Crossfit is a new fitness concept that builds both aerobic capacity along with total body strength and endurance. Although it has been the staple training system for many police academies, marines, navy seals and other elite athletes for a long time, it has only recently gained popularity among the general public. Remember the chiseled bodies of the Spartans in the movie “300”. They were all trained using CrossFit concepts!
CrossFit combines various cross functional compound movements (multi-joint) into one workout that taxes the complete musculoskeletal system. Often times it will combine an aerobic type endurance exercise (like running, rope jumps) with a power movement (dead-lift, power clean, bench press). After all most of the physical challenges that one encounters in life are not isolation movements but total body movements, for example, lifting a heavy box off the ground challenges the core (back/abs), the legs, shoulders and arms, so why should your workout be any different. After all one of the goals of fitness is to prepare you to handle any physical challenge that you might come across without breaking the back or dislocating a shoulder. This is the primary reason why I love this concept of workout. I was introduced to this style of training at my gym by the crossfit coach and I thought I had done it all until I did CrossFit. 10 minutes of CrossFit and I was huffing and puffing like a steam engine. Obviously my endurance level was nowhere near even some of the women in this program. CrossFit is painful and not for the faint of heart but the rewards are enormous. You build speed, endurance, power and get in incredible shape too. CrossFit doesn’t even require the fancy equipment you see in the gyms these days. All it needs is a few free weights, a pull up station and determination. There are a lot of body weight exercises and some barbell exercises. More information about CrossFit can be found at http://crossfit.com/
Why is CrossFit so effective? First because it combines compound body moves it elicits a hormonal response that raises testosterone levels and human growth hormone (HGH) levels, both of which are necessary for maintaining a youthful body. Also since the workout always keeps changing the body never gets a chance to adapt so you are always gaining strength and endurance. If you are looking for a rapid way to increase your fitness level and endurance it behooves you to take a look at CrossFit. It might just be the ticket. Here are some of the typical workouts that CrossFit athletes do. Interesting right? At least I thought so :)
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/LosAngelesCrossFit_EvaWOD.wmv
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_NicoleLindaWOD.wmv
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_ElizabethRxd.wmv
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Skinny Without Willpower
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Building Muscle for Fat Loss
Since building muscle is an efficient way to lose fat, boost your metabolism and get healthy, in this article I'll focus on how to quickly build muscle and get a toned, firm body. The basic principle to understand in building muscle is that the muscle becomes stronger by progressive resistance thereby increasing in size. There are two main phases in building muscle:
1) The breakdown phase: When one exercises to failure the muscle cells involved get torn down on a microscopic level. The muscle cells have a certain threshold pressure (force/unit area) they can withstand without breaking down. As the muscle cell fatigues that pressure tolerance drops and once the pressure goes past a certain point the cell gets ruptured and further work is not possible. This is what happens on a cellular level when you go to muscle failure.
2) Recuperation or muscle hypertrophy phase: during the recuperation phase the body metabolizes proteins and other vital nutrients into the muscle cell in order to repair it. As a result of this the cell grows thicker to prepare itself for the next assault. In other words the cell adapts to the stress placed on it. Since the cell can only withstand a certain fixed pressure across the cross-section, the cell increases in cross-sectional area in order to maintain a constant pressure during the higher load.
As the muscle grows in volume it increases its glycogen storage capacity and the more glycogen the muscles can store the lower the chances of blood glucose getting converted to fat. And as glycogen is the primary energy source for the body, the more you have the better your energy levels will be. So it’s a win-win situation no matter how you look at it. Higher basal metabolism, less fat storage, better energy levels and a firm, toned body, what more could you want (apart from winning the Power Ball lotto, of course!).
