Welcome back! 

If your summer parties, get-togethers, and backyard olympics are still featuring ladder ball and traditional cornhole,  consider these lesser know games that are just as competitive, and demand skill and strategy!   I include three categories:  1) portable and for open spaces,  2) Skill and dexterity games at the table, and 3)  "Giant" adaptations of the classics. 

It's a perfect chance to invest in some new options at your next yard party or tailgate!  Try em out!

Hi everyone,  welcome back!  We're looking at  powerful PAIRINGS in wellness this week

The word of the day  is COMPOUND!   This powerful word connotes an appealing concept of creating something BIGGER  than the sum of it's parts.   It is why we combine spices, pair the right wine with cheese,  or put money into long term investments.  We like to pair things together to give us a return on investment!   

Weight training demonstrates this concept beautifully.  Strategic, and progressive OVERLOAD is the key component in producing strength and increased muscle mass.  These gains, in turn,  boost metabolism, making it easier to burn calories and manage weight down the road, while the increased strength further allows more and more gains, and this positive feedback loop continues.  This is the DEFINITION of compounding!

Problem is, many don't design their resistance training properly enough to maximize the time spent during a training session.    ORDER and TYPE of exercises MATTERS if you want to maximize the compounding effect of strength training.  I'm going to discuss one aspect of this concept,  since there are too many to cover in one post!

I don't want to go into the physiology too deeply,  so I'll just give a quick explanation of what neural pathways are in regards to strengthening.  Essentially,  when we lift weights, there are two ways we get stronger: 

1. Due to changes from the overload within the skeletal muscle fibers themselves due to the overload principle (hypertrophy - exhibited by increased muscle size and tone)
2. Due to increased nerve excitation from the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.   Muscle fibers need nerves to signal to them to contract - neural drive.  Neural drive (VIA NEURAL PATHWAYS) to the muscle determines if, when, and to what degree muscle fibers are activated to produce force

Neural drive is why you can experience an increase in strength without seeing an increase in muscle size, or why someone who has a smaller build can be stronger than one who is more muscular.   The more nerves that fire, the more muscle cells can contract, and the more they adapt muscle fibers to grow!

1. Warmup using a dynamic warm-up ( BUT NO ISOLATED STRETCHING!)
2. Start workout with one or two COMPOUND, MULTI-JOINT lifts.  Deadlifts,  back squats, bench press, pull-ups.  Best to choose only one or two bigger lifts in one session
3. Work up to your 5-8 rep max weight (meaning, reps number 7 and 8 are pushing your strength limits, but doable without sacrificing form or body position.  One more rep not possible or safe to do if you tried).  4-5 sets
4. Perform other isolated lifts for smaller muscle groups.  3-4 sets of 15-20 reps, but to muscular failure

Summary of pairings

If you would like help in designing your workout, please reach out for guidance!  I would be happy to help

Until next time!

Welcome back!  

This week we're looking at gut health!  We would be remiss to not explore the health risks associated with an unhealthy waistline.  Obesity alone carries many serious health risks, but experts have been telling us for decades that belly fat has unique risk factors if not in proportion to the rest of the body fat distribution in the body.  As the waistline goes up IN RELATION TO OVERALL BODYFAT, so does risk of serious disease risks, including heart disease, diabetes, many cancers and dementia.  But it may be a confusing message to digest, so let's explore!

 What makes the midsection uniquely situated to increase those risks?  It has to do with two distinctly different locations of fat accumulation: 

• SUBCUTANEOUS - the fat the lies underneath the skin.  In terms of the midsection, it is between the skin and the abdominal wall. This is the type of fat that can be seen and felt all over the body.  Subcutaneous fat, while unhealthy in large amounts, is relatively benign, compared to it's ugly cousin:
• VISCERAL - visceral means "between organs".  This is the fat that accumulates deep within the abdominal cavity and pads the space around the PANCREAS, LIVER, and INTESTINES.  Remember, fat is metabolically active tissue, meaning it releases hormones, and ultimately acts as an endocrine gland.  Additionally, when these fat cells break down, they literally shower the pancreas with lipids and other substances,  and then infiltrate the PORTAL VEIN (the major blood vessel coming out of the pancreas leading to the liver)  in concentrated quantities.  This overload of fat cells (lipids) into the bloodstream can lead to blood LIPOTOXICITY​

Lipotoxicity disrupts production and sensitivity to insulin (the hormone that is produced by the pancreas to deliver glucose into muscle cells) and disrupts other normal regulatory functions.   Further, when these cells die, it incurs an INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE (by release of inflammatory cytokines - previously discussed in this BSNF blog post).   Inflammation alone further compounds the health risk with it's own long list of health risks!  This disruption in regulatory functions and inflammation, in a nutshell, is where the elevated health risk comes from.  

Here are some ways to counteract our biological drives to create visceral fat.  This is especially important for those already dealing with a 

• Exercise.  Exercise. Exercise!  Both cardiovascular activities and strength training help slow down formation, and help manage healthy levels
• Limit carbohydrates, especially simple sugars, white rice, and starchy foods.  
• It has been shown that Intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating may also help improve your body's insulin response and reduce visceral fat.  Start with several days per week with the popular 16 and 8 rule (fast for 16 hours, and eat normal amounts within an 8 hour period)
• Spread out consumption of dietary fats throughout smaller meals.  Based on mechanisms highlighted in this study, spreading out the amount of dietary fat intake into several smaller meals should reduce the likelihood of abdominal visceral fat accumulation by reducing both the size and number of CHYLOMICRONS (those cells that carry lipids from small intestine to visceral areas)
• Move as much as possible, and avoid sitting for long periods
• DON'T SMOKE
• GET MORE SLEEP!  Can't state this enough.  A rested body is a healthier body!  You need 8 hours - this is no myth.  Yep, even you.

Thanks for hangin out with me as we discuss this very important topic!  This is EVERYONE's business, not just those already living with unhealthy waistlines.  Keep that gut healthy!

Until next time...