I personally struggle with endurance, for instance when I do long kettlebell sport sets my grip is the first thing to go.  Because of my personal weakness I spend extra time working the crushing component of my grip, but effective wrist training needs to be done through all angles of movement.  The crushing movement trains flexion so to complement the training I have to add extension, ulnar and radial deviation (rotation).

Constantly training flexion (this can simply be wrist curls or grippers) builds a lot of tension in the lower arms.  This tension over time can lead to painful inflammation in the elbow, wrist, and forearm.  I even started getting a sharp pain in my right-hand ring finger.  One of the best ways to combat this cumulative trauma is to add rotational exercises.  I was using sledge hammer rotations, but a few weeks ago I came across a YouTube video from Valery Fedorenko, kettlbell guru-extraordinaire, doing a rotational exercise with a kettlebell.  I added this exercise to my routine once a week and have been loving it, so I wanted to share the video with you.

Enjoy and let me know how it works for you!

I am going to share my recipe for making Baja style chicken tacos.  All you need are a few simple ingredients:

• 1 Rotisserie Chicken (found at your local grocery store)
• 1/2 a head of Green Cabbage
• 1 bunch of Cilantro
• 2 Limes
• Taco Seasoning (I prefer Spice Hunters or Seeds of Change…they don’t have MSG and are organic!)
• Taco Shells (I like the crunch of a corn taco, but you can use a soft tortilla made from flour, spelt, quinoa, etc.)

Preparation:

Start with the chicken by removing and discarding the skin. Then remove the meat from the bone and place on a plate.  Use two forks, one in each hand, to shred the chicken.  Place the chicken and a little oil in saute pan over medium heat.  Add the taco seasoning to taste; usually 2-4 tablespoons depending on your personal preference.  Squeeze the juice of one lime into the pan.  Let the chicken cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While the chicken is reheating, shred the cabbage, chop the cilantro, cut the remaining lime in quarters (for garnish), and crisp the taco shells in the oven (follow the instruction on the package).  Once the chicken is warm put it in the taco shell, layer on the cabbage and cilantro, squeeze a little more lime juice on the taco, and then dig in!

The beauty of this meal is that it only takes one quick stop at the grocery store for the chicken, 10-15 minutes to prep and cook.  I have found an average size bird feeds 3-4 people.  You can also add Pico de Gallo salsa, cheese, or sour cream…really you are only limited by your imagination!

Cheers,

Richard

What is 6-Degrees of Freedom?

The term comes from aviation, but it more completely describes how the body moves through space.

“We don’t move robotically through one plane at a time. Human movement is a complex weave through different planes and on different axes. If we take the three axes of conventional movement descriptions, we can think about moving both along and around those axes in order to take advantage of our true movement potential: “

6-degrees of freedom patterns:

• Heaving: moving up and down
• Swaying: moving right and left
• Surging: moving forward and backward
• Pitching: bending forward and backward
• Yawing: twisting right and left
• Rolling: turning right and left

That’s a brief primer on the theory. Let’s get to my adaptation to pull-ups.  Here are the descriptions and a video montage to following…Disclaimer: I am not yet a CST coach so this is my interpretation of Coach Sonnon’s theory so if you have a better pull-up variation for one of the movement patterns than please put it in the comments.

1. Heaving Pull-up: do a standard pull-up with palms facing away or a chin-up with palms facing you.
2. Swaying Pull-up: Side-to-side pull-ups; start with your hands wider than shoulder width apart on the bar, pull up into the top position, shift sideways towards the right hand, then shift across to the left hand, then back to center and down is one rep.
3. Surging Pull-ups: Reach-ups; is a pull-up but on the top position reach with the right hand, back down, pull up, and reach with the left hand to complete one rep. This is a dynamic/explosive movement.
4. Pitching Pull-ups: Perform a standard or mixed grip pull-up but on the up movement arch back until your sternum is under the bar.  Think of doing a back bend combined with a pull-up.
5. Yawing Pull-up: Grappler pull-up with a wide grip; start with hands in a mixed grip and wider than shoulder width apart.  If your left hand is closest to your face you will twist to the right as you pull up. This will have your left hand in a palm facing you position and your right hand in a palm facing away.  Reverse the twist while lowering back down.  Switch hand position and perform to the other side.
6. Rolling Pull-up: Wide grip pull-up, pull up to the right hand, back down, pull up to the left hand, and back down to complete one rep.

Video Demo:

Programming:

You need to ask yourself what your goal is…what are you training for?  This will determine whether you are doing a certain number of reps, going for max reps in a set time, or need to make the exercise harder/easier.