So the basic idea of building muscle is to keep increasing the force across the cells (progressive resistance) so as to cause muscle breakdown and then provide the basic building nutrients to help build the muscle stronger and thicker so it can adapt to the higher stresses. This principle can be carried to any extent subject to certain limitations based on genetics, diet and overall fitness level. There is the story of a young Greek boy who carried a calf a certain distance, everyday. Over the years as the calf grew in size so did his strength. That’s the principle of progressive resistance! But remember it’s a slow process so perseverance is the key.
Here is a basic beginner’s routine that should benefit all beginners and help them build a good basic foundation for adding muscle. Also note that following this routine as a weight loss program might initially prove counter productive as you might see an increase in body weight from the gained muscle. As you build muscle the basal metabolic rate will go up and at some point the fat burned during and after the workout will out weigh the muscle gained. At that point you will see a steady drop in weight. Also the goal of any good fitness program shouldn't be weight loss but instead, fat loss. Weight gain is good, but only if its muscle gain and not fat gain.
There are two broadly classified movements in weight/resistance training:
1) Compound body movements: moves that involve multi-joints, like squats (hips, knees, back), bench press (shoulders, elbows), dead lift (knees, back, hips).
2) Isolation movements: moves that involve only one joint, like bicep curls (elbows), machine leg-extensions (knees), crunches (abs).
As a beginner, one should focus solely on compound movements involving body weight or free weights. And as a matter of fact unless you aspire to become a body-builder you should work solely on compound movements as they give you the most overall fitness and the most bang for your buck, so to speak. The reason being that compound movements tax your entire muscular system due to the many muscle groups involved. This results in maximum fat burned. Also research has shown that the larger the muscle group worked the greater the amount of testosterone and growth hormone produced in the body which are the two most important hormones for muscle gain and general well being. A woman’s body also produces small amounts of testosterone (even without exercise) that would benefit gaining small amounts of muscle, but it won’t be enough to turn them into the Incredible Hulk. So all the women out there rest easy because moderate (or even intense) resistance training won’t turn you into Arnold Schwarzenegger! Women would also benefit from this routine as they will burn fat and achieve a firmer, more toned body.
For the first three months you would resistance train 3 non-consecutive days of the week. Following a total body workout that would consist of 3 basic exercises.
1) Squats or lunges: 3 sets of 15 repetitions each.
2) Pushups: 3 sets of 15 reps each.
3) Pull ups or bent over rows: 3 sets of 15 reps each.
Now I’ll go into the details of all three exercises:
Squats: I personally like squats (with a weighted barbell) the best, as they hit the biggest muscle groups in your body; the legs, gluteus (buns), lower back and abs (together referred to as the ‘core’). No other exercise hits so much muscle in one compound movement. Some like the leg press better as it takes off the stress from your lower back. Start off with body weight squats. Keep your arms straight out to the front or across your chest and maintain a straight back at all times. Go down low enough such that your upper legs break parallel and your hips go just below your knees. Do 3 sets of 15 repetitions with 2 minute interval between sets. If you think squats are easy try doing three sets to failure with a 1-2 minute rest between sets. See how much out of breath you get. It is as good as or better than any aerobic exercise in terms of intensity and building cardiovascular capacity. A good demo of bodyweight squat can be found here:
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/air2boxsquat.wmv
For women (and even men) substituting the squat for the walking lunges is a good alternative for firming and strengthening the upper leg and buns. Here is a demo of this exercise:
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_WalkingLunges.wmv
Do this to failure for three sets instead of squats.
Take a 3 min rest and move on to the next exercise, push ups.
Pushups: The pushups hit the chest, shoulders, triceps (the back of your arms) and part of your upper back. Here is a good demo of the various forms of push ups.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_PushupStandards.wmv
If you are unable to do push ups with your hands and feet on the ground you can rest on your knees or even elevate your upper body on a platform or a wall so that it makes it easier. Here is a good video of how one can gradually build strength doing push-ups.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_DevelopingPushup.wmv
In any doable form do three sets of 15 repetitions each with 2 min rest interval between sets. Pushups are a great way to tone your upper front body along with the back of your arms. Take a 3 min rest and move on to the next exercise: the pull up or bent over row.
