10 Health Tests

The Top Ten Ways to Test Your Body

1. HDL:triglyceride ratio
2. HS-CRP (C-reactive protein)
3. Free Testosterone
4. TSH
5. IGF-1
6. Vitamin D
7. Glucose
8. Adrenal Stress Index
9. Heart Rate Variability
10. Oxygen Saturation

See the article for recommended labs/providers.

Find Your Tempo

"Find Your Tempo:  Unscrambling the Confusion Over Tempo Pace" from Runners' World

Your Easy Days Are Too Hard And Your Hard Days Are Too Easy

"Your Easy Days Are Too Hard And Your Hard Days Are Too Easy" from Triathlete Magazine

Hauling Ass

I want to move to Colorado so I can do this:



More here:  "Hauling Ass" by Runner's World

And another video:  http://youtu.be/z0waV3Y-LR8

On a web forum, I got into a chat with a woman who races regularly, and I asked her if it's fair to say this is cruel to the donkeys in that it makes them do something they don't want to do.  Her reply:

This is something I asked a lot of people about prior to getting started and the resounding answer was NO, its not cruel. I mean, PETA might have some problems with it but but the donkeys certainly don't!

Donkeys are a little bit like dogs in that they really like having a job. So many donkeys never even leave their pastures! These guys get to get out and work, which they love. People with multiple donkeys say that if you take one out to run and not the other, the one thats left behind gets pissed. They actually really like to do it! For most of the donkeys that race, covering that distance is NOTHING to them. I went on a 10 mile training run with a group last weekend and the people were wiped afterwards but the donkeys looked like they were ready to go again. They didn't even break a sweat. People are really careful to only use donkeys that are healthy and old enough to handle the distance.

Probably the best proof that it's not cruel is the fact that the donkey rescue actually encourages this. If you've ever adopted a dog or cat from a rescue agency and felt like they set the standard super, super high as to who could adopt their animals, the donkey rescue is the same way. They are crazy (and wonderful!) rescue people and they still very actively promote racing. Almost everyone that I run with volunteers at the rescue and I hope to start doing it to once my son is old enough that he can come with me. :) Hell, the rescue's owner wants her own personal donkey to race this year!

Another example of the people doing this being crazy animal people: My friend that I started doing it with takes in all sorts of handicapped critters on her little farm. She even has a legless goat that she got prosthetic legs for except that he won't wear them so he just hops around on his stumps! Her donkeys are pretty much the only animals on her little farm that weren't taken in because they have some kind of physical problem. She might be the most insane animal lover that I've ever met and she has zero qualms about racing. 

I'm pretty sure the races usually have a vet on site and in the registration form it says that they reserve the right to pull any racer from the course if it looks like the donkey isn't doing well. 

Some donkeys aren't built for it and don't like to do it but those donkeys don't race. The ones that do really seem to enjoy it. 

A Week-by-Week Guide to Becoming a Runner

A Week-by-Week Guide to Becoming a Runner

Running Stage 1 – Walk/Run Intervals

I like to begin with sets of five minutes. The first stage is thirty minutes total - jog one minute and walk four, repeated six times. Perform this three times per week.

• Week 1 – Jog 1/Walk 4 x 6
• Week 2 – Jog 2/Walk 3 x 6
• Week 3 – Jog 3/Walk 2 x 6
• Week 4 – Jog 4/Walk 1 x 6

Now we start adding time to the intervals and push that out to ten minutes:

• Week 5 – Jog 6/ Walk 4 x 4
• Week 6 – Jog 7/ Walk 3 x 4
• Week 7 – Jog 8/ Walk 2 x 4

Increase interval time again:

• Week 8 – Jog 12/Walk 3 x 3
• Week 9 – Jog 13/Walk 2 x 3
• Week 10 – Jog 14/Walk 1 x 3

Increase interval time again. You’ll notice we’ve gone from thirty minutes total time to forty to forty-five minutes. Now we extend out to an hour of total time.

• Week 11 – Jog 17/Walk 3 x 3
• Week 12 – Jog 19/Walk 1 x 3
• Week 13 – Jog 60 mins.

That gets us to the end of phase one. While it may seem like it’s a long way to get there, trust me when I say if you’re taking up running later in life (and sorry to say but that is 35+) this will be an injury free way to get you to running non-stop for an hour. The injury issues can be compounded more if you are either overweight or carrying a high amount of muscle. Take your time getting through stage one.

Running Stage 2 – Build Strength Endurance & Stability

This stage is simple. Now you’re running an hour and you need to get to the point where you can run an hour twice a week with a longer run of 90-120 minutes on another day. For people who question the long run this is one of those “you just have to trust me” things. Until you’ve done the long sessions and see what happens as a result, you won’t understand. But once you do these weekly for a few months you’ll understand.

