exactly how many calories you burn while at rest.  This then gives you the ability to double that number to get your working days calories.  From this you can tweak as needed for weight gain or loss.

Getting this information can be a huge benefit and save a lot of guess and check work.

Recovery

This area has exploded in the world of sports performance recently.  There are so many gadgets and new tools that can 'enhance recovery'.  While some of more merit than others the idea of recovery is very important.  Slowly leaving are the days of 'if some is good more is better' and moving in is the 'the harder you recover the harder you can train.'  Finding a day that is off is the best option and depending on your training cycle 3 to 4 days of training are ideal.  On those other two days is where you can work on not only recovery but improving your energy system development or ESD.  You're able to increase capacity while not being hard on your body with exercises to increase heart rate and work capacity without increase the wear and tear on your body and also the benefit of recovery.


You can do so much more for yourself if you're not constantly trying to blow it out and break yourself down.  Please consider the smarter not harder approach to better performance.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Mobility Monday: Recovering Your Overhead Shoulders

By: Joel Luedke

You might be surprised at how much we do overhead and never realize it.  This range of motion disappears quickly, very quickly.  Some of the most amazing athletes can't keep their hands up over their head with a bar and then perform a squat.  Often times they have to move the bar way behind their heads to cheat for the motion or it starts falling forward and they are unable to increase any weight.

This transfers into everyday life and trying to reach anything high and then move it if necessary, it can be very very hard.  It is also a range of motion that you need for general shoulder health and to restore your shoulders if you are stuck at a computer desk all day or end up being hunched over.  Get your shoulders to open up again and the difference is phenomenal.

Things It Can Help:
-Anterior Shoulder Pain
-Anterior Shoulder Restriction
-Tight Lats
-Fix you Snatch and/or Overhead Squat
-Just generally reaching above your head



Thursday, June 2, 2016

Friday Food: Salmon Avocado Dip

This one is simple and easy yet unbelievably delicious.  It combines so many good things and yes even a little bit of ranch (if that is your cheat you're doing pretty well).  Great to take to a get together or as a great snack.


Ingredients:
-1/2 avocado, thinly sliced
-1/4 cucumber, thinly sliced
-1 dash lemon juice
-Sea salt to taste
-1 pinch dried dill weed, or more to test
-1 (7.5 ounce) can salmon, drained and flacked
-1 teaspoon creamy salad dressing
-2 teaspoons capers

Directions:
-Layer avocado and cucumber on a serving plate; top with lemon juice, salt and dill.
-Mix salmon and creamy salad dressing together in a bowl; soon over avocado and cucumber.  Sprinkle capers one salmon mixture.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Study Spotlight: Can Lifting Weights Extend your Life?

By: Andrew Jagim

Normally I'm not a big fan of correlational studies or at least extrapolating an association into a "cause and effect" type of conclusion however they still pose some interesting questions.

Recently an article highlighted the potential benefits of strength training into older adulthood and how it may reduce one's overall risk of dying.

What did they do?
Researchers compiled data from a National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) over a 15 yr period and determined the association between adherence to recommendations on strength training (>2x per week) and all-cause mortality; accounting for differences in demographics, prior medical history and other behaviors.

What did they find?
What the researchers found was actually pretty astonishing, on multiple levels.  First of all, only 9.6% of the individuals surveyed exceeded the recommendations for strength training. That's 2,895 people out of the 30, 162 surveyed. Not good; as maintaining strength and mobility is an essential component of maintaining autonomy throughout the aging process.

Also, not only does regular participation help to maintain autonomy it also apparently helps to reduce your overall risk of dying as the researchers found that the older adults who did actually abide by the recommendations for strength training had 46% lower odds of all-cause mortality than their non-lifting counterparts.

Take Home Message:
Again, not that correlation always means causation, the reported association between strength training and a reduced risk of dying in the current study is pretty hard to ignore. The exact mechanism behind this association can only be speculated but it's likely attributable to a maintainance of lean muscle mass and subsequent strength throughout older adulthood that helps to maintain metabolic activity, mobility, function and an overall improved quality of life.  So in conclusion, make sure to participate in regular strength training as you age, it could save your life and improve the quality of life during your remaining years.


Click Here for Article