Pull up or bent over row: This exercise hits the upper back muscles that give you the “V-shape” taper and if developed properly will make your waist look smaller. It also improves your posture. It also hits the biceps (the front of your arms). Here is a demo of the standard pull up.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/pull-up.wmv
The pull up is quite a tough exercise especially for the beginner and not all of us have access to a pull up bar. So a good alternative is the bent over row with dumbbells. Maintain a straight back with legs slightly bent and arms at a 45 degree angle to the sides of your body and make sure you get the weight to your abdomen level as shown in the demo below.
http://www.spike.com/video/dumbbell-bent-over/3109023
Even though this illustration shows it being done with a pair of dumbbells you can substitute with a weighted medicine ball or anything that is heavy enough for you to grab and do 15 repetitions, like a 10 lb bag of potatoes or a few heavy books (don’t throw away those Yellow Pages!) . Do 3 sets of 15 repetitions each with a 2 min rest interval between sets.
This routine hits all the major muscle groups of your body and the whole workout shouldn’t take more than 30-35 minutes. Follow this routine 3 days a week for 3 months. During this time also pay close attention to your diet as training is only half the equation. The other half comes from sensible eating. Eat about 0.5 gram/lb of bodyweight, of high quality protein (from soy, lean meats, low fat dairy and lentils) along with low GI carbs (from whole grains and fruits) and watch yourself transform into a firmer, leaner, fitter you. After three months you can continue to increase repetitions to failure or if you are ambitious and want to build more muscle, go on to working with free weights. More on that later. Also if you are just trying to gain muscle then minimize cardio exercises and if you are trying to lose additional fat then do two days of cardio in between the resistance training. Until next time happy training….
1) The breakdown phase: When one exercises to failure the muscle cells involved get torn down on a microscopic level. The muscle cells have a certain threshold pressure (force/unit area) they can withstand without breaking down. As the muscle cell fatigues that pressure tolerance drops and once the pressure goes past a certain point the cell gets ruptured and further work is not possible. This is what happens on a cellular level when you go to muscle failure.
2) Recuperation or muscle hypertrophy phase: during the recuperation phase the body metabolizes proteins and other vital nutrients into the muscle cell in order to repair it. As a result of this the cell grows thicker to prepare itself for the next assault. In other words the cell adapts to the stress placed on it. Since the cell can only withstand a certain fixed pressure across the cross-section, the cell increases in cross-sectional area in order to maintain a constant pressure during the higher load.
As the muscle grows in volume it increases its glycogen storage capacity and the more glycogen the muscles can store the lower the chances of blood glucose getting converted to fat. And as glycogen is the primary energy source for the body, the more you have the better your energy levels will be. So it’s a win-win situation no matter how you look at it. Higher basal metabolism, less fat storage, better energy levels and a firm, toned body, what more could you want (apart from winning the Power Ball lotto, of course!).
So the basic idea of building muscle is to keep increasing the force across the cells (progressive resistance) so as to cause muscle breakdown and then provide the basic building nutrients to help build the muscle stronger and thicker so it can adapt to the higher stresses. This principle can be carried to any extent subject to certain limitations based on genetics, diet and overall fitness level. There is the story of a young Greek boy who carried a calf a certain distance, everyday. Over the years as the calf grew in size so did his strength. That’s the principle of progressive resistance! But remember it’s a slow process so perseverance is the key.
Here is a basic beginner’s routine that should benefit all beginners and help them build a good basic foundation for adding muscle. Also note that following this routine as a weight loss program might initially prove counter productive as you might see an increase in body weight from the gained muscle. As you build muscle the basal metabolic rate will go up and at some point the fat burned during and after the workout will out weigh the muscle gained. At that point you will see a steady drop in weight. Also the goal of any good fitness program shouldn't be weight loss but instead, fat loss. Weight gain is good, but only if its muscle gain and not fat gain.