I have been focusing on metabolic conditioning.  So I performed all 6 exercises in sequence in 6 minutes.  I started with 30 seconds of max reps and 30 seconds of rest while I transitioned to the next exercise.  Then I would rest for 1 minute after all 6 variations.  I performed 3 rounds to complete the series.  As you progress lengthen the work time and shorten the rest time so that you are doing 6 consecutive minutes of work.  The only rest would then be the time to switch hand positions

Give it a try and let me know how it goes for you!  Drop a comment if you changed the pull-up for any of the 6DOF movements.

-Richard

It got me thinking about how we reward ourselves.  Maybe affirm would be a better choice.  Kristie had dropped off the radar screen of the public eye until she gained a ton of weight.  Her struggle to lose and keep the weight off revived her career.  Then she dropped off the radar screen again because she was back to “normal”.  So whether it was intentional or not, she regained the weight and is back on the radar screen as she struggles to loose the weight again. 

The point I am trying to make with this illustration is that her reward, money & fame, came back with the weight.  For the rest of us it is more subtle.  Maybe it is the sugar rush from that candy bar, the buzz from a cup of coffee, the cholesterol from the cheese burger, all causing changes in the body’s hormones.  These small daily indulgences all add up until one day we wake up, look in the mirror, and say, “dang, I don’t look good naked anymore”.  

I wish changing our habits was easy, but you are fighting a genetic/metabolic reward center.  It takes a combination of consistent work and getting back to basics.  Breaking the cycle is the hardest part, but once your body is running on clean fuel again…WOW!! <–that is your body’s response to how it feels. 

RIP THE BAND-AID OFF!!

I believe the cold turkey approach is the best method.  Here are some tips to get started:

1. Identify the “reward” that is sabotaging you and make a goal of where you want to be.
2. Stay away from the temptation…whether it is sugar, pasta, eating out to often, etc.
3. Start making meals from scratch (don’t give me you don’t have time because you can make great meals in under 20 minutes) and think high fiber!
4. Find an activity that gets you moving, but most importantly is fun.
5. REMEMBER this is a marathon not a sprint so focus on the incremental progress.

Good Luck and let me know h0w it goes!

Richard

However, just because I found a mainstream source of pu-erh I wasn’t ready to sing hallelujah.  I was worried because there were several options; one with just pu-erh an “Emperor Puerh” and three combinations.  The three combinations were the reason I was worried, just like flavored coffee, the flavor is used to disguise poor quality tea or coffee beans.  Like I said earlier, I have liked Numi’s other teas, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and bought a box of “Emperor Puerh”.

As soon as I got home I brewed myself cup.  I smelled the aroma as the tea was steeping…yes, that smells like good pu-erh.  My patience was waning and I almost added ice to cool it down.  I resisted dropping in an ice cube, but I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I did have a cube melting in my hand.

Honestly, Numi did a good job.  Their tea has the flavor of young pu-erh.  It is not the best, but you can’t beat the $10 price and the convience of getting it close to home!  I will definitely be buying more.

Cheers,

Richard

My passions (beyond my family) are health, nutrition, and fitness.  Overlaying theses passions is the knowledge that if we can’t have fun pursuing our goals than we need to change something up!  That is why my posts gravity towards health first philosophies.  I share the knowledge I am learning with all of you because I want to improve all of our qualities of life.  I believe that if we work together we can achieve great things.  I hope to be like George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” and look back at all lives I have positively touched.  That will be a wonderful reward and make me “the richest man in town”.

So my parting thoughts come from someone dear to all of us…listen to your mom when she said eat your vegetables, get outside to play, and get plenty of sleep!  Do that daily and we will all thrive as we grow old together!

Cheers,

Richard

I have a long-term goal of putting up Master of Sport numbers and I knew that it was going to take some refining to get efficient with the 3 GS lifts (my introduction to kettlebells was Pavel’s book “Enter the Kettlebell”, so I have some RKC movements that need to be unlearned).

Andrew Durniat is a C.S.C.S and the owner of Optimal Performance Training. He is a Master Trainer for world champion Valery Federenko’s AKC certification course, an international kettlebell competitor and current American record holder for the single arm snatch (147 reps, 32kg).

Over the course of an hour, Andrew rebuilt my swing motion, shored up my rack position, and gave me the feedback necessary to improve my cleans, jerks, and snatches.   One of the many things I learned from him was the importance of learning to relax in the rack.  Spend a lot of time in the rack!  That time under tension will only benefit you in competition.

I am now fired up to try and compete at the IKFF competition in Detroit on September 24.  Now I have to get to work!  I will keep you posted on my progress.

Matcha consists of premium green tea powder.  It can be used for drinking as tea or as an ingredient in recipes.  While other green teas are grown throughout the world, matcha is unique to Japan.  It is the heart of the Japanese way of tea and has been celebrated in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony for hundreds of years. 

Why should you drink Matcha??