The mid-week runs are to be easy, nasal breathing runs. The weekend run is easy as well, but run the last twenty to thirty minutes a little bit harder. At this point there is to be only a limited amount of intensity. In gym terms, you’re still in the three sets of ten phase, of needing easy volume to further hone form and build the body. We still need a solid bed of strength endurance before adding intensity.

Before people jump all over me, realize the most important thing about running distance is that you can maintain midline stability and foot and ankle control for periods of time. The stabilizing muscles of the body are all slow-twitch and need to be trained that way. As well, attachments take a long time to adapt so this is still part of our breaking in process. I would stick to this phase for six months. It makes an ideal winter preparation period for a summer event.

 Running Stage 3 – Speed Work

Now we’re ready to get serious and add some speed work. Don’t be foolish and decide to go run 400m intervals. The purpose of speed work is not to run flat out, but to teach the body to run at a slightly higher pace than what you can right now. Most people do not ever get faster; they simpler run further. So their 5km is half of the 10km time, which is only marginally faster than their half marathon time. The goal of a speed session is to do some quality work at higher than target race pace.

I like to only use one quality session per week for most people. At this stage we’re up to four runs per week – 2 x 45-60min easy runs, 1 x longer run of 120mins with last 30mins hard, and a interval or hill session. Here’s how both of those work:

Intervals:

• 1-2km warm up including some 5x100m faster efforts building up through each.
• 3-5 x 1km efforts at above race pace with 1-2min easy jogging in between.
• 1-2km cool down.

Hills:

• Find a slight hill of 2-4%. Just like with the speed work don’t be foolish and go and try to find the steepest hill you can.
• 1-2km warm up.
• Run up the hill for 500m at above race pace, run down the hill at below race pace. If you averaged your speed for both up and down the hill it would be equal to your goal race pace. Do 3-5 reps.
• 1-2km cool down.

This whole process may take a year just to get to the third stage, but trust me when I say you’ll be injury free and enjoying running. Not only that, but you’ll likely be covering a half marathon every weekend in your long run, so longer events won’t pose a problem (like Tough Mudder, which is averages 18-19km). Don’t be in a rush, as that way leads to the doctor’s office.

Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments

https://bookofbadarguments.com/

Endurance training for strength athletes

Part 1:  http://www.completehumanperformance.com/so-you-want-to-run-endurance-training-for-strength-athletes-part-1.html

"The best way to serve two masters is to keep their needs as separate as possible."

Part 2:  http://www.completehumanperformance.com/so-you-want-to-run-part-2.html

Includes specific programs for powerlifters and Crossfitters to incorporate running.


A few take-away gems:
While on the topic, this “anabolic window” people talk about that leads them to pound protein shakes and carbs after lifting…  vastly overstated. Ridiculously so.  However, in the case of running, this IS in fact key, not for growth purposes, but to make sure you’re topping up your glycogen stores (which will be as depleted after 15 minutes of running as they are after two hours of lifting- you’re welcome to do the math on caloric burn yourself) and returning your body to an anabolic state in time for your next workout. (Part 1)

This being said, say you are a powerlifter and at this point you’re thinking “If I want to build overall aerobic capacity, aren’t I better off doing tire flips or some sort of general metabolic conditioning?”  The answer is a resounding NO.   (Part 1)

If you are a serious strength athlete, sprinting will NOT build leg strength.  Period, full stop.  The force exerted by even an Olympic level sprinter during acceleration do not remotely compare to the forces exerted during heavy squats or snatches.  (Part 1)

Certainly the best indicator of absolute limit endurance performance at high levels is the lactic acid threshold (LT)- the body’s ability to clear lactic acid (and therefore continue fueling activity) without accumulating excessive amounts of this compound and experiencing the resultant decrease in performance.  (Part 2)

Three or four intense runs a week, combined with three or four intense weight training workouts, will compromise performance in both.  (Part 2)

[P]ure interval running is suboptimal for specific strength gains (as it compromises recovery and teaches different movement patterns, compared to say a squat), and it is suboptimal for teaching an athlete HOW to run a long race. Efficiency is particularly relevant to the more muscular than average runner, as those athletes not built like Kenyans burn exponentially more energy via wasted effort (e.g. “heel braking”, excessive vertical bound, excessive arm swing, etc.)  (Part 2)

Tips on Energy Systems Training

LINK to full article

Fat Loss Formula

Part 1, focused on creating a caloric deficit, and the methods to use in order to accomplish that:

• eat less
• manipulate macros
• exercise more

Part 2, how to estimate the starting point of the diet regarding CALORIES, in order to create a deficit. 