There are two broadly classified movements in weight/resistance training:
1) Compound body movements: moves that involve multi-joints, like squats (hips, knees, back), bench press (shoulders, elbows), dead lift (knees, back, hips).
2) Isolation movements: moves that involve only one joint, like bicep curls (elbows), machine leg-extensions (knees), crunches (abs).
As a beginner, one should focus solely on compound movements involving body weight or free weights. And as a matter of fact unless you aspire to become a body-builder you should work solely on compound movements as they give you the most overall fitness and the most bang for your buck, so to speak. The reason being that compound movements tax your entire muscular system due to the many muscle groups involved. This results in maximum fat burned. Also research has shown that the larger the muscle group worked the greater the amount of testosterone and growth hormone produced in the body which are the two most important hormones for muscle gain and general well being. A woman’s body also produces small amounts of testosterone (even without exercise) that would benefit gaining small amounts of muscle, but it won’t be enough to turn them into the Incredible Hulk. So all the women out there rest easy because moderate (or even intense) resistance training won’t turn you into Arnold Schwarzenegger! Women would also benefit from this routine as they will burn fat and achieve a firmer, more toned body.
For the first three months you would resistance train 3 non-consecutive days of the week. Following a total body workout that would consist of 3 basic exercises.
1) Squats or lunges: 3 sets of 15 repetitions each.
2) Pushups: 3 sets of 15 reps each.
3) Pull ups or bent over rows: 3 sets of 15 reps each.
Now I’ll go into the details of all three exercises:
Squats: I personally like squats (with a weighted barbell) the best, as they hit the biggest muscle groups in your body; the legs, gluteus (buns), lower back and abs (together referred to as the ‘core’). No other exercise hits so much muscle in one compound movement. Some like the leg press better as it takes off the stress from your lower back. Start off with body weight squats. Keep your arms straight out to the front or across your chest and maintain a straight back at all times. Go down low enough such that your upper legs break parallel and your hips go just below your knees. Do 3 sets of 15 repetitions with 2 minute interval between sets. If you think squats are easy try doing three sets to failure with a 1-2 minute rest between sets. See how much out of breath you get. It is as good as or better than any aerobic exercise in terms of intensity and building cardiovascular capacity. A good demo of bodyweight squat can be found here:
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/air2boxsquat.wmv
For women (and even men) substituting the squat for the walking lunges is a good alternative for firming and strengthening the upper leg and buns. Here is a demo of this exercise:
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_WalkingLunges.wmv
Do this to failure for three sets instead of squats.
Take a 3 min rest and move on to the next exercise, push ups.
Pushups: The pushups hit the chest, shoulders, triceps (the back of your arms) and part of your upper back. Here is a good demo of the various forms of push ups.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_PushupStandards.wmv
If you are unable to do push ups with your hands and feet on the ground you can rest on your knees or even elevate your upper body on a platform or a wall so that it makes it easier. Here is a good video of how one can gradually build strength doing push-ups.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_DevelopingPushup.wmv
In any doable form do three sets of 15 repetitions each with 2 min rest interval between sets. Pushups are a great way to tone your upper front body along with the back of your arms. Take a 3 min rest and move on to the next exercise: the pull up or bent over row.
Pull up or bent over row: This exercise hits the upper back muscles that give you the “V-shape” taper and if developed properly will make your waist look smaller. It also improves your posture. It also hits the biceps (the front of your arms). Here is a demo of the standard pull up.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/pull-up.wmv
The pull up is quite a tough exercise especially for the beginner and not all of us have access to a pull up bar. So a good alternative is the bent over row with dumbbells. Maintain a straight back with legs slightly bent and arms at a 45 degree angle to the sides of your body and make sure you get the weight to your abdomen level as shown in the demo below.
http://www.spike.com/video/dumbbell-bent-over/3109023
Even though this illustration shows it being done with a pair of dumbbells you can substitute with a weighted medicine ball or anything that is heavy enough for you to grab and do 15 repetitions, like a 10 lb bag of potatoes or a few heavy books (don’t throw away those Yellow Pages!) . Do 3 sets of 15 repetitions each with a 2 min rest interval between sets.
