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      CrossFit BS

      August 29, 2009 /

      What is CrossFit (CF)?? In a nut shell it?s performing movements and or exercises under time that are continuously varied from workout to workout.? Started in the mid 1990?s, this training system does have value in improving ones fitness level; that?s where the benefits stop.

      CF?s upside according to its proponents is being a total-body conditioning workout that is purposefully varied, which inhibits boredom.? I think it?s a home run for fitness enthusiasts because the workouts are challenging and competitive.? CF?s inherent difficulty, notice I said difficulty not intensity, also benefits the average person because most people do not train hard enough to elicit any measurable result.

      The seemingly illogical CF programming is an effort to challenge as many movement patterns and energy systems as possible.? ?CF is not a specialized fitness program but a deliberate attempt to optimize physical competence in each of the ten recognized fitness domains.? They are cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, stamina, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy.? Says founder Greg Glassman who is also known for his outrageous unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of CF.

      Its the lack of specificity that gives CF it?s upside and its downside. Because the body is receiving multiple forms of stimulus the body never excels at any of them.? Somebody who starts out as a crossfitter and was not strong or muscular through previous training, will not make appreciable gains in strength or muscularity.? Sure, one can get very fit, but that’s too one dimensional.

      Intensity and duration exist in an inverse ratio. In other words, as the intensity while performing an exercise increases, the amount of time one can perform the exercise decreases.? CF proponents claim their program utilizes a high level of intensity.? Well, there is no such thing as performing a movement or exercise for 5, 10, or 30 minutes and training with high intensity.? This is a physiological fact, not a choice, and certainly not something you can ?build? up to.

      Is CF difficult? You bet your ass.? Is CF Intense? No.? This can best be explained by comparing a sprinter and a miler.? Any type of endurance event is by its very nature of low intensity.? Sprinters are always sucking wind at the end of a race.? In contrast, long distance runners are usually breathing close to normal after several miles of running.? It doesn?t matter how long a world class sprinter trains, because he is going all out physiologically, he is breathing hard every race.? Sprinters, as a result of their intense training are far more muscular than the thin distance runners.? This is not to say distance runners don?t work hard, they do, but the body can only perform at a high level of intensity for so long.? And intensity is a prerequisite to gaining strength and muscle.

      You?ll never get truly strong performing CrossFit. No matter what Glassman or other CF coaches claim, it?s not going to happen.? A CrossFitter will never be able to achieve strength gains anywhere near the level of a powerlifter or even a strength enthusiast.? The vast majority of crossfitters have no appreciable strength what-so-ever.? The CrossFitters who are fairly strong or muscular, are former bodybuilders, powerlifters and weight lifting enthusiasts.? Training that targets endurance strength doesn’t increase maximal strength.? Training for maximal strength, however, does increase one’s strength endurance. ? If getting stronger, especially maximal strength, is your goal CF isn?t for you.

      You will not attain any measure of lean mass. CF?s founder Greg Glassman claims CF, for the natural athlete, is better at building muscle than traditional hypertrophy weight training.? As with most of his claims there?s no science or empirical data to back this assertion.? While touting the muscle building capacity of CF he fails to explain, the lack of muscularity among most CF athletes.? Crossfitters don?t come close to the muscular development of a natural bodybuilder.?? At best some Crossfitters look athletic, which is great, if that?s your goal.? But, if you want to be muscular, CF is not for you especially if you?re a hard gainer.

      It?s been well documented that within the fitness industry for decades that brief high intensity muscular contraction is the most important stimulus for building muscle and strength.? The duration of the exercise or movement is crucial, but can be counter-productive.? Sets lasting 5, 10, 30 minutes are completely of target for building anything but endurance.

      If overall conditioning is what you want?? If improving your physique is what you want?? If increasing your endurance is what you want?? Learn how to train each energy system properly for optimum results.? CrossFit needs to be taken for what it really is, a great fitness program.? That?s where it ends.

      Bodybuilding, General training, Power lifting, Specific workouts, Weight training, Workout programs

      Is popping multivitamins on a daily basis a risk to your health?

      August 27, 2009 /

      This article by Men?s Fitness.com says so:

      Mom always said to take your vitamins. But she didn’t mean overdo it. Thirty-five percent of adults swallow a multivitamin on a regular basis, but several studies warn that an abundance of extra nutrients may not be as good for the body as previously suspected. Just check out the data.

      DIABETES: While vitamin K and thiamine appear to help reduce risk factors, scientists warn that selenium in vitamins may increase the risk of type-2 diabetes.

      PROSTATE CANCER: Too many multis may increase your risk of developing a form of fatal prostate cancer, according to data from the National Cancer Institute.

      LUNG DISEASE: Multivitamins don’t protect against lung cancer, say scientists at the University of Washington. (In fact, too much vitamin E may increase the risk.)

      LONGEVITIY: Perhaps most alarmingly, vitamin supplements may increase your overall mortality risk. So says a recent Danish review of 67 studies involving more than 200,000 participants. After analyzing the data, researchers found that people taking vitamins were 4% more likely to die during the course of the study than people who weren’t taking them. Yikes.

