Sunday, April 19, 2009

The World's Greatest Stretch

If you do only one stretch before a workout, make it... The World's Greatest Stretch!

This functional stretch activates the glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors and adductors, without fatiguing muscles pre-workout like sustained stretching does.

This is great to do before a walk, run, bike ride, field sport, or session on a cardio machine.

Note: This stretch does not provide a direct warm-up for lateral (side-to-side) activity, so if you're about to play soccer, you'll want to do some side lunges as well!

Here's how:
  1. Assume a lunge position, right leg forward.


    • Drop your right elbow inside your right knee.



    • Tighten your left glute for 2 seconds, to stretch the left hip flexor.



  2. Straighten both legs to stretch the right hamstring. Pull up gently on your right big toe. It’s OK if the leg is bent!



    • Drop your right elbow inside your right knee.


    • Tighten your left glute for 2 seconds, to stretch the left hip flexor.


    • Tighten the right quad muscles for 2 seconds, to intensify the stretch.

Switch legs, and repeat on the other side. Do 3 rounds on each leg.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

The Joy of a Bike Ride

I was out with a flu bug for a couple days, and then started the tentative, gradual process of easing back into triathlon training. By today I was back in the saddle for real, a mellow, two-hour cruise up the Carlsbad/Oceanside coastline. Oh, how great it feels to be outside and having some strength back!

Every time I glanced westward, I was struck by how incredibly lucky I am to live in this place, where the sun is bright and I'm wearing shorts and short sleeves, even on a windy day in mid-April.

I think the comical highlight of the ride was when I stopped briefly at a viewpoint in Oceanside. A 6-year-old (or so) boy and his mom came scrambling up the beach path to the road. The kid weilded a metal detector grandly, like it was the solution to all the world's problems. As he approached me, he pointed the detector right at my bike, at which point it started beeping excitedly. I said, "What do you have there? Did you find me alright?" He just grinned a little and brought the thing closer to my front wheel. "Do you want my bike now?" And the mother scooted her son along, smiling and muttering, "Honey, we don't need to do that...let's go, come on..." I felt pretty important! "

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Weight-loss Product Recall - and Why Shortcuts Don't Work

I've long been a proponent of gradual, maintainable weight loss - or more correctly, body-fat loss. The numbers on the scale don't tell you everything; you even can be leaner and more shapely at a higher weight, by increasing your lean muscle mass and reducing body fat.

However, I know we all want a "quick fix" sometimes! At times we may even feel we need one! I continue to advocate lifestyle changes over using quick fixes for weight loss - because in the physiological reality that governs our bodies, there are no safe quick fixes.

Many metabolic enhancers, short-term "detox" products, and fat absorbers contain unsafe ingredients that can have adverse effects on bodily functions.

A few reasons why quick fixes don't work:

1. Starvation mode: Restricting calorie intake by more than 100-300 calories per day can swing your body into a starvation mode, where it starts to hang on to fat and even slows the metabolism process. This is a safeguard against real "starvation" situations. I.e., "survival of the fittest" originally did not necessarily indicate the leanest!

2. Cannibalization of muscle: If you aren't consuming enough calories and protein to sustain energy and repair and rebuild muscle tissue during and after workouts, then your body gets energy from wherever it can - even right from your muscle tissue itself! First it uses all stored glycogen (food that has already been converted to ATP, or energy, whithin your body). Once it has depleted your available glycogen and stored fat, it turns to stored protein -- and finally, to muscle tissue.

3. Indiscriminate attacks on the body: Substances designed to absorb fat sometimes don't know the difference between fat and critical nutrients - so they can deprive you of vitamins you need, and even may cause your body to cannibalize muscle tissue!

4. Temporary water loss: Many weight-loss or detox programs cause you to lose several pounds within a few days by drastically lowering sodium intake and stripping your body of "water weight." Diuretic (water-draining) ingredients can actually dehydrate your body too, and cause more serious health problems.

You need some sodium and electrolytes for basic health and function of all bodily tissue, especially your muscles! The heart is a muscle too - if it gets dehydrated, you could be in serious trouble.

Muscle tissue needs water to recover from work. Ever notice how you're a little heavier after a strength workout or hard bike ride? You're just temporarily retaining water - exactly what your body needs to do. This is the right path to losing unwanted fat.


...So please, please, before falling prey to quick fixes, ask your trainer or nutritionist for help with leaning down for the long term!

On that note...

On March 23, 2009, the FDA recalled 72 over-the-counter weight-loss products due to "risky" ingredients.

Here's the list of banned OTC products: http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/weight_loss_products.htm

"Some of the products claim to be 'natural' or to contain only 'herbal' ingredients, but actually contain potentially harmful ingredients not listed on the product labels or in promotional advertisements," the FDA said.

"These products have not been approved by the FDA, are illegal, and may be potentially harmful to unsuspecting consumers." Most products contain sibutramine.

The FDA stated that these products contained prescription-strength amounts exceeding the recommended dosage and could cause health risks to consumers. Adverse reactions range from high blood pressure, seizures, tachycardia, palpitations and increased risk of depression.