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3 Fitness tips that can help you stay healthy from your 20s and beyond

Tue, 05 Jul 2016 09:06:55 -0600

1) Get Strong: developing physical strength is something everyone is encouraged to do for a better functioning body and a healthier life. Studies show that individuals that resistance train typically live longer lives. In addition to that, sarcopenia is a natural part of aging that humans encounter. This muscle loss can lead to everything from minor inconveniences like not being able