Beyond tasting good…green tea leaves contain the powerful antioxidant compounds known as catechins (which contain the powerful EGCG), vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, E, niacin, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, potassium, manganese, zinc, copper and naturally occurring fluoride. Green tea also contains chlorophyll, lignin, and amino acids including theanine.

While I am a big fan of drinking green tea, much of the research suggests you’d still have to consume 10 or more cups a day, every day, to achieve the health benefits associated with the findings. In addition, more than half of the nutrients in green tea such as beta-carotene, vitamin E, vitamin A, chlorophyll, and dietary fiber are insoluble in water, so are not released in brewed tea. Take full advantage of the benefits of this amazing herb. Eat your tea for maximum nutrition!

Fortunately there are several ways to easily consume the whole green tea leaf…you can use matcha which contains 10 to 100 times the antioxidant benefit compared to regular green tea.  This is due to the whole leaf being consumed.

How can you use matcha??

Use the traditional method and mix matcha in hot or cold water.  There are numerous ways to incorporate antioxidant-rich green tea in your regular routine.  Add matcha to a tasty breakfast smoothie, juice, dressings, seasonings, as a salad topping, in soups, in mashed potatoes, or as a topping on baked potatoes. There are even tasty ways to combine matcha powder as a topping for popcorn.

Still my favorite is a hot frothy cup of matcha!

Cheers!

One parting thought (or caveat) to remember…hormones or genes may be involved with your weight gain, but the biggest impact is what you put on your plate!!

Long Term Weight Loss – More Than Will Power?

by Kent Holtorf Medical Director, Holtorf Medical Group

Obesity has become a major health epidemic and has dramatically increased over the last decades. Studies show that approximately one-third of the U.S. population is classified as obese and over two-thirds are significantly overweight. While the cause is multifactorial, studies are clear that almost all overweight individuals have metabolic and endocrinological dysfunction that is causing or contributing to their inability to lose weight.

It is not simply a problem that individuals are taking in more calories than they are consuming or lack of exercise or willpower, but rather it is a complex vicious-cycle of endocrinological and metabolic dysfunction. Contemporary medicine has failed to address these dysfunctions in overweight individuals and doctors and patients continue to believe that all cases are a matter of willpower and lifestyle. Thus, it is no surprise that obesity is reaching epidemic proportions.

Research is demonstrating that dysregulation of two key hormones may be a cause or major contributor of weight gain or inability to lose weight in the majority of overweight people. The first is leptin and the second is reverse T3. The exciting part is that doctors can now test for the presence of these physiologic barriers to weight loss and prescribe appropriate treatments with potentially dramatic results.

Leptin

The hormone leptin has been found to be a major regulator of body weight and metabolism. The body secretes leptin as weight is gained to signal the brain (specifically the hypo¬thalamus) that there are adequate energy (fat) stores. The hypothalamus should then stimulate metabolic processes that result in weight loss, including a reduction in hunger, an increased satiety with eating, an increase in resting metabolism and an increase in lipolysis (fat breakdown). New research has found that this leptin signaling is dysfunctional in the majority of people who have difficultly losing weight or are unable to lose weight.

The problem is not in the production of leptin, but rather, studies show that the majority of overweight individuals who are having difficulty losing weight have a leptin resistance, where the leptin is unable to produce its normal effects to stimulate weight loss. This leptin resistance is sensed as starvation, so multiple mechanisms are activated to increase fat stores, rather than burn excess fat stores. Leptin resistance also stimulates the formation of reverse T3, which blocks the effects of thyroid hormone on metabolism (discussed below).

Testing: A leptin level can be ordered by your physician. If greater than 10, it demonstrates there is a degree of leptin resistance contributing to an inability to lose weight. The higher the number the more significant the leptin resistance.

Treatment: There are currently two medications are shown to be able to treat leptin resistance and can result in significant weight loss. One is Symlin and the other is Byetta. These are currently approved for the treatment of diabetes but can be prescribed “off-label” for the treatment of leptin resistance. They are showing significant promise in the non-diabetic population with the ability to produce dramatic weight loss in a large percentage of overweight patients. The amount of weight loss varies according to the study design, but a significant percent of patients are experiencing weight loss, despite little or no change in diet.

The leptin resistance is not permanent and is shown to improve with weight loss so diet and exercise can be beneficial. The “catch-22″ is, however, that it is difficult to lose weight with leptin resistance. High carbohydrate diets and in particular high-fructose corn syrup is shown to significantly increase leptin resistance and is a likely mechanism that high fructose corn syrup is associated with obesity, especially in children. Avoidance of high fructose corn syrup and carbohydrates would be recommended for those with high leptin levels.