This routine hits all the major muscle groups of your body and the whole workout shouldn’t take more than 30-35 minutes. Follow this routine 3 days a week for 3 months. During this time also pay close attention to your diet as training is only half the equation. The other half comes from sensible eating. Eat about 0.5 gram/lb of bodyweight, of high quality protein (from soy, lean meats, low fat dairy and lentils) along with low GI carbs (from whole grains and fruits) and watch yourself transform into a firmer, leaner, fitter you. After three months you can continue to increase repetitions to failure or if you are ambitious and want to build more muscle, go on to working with free weights. More on that later. Also if you are just trying to gain muscle then minimize cardio exercises and if you are trying to lose additional fat then do two days of cardio in between the resistance training. Until next time happy training….
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Lowering Cholesterol Through Diet
The American Heart Association estimates that about 140 million Americans have cholesterol that is either high or borderline-high and of these about 37% have a cholesterol level of higher than 240. Cholesterol, especially the low-density (LDL) type is a major risk factor for developing heart disease, high blood pressure and liver failure. Heart disease still tops the number one killer in America. Each percentage point drop in total serum cholesterol count lowers the risk of heart disease by 2%. Typically values over 240 are treated with prescription statin drugs like Lipitor and Lovastatin. Last year alone Americans spent $30 billion in prescription drugs for lowering cholesterol.
There is a however an alternative approach to lowering cholesterol based purely on diet and exercise. Plus it keeps you in good shape and makes you feel good about yourself. My own fasting cholesterol was over 240 a few years back and now after following a moderate exercise and healthy eating regimen I was able to lower my cholesterol to 190 while improving my HDL/LDL ratio.
These diet recommendations are based on a study done by Dr. David J.A. Jenkins (the father of Glycemic index) at the University of Toronto. In the study three groups of 16 middle-aged adults were put on three different diets.
1) The control group followed a healthy diet based on whole grains, low fat diary and low saturated fats.
2) The second group followed the same diet as the control group with the addition of taking the prescription drug Lovastatin.
3) The third group followed a diet that was high in plant sterols, soluble fiber, soy and almonds.
As expected the second group receiving the prescription Lovastatin had a 31% reduction in total serum cholesterol. The most surprising finding, however, was that the third group had a 29% reduction in total cholesterol levels making it as effective as taking prescription statin drugs!
Now let’s take a closer look at the diet followed by the third group as this is what interests us most. This diet mainly consisted of 4 food groups:
1) Nuts: Nuts are a rich source of mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). MUFA's play a vital role in metabolizing fat and are instrumental in raising HDL (good) cholesterol. They mainly affect the good/bad cholesterol ratio. The richest sources of MUFA are peanuts, almonds, walnuts, macadamia and pecans. A handful of these can be eaten on a daily basis without the risk of weight gain. The Jenkins study subjects in the third group ate a handful of almonds daily
2) Soy: Dr. Jenkins substituted a lot of the dairy and lean meats from the first two groups by soy alternatives like soy burgers and soy milk. This eliminated some of the saturated fats found in the former food groups.
3) Soluble fiber: Soluble fiber is found in sources such as oatmeal and certain whole grains and has been shown to lower total serum cholesterol. Soluble fiber as opposed to insoluble fiber is the sticky fiber and vegetables are a good source of soluble fiber most notably, Okra, egg plant, beans and legumes. The subjects in the third group ate regular portions of these food groups.
4) Plant sterols: A recent discovery of certain plant phytochemicals knows as “phytosterols” plays a vital role in lowering the total cholesterol count and fighting against certain forms of cancer. Although plant sterols are not found in significant quantities in any single source, researchers have been able to extract concentrates. It is available in pill form and also in certain phytosterol-enriched spreads such a Benecol and Take Control.