      THE BOTTOM LINE: If your diet sucks, a multi may help. But if you already eat well
      and buy fortified cereals and breads, you’re likely getting all the nutrients you need.

      Interesting. Like most Americans who believe that they?re taking an active role in their health, I ingest a multivitamin on a daily basis (and actually, I take them on a nightly basis). But I don?t know if this article is enough to scare me away from taking them every day.

      I wish the article had provided more detail as to the appropriate amount of times a week it?s okay to take a multivitamin. Based on that last paragraph, the article would almost lead you to believe that you should take a multivitamin on the days you can?t eat as healthy as you should.

      Cancer, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition, Prostate health, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

      Low testosterone not good for male bone

      August 26, 2009 /

      Low testosterone levels may boost the risk of fractures for men over 60, an Australian study finds.

      The researchers tracked 609 men (average age 72.6) between 1989 and late 2005.

      The University of Sydney researchers collected information about the men’s bone mineral density, lifestyle habits, and blood levels of testosterone and estradiol (an estrogen).

      During the study period, 113 men suffered low-trauma fractures (caused by a fall from standing height or lower). Of those men, 25 suffered multiple fractures.

      There were a total of 149 fractures, including 55 vertebral, 27 hip, 28 rib, six wrist and 16 upper- and 17 lower-extremity fractures.

      The risk of fracture was much higher among men with low testosterone levels, the team found.

      Even after adjusting for a variety of potential risk factors, low blood levels of the two hormones “were associated with overall fracture risk,” the study authors concluded. Fracture risk was associated “particularly with hip and non-vertebral fractures,” they noted.

      The findings are published in the Jan. 14 issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

      Vitacost.com’s Daily Health Tip

      Anti-Aging, General training, Hormone replacement, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Testosterone, Testosterone boosters, Xternal Fitness

      Sweating the small stuff leads to heart disease

      August 25, 2009 /

      A study finds older men who suffer from chronic anxiety substantially increase their risk of having a heart attack. While stress has been linked to an increased risk of heart problems, this is the first time that chronic anxiety has been identified as a risk factor also.

      “There is an independent contribution of anxiety that can predict the onset of a heart attack among healthy older men,” said lead researcher Biing-Jiun Shen, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

      In the study, Shen’s group collected data on 735 men who participated in the Normative Aging Study, which assesses medical and psychological changes associated with aging. Each of the men completed psychological testing in 1986 and had no heart problems at the time. The men were followed for an average of 12 years.

      The report appears in the Jan. 15 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

      During follow-up, the researchers found men who had chronic anxiety had a 30 percent to 40 percent increased risk of heart attack. Those with the highest levels of anxiety on psychological testing had an even higher risk of heart attack.

      The risk posed by anxiety remained even after the researchers adjusted their data to account for standard cardiovascular risk factors, health habits, and negative psychological and personality traits, Shen said.

      Exaggerated response to acute and chronic stress in anxious individuals may trigger a number of pathways which increase the risk of developing coronary artery disease and being stricken with a heart attack, Fonarow said.

      “Highly anxious individuals should be aware they may face an increased risk of a heart attack and take proactive steps under physician supervision to control those cardiovascular risk factors which are modifiable including blood pressure, lipid levels, activity level and weight,” Fonarow added. HealthDay News)

      Moral of the story, don’t sweat the small stuff.

      Anti-Aging, Heart disease, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness

      Triceps from California

      August 24, 2009 /

      When it comes to building an impressive set of arms, the triceps cannot be overlooked. Consisting of three different heads, the triceps contributes to more than half of an arms circumference. Though large biceps are striking, it’s the triceps that give the upper arm a thick powerful look.

      Irrefutably one of the best ways to add size to your triceps is to perform triceps extensions. If you’re like most who’ve been working out for a year or more, you’ve tried various extension movements. More-over you probably like performing extensions, whether overhead or lying, but your elbows hurt when you use any appreciable weight for a period of time.

      Are you tired of elbow pain getting in the way of progress when performing effective exercises like triceps extensions? Are your triceps lagging behind in size? have you reached a plateau in arm development? Are you looking for an exercise to stimulate growth?

      If you answered yes to any of the above questions, I have the exercise for you. In an article discussing the ten best exercises, the California press is mentioned as being one of the best triceps exercises for size and strength. I’ve been using this particular exercise on and off for many years and can attest for it’s effectiveness.

      I’ve always attained great gains from performing triceps extensions, especially lying supine, but had to stop performing them due to pain. No matter what angle or bar I would use, as soon as I would start using heavy weight, it always resulted in pain in the triceps tendon. As a matter of fact, I developed tendinitis several times, which I’m sure many of you know, can be difficult to get rid of.

      Once I started to incorporate the California press into my triceps workout, I found I got the benefit of lying extensions without the wear and tear on the elbows. In fact, you’ll soon find the California press is a much more effective exercise than extensions because you can use a much heavier load; this will result in a much greater stimulus, which will yield a greater adaptive response.

      If you’re interested in trying the California press go to bullz-eye.com.

      Arms, Bodybuilding, General training, Power lifting, Specific workouts, Weight training

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