Reverse T3

It is well known that thyroid hormones regulate metabolism and that low thyroid hormone production (hypothyroidism) causes low metabolism, but it has only recently been understood that thyroid production can be fine but there can a problem of activation of the hormones inside the cells that can be a major cause of low metabolism.

The thyroid gland secretes an inactive thyroid hormone called thyroxine, also known as T4. This is regulated by thyroid stimulation hormone (TSH) produced by the brain (specifically the pituitary). Normally, the inactive T4 is converted inside the cell to the active thyroid hormone called triiodothyronine (also known as T3). Most doctors will check TSH and T4 levels to see if thyroid levels are normal.

The studies are showing that it is not the production of thyroid that is the problem, but rather it is problem inside the cell that the inactive T4 is not converted to T3 but rather to a mirror image of T3 called reverse T3. The reverse T3 has the opposite effect of T3, blocking the effects of T3 and lowering rather than increasing metabolism.

It is an evolutionary fall-back that was useful in times of famine or in hibernating animals to lower metabolism. Studies are showing that stress and dieting (especially yo-yo dieting) can set this hormone into action as well as chronic illness such as diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

The production of reverse T3 is found to be a major method by which the body ‘tries” to regain any lost weight with dieting. As soon as the body senses a reduction in calories, the production of reverse T3 is stimulated to lower metabolism. With chronic dieting or stress, the body often stays in this “starvation mode” with elevated levels of reverse T3 and decreased levels of T3, which is a major reason for the regaining of lost weight with dieting as well being the mechanism behind stress induced weight gain (it is not due to increased cortisol).

Testing: There has been a long held belief by endocrinologists and other physicians that adequate thyroid levels can be determined by testing the TSH and T4 levels. Studies are showing that such standard testing will miss 80% of thyroid dysfunction so most endocrinologists and other doctors will tell their patients that their thyroid is fine based on this usual testing. The doctors must run a free T3/reverse T3 ratio. Generally, a healthy person will have a ratio greater than 2 so a person with a ratio less than 2 should also be considered a candidate for thyroid supplementation. Many endocrinologist and physicians are not yet aware of the significance or ability to run this ratio so it may take some searching.

Treatment: The standard treatment of hypothyroidism involves the supplementation with T4, including Synthroid and Levoxyl. These are not effective to remedy such a situation because the problem is not the amount of T4 but rather the excess conversion of T4 to reverse T3, blocking effects of the active T3. One must bypass the abnormality by supplementing with physiologic doses of T3, not T4 (preferably timed released T3). It is not appropriate to give thyroid hormone for weight loss, but rather to correct an abnormality diagnosed by appropriate blood tests.

In summary, emerging evidence demonstrates that a significant number of overweight patients have a metabolic problem rather than a problem of willpower or lifestyle. Identification and correction of these metabolic abnormalities, including leptin resistance and cellular thyroid dysfunction, can result in dramatic long term successful weight loss.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kent-holtorf/long-term-weight-loss—m_b_192933.html&cp

What the Sots Press is:

Basically, there are three steps.  First, clean the kettlebell.  Second, squat down with the kettlebell in the rack position.  Third, press the bell overheard to lockout while in the squat position. Then reverse the motion by lowering the bell to the rack and standing up.  Sounds easy enough, but don’t be fooled it is one of the trickier presses out there.

What the Sots Press looks like:

I got the above picture from Mike Mahler, so do me a favor and go over to his site.  All the stuff he puts out is awesome and worth every penny!  (I have no affiliation with him, so the only thing I get from you buying his stuff is possibly some good karma)

What the Sots Press works:

Obviously, this exercise builds pressing power, but it also improves flexibility and tension techniques.  You are going to work your shoulders, core, legs, and triceps.

Troubleshooting:

If you are having trouble with the Sots Press there are two main issues..flexibility or you are using too heavy of a kettlebell.  Don’t let pride push you to bad technique!

Lower body: If you can not do a full squat (like Mike in the picture above) than work on developing depth in the squat.  A quick trick to identify your squat weakness is to lie on your back and pull your knees into your chest with your arms.  If your knees touch your chest than the problem is in your ankles otherwise time for some hip stretches.  Here are three of my favorite yoga poses that work the hips: Bound Angle pose, Fire Log pose, and Pigeon pose.  If your ankles are the problem use Downward dog and focus on touching your heels to the ground. 

Upper body: If you can do a full squat but are feeling excessively tight in the shoulders here are two great yoga poses for upper back and shoulder flexibility: Camel pose and Dolphin pose.

Still having trouble than use a lighter kettlebell.  I say that a little tongue in cheek as you may also be having trouble because you’re not keeping proper tension in your core.  You may need to work some core stabilization drills to develop the necessary strength in the torso so the Sots Press doesn’t become more a side press. 

Enough fooling around, get out there and crush it!