The successful implementation of this diet means eating portions of all these four food groups on a daily basis. Almonds and other nuts are easy to implement in any diet as a mid-meal snack. Just grab a handful and you are set. Oatmeal can be a regular breakfast item along with some fruit and grated almonds. Okra, egg plant and other beans and legumes can be eaten as main course during lunch or dinner and soy is easily consumed as milk or as garden burgers or as tofu. Costco even sells roasted soy beans that can be eaten as a quick snack. So you see it’s not too hard to lower your cholesterol with these few simple tips. In the next writing I’ll talk about building muscle for increasing your metabolism and burning fat. Until next time eat healthy and have a healthy heart…..
There is a however an alternative approach to lowering cholesterol based purely on diet and exercise. Plus it keeps you in good shape and makes you feel good about yourself. My own fasting cholesterol was over 240 a few years back and now after following a moderate exercise and healthy eating regimen I was able to lower my cholesterol to 190 while improving my HDL/LDL ratio.
These diet recommendations are based on a study done by Dr. David J.A. Jenkins (the father of Glycemic index) at the University of Toronto. In the study three groups of 16 middle-aged adults were put on three different diets.
1) The control group followed a healthy diet based on whole grains, low fat diary and low saturated fats.
2) The second group followed the same diet as the control group with the addition of taking the prescription drug Lovastatin.
3) The third group followed a diet that was high in plant sterols, soluble fiber, soy and almonds.
As expected the second group receiving the prescription Lovastatin had a 31% reduction in total serum cholesterol. The most surprising finding, however, was that the third group had a 29% reduction in total cholesterol levels making it as effective as taking prescription statin drugs!
Now let’s take a closer look at the diet followed by the third group as this is what interests us most. This diet mainly consisted of 4 food groups:
1) Nuts: Nuts are a rich source of mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). MUFA's play a vital role in metabolizing fat and are instrumental in raising HDL (good) cholesterol. They mainly affect the good/bad cholesterol ratio. The richest sources of MUFA are peanuts, almonds, walnuts, macadamia and pecans. A handful of these can be eaten on a daily basis without the risk of weight gain. The Jenkins study subjects in the third group ate a handful of almonds daily
2) Soy: Dr. Jenkins substituted a lot of the dairy and lean meats from the first two groups by soy alternatives like soy burgers and soy milk. This eliminated some of the saturated fats found in the former food groups.
3) Soluble fiber: Soluble fiber is found in sources such as oatmeal and certain whole grains and has been shown to lower total serum cholesterol. Soluble fiber as opposed to insoluble fiber is the sticky fiber and vegetables are a good source of soluble fiber most notably, Okra, egg plant, beans and legumes. The subjects in the third group ate regular portions of these food groups.
4) Plant sterols: A recent discovery of certain plant phytochemicals knows as “phytosterols” plays a vital role in lowering the total cholesterol count and fighting against certain forms of cancer. Although plant sterols are not found in significant quantities in any single source, researchers have been able to extract concentrates. It is available in pill form and also in certain phytosterol-enriched spreads such a Benecol and Take Control.
The successful implementation of this diet means eating portions of all these four food groups on a daily basis. Almonds and other nuts are easy to implement in any diet as a mid-meal snack. Just grab a handful and you are set. Oatmeal can be a regular breakfast item along with some fruit and grated almonds. Okra, egg plant and other beans and legumes can be eaten as main course during lunch or dinner and soy is easily consumed as milk or as garden burgers or as tofu. Costco even sells roasted soy beans that can be eaten as a quick snack. So you see it’s not too hard to lower your cholesterol with these few simple tips. In the next writing I’ll talk about building muscle for increasing your metabolism and burning fat. Until next time eat healthy and have a healthy heart…..
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