• Resting metabolic rate:  women = 10xBWT#, men = 11.4xBWT#
• If you exercise regularly (an hour of moderate intensity activity), add 30-50%.  You get 13-15 calories per BWT#
• Thermic effect of food = 10%.  So 14-16 calories per BWT# is your maintenance range.  For me at 123#, that's 1722-1968 calories.
• To lose fat, aim for a 20% reduction in energy intake, 11-13 calories per BWT#.  For me at 123#, that's 1353-1599 calories.

Part 3, the value of PROTEIN, and the method of calculating how much to include in the diet under the established caloric parameters, so that fat loss can begin. 

• a good starting point = 1.5 grams per BWT#
• For me at 123#, that's 184.5 grams, or about 738 calories, of protein per day.
• 46-55% of total calories (1353-1599)

Part 4, essential fatty acids and other dietary FATS, and how much we need to include in our diet plan. 

• a good starting point = .33 grams per BWT#
• For me at 123#, that's 40-41 grams, or about 365 calories, from fats each day.
• 25-30% of total calories (1353-1599)

Part 5, how many CARBOHYDRATES are needed in our diet. 

• a good starting point = 100 grams, or 400 calories per day
• 25-30% of total calories (1353-1599)

So, 738 protein calories, 365 fat calories, and 400 carb calories sums up to 1503 calories/day.  If necessary, I can add another 100 calories of whichever micronutrient works best to get 1600 calories/day. (So, an additional 25g of carbs or proteins, 11g or fats)

Part 6, insulin sensitivity and resistance; effects on macronutrient needs. 

Part 7, different ways to structure the diet depending on insulin sensitivity/resistance. 

Part 8, leptin/insulin relationship. 

Are You Programmed to Enjoy Exercise?

LINK

"Even so, Dr. Booth said, his group’s data would seem to suggest “that humans may have genes for motivation to exercise and other genes for motivation to sit on the couch,” and over generations, one set of these genes could begin to predominate within a family. But predispositions are never dictatorial."

The Art and Science of Doing Nothing

LINK

That’s the message behind Andrew Smart’s book: Autopilot: The Art and Science of Doing Nothing. “Being idle,” he writes, “is one of the most important activities in life.”

I have often wondered whether especially those days when we are forced to remain idle are not precisely the days spent in the most profound activity . Whether our actions themselves, even if they do not take place until later, are nothing more than the last reverberations of a vast movement that occurs within us during idle days.In any case, it is very important to be idle with confidence, with devotion, possibly even with joy. The days when even our hands do not stir are so exceptionally quiet that it is hardly possible to raise them without hearing a whole lot.—Rainer Maria Rilke

Research: Excessive Endurance Exercise

Walk away from excess running, study says 

“Years of extreme exercise efforts appear to erase some benefits you get from moderate exercise, so that your risk of heart disease, of dying of coronary disease, is the same as a sedentary person,” said James O'Keefe, preventive cardiologist at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.

O'Keefe said the study found that men who were marathon runners for 25 years had 62 percent more plaque buildup in their coronary arteries than men who were sedentary but were similar to the runners in other respects, including age.

And the increased quantity of plaque in the marathoners’ arteries included both hard, or calcified, plaque and the more dangerous soft, fatty plaque. The latter is the kind that can be predisposed to rupture and cause a heart attack.

. . . Two years ago, in a report published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, O'Keefe and fellow authors cited evidence that extreme endurance training may cause structural damage to the heart, making it stiff and enlarged. That paper showed that moderate running distances two to five times a week at moderate speeds offered the best health benefits and that even 15 minutes a day of physical activity was helpful. 

. . . Running about 15 to 20 miles a week provides optimal health benefits, O'Keefe said. Or walking can provide benefits, from 2 miles a day to as much as 40 miles a week. Virtually all types of exercise and activities can also be protective, but moderation is best for long-term benefits, he said."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/31/4030986/walk-away-from-excess-running.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/31/4030986/walk-away-from-excess-running.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/31/4030986/walk-away-from-excess-running.html#storylink=cpy

Big Sugar's Sweet Little Lies

How the industry kept scientists from asking: Does sugar kill?

For 40 years, the sugar industry's priority has been to shed doubt on studies suggesting that its product makes people sick.

Science of Running: Bosu balls, VO2max, and Crossfit

SEARCHING FOR STABILITY: The efficacy of unstable training

The Fallacy of Vo2max and %VO2max

Why Crossfit works...but really doesn't. The randomness of adaptation, and why beginners just need change.

Crossfit endurance, Tabata sprints, and why people just don’t get it

Probiotics and the power of the gut biome

Some of My Best Friends Are Germs by Michael Pollan in the NY Times Magazine (May 15, 2013)

The Scary Truth about Probiotics from T-Nation

16 Leadership Lessons from a Four Star General

16 Leadership Lessons from a Four Star General

Some great excerpts from General Stanley McChrystal's new book.

I just ordered it for my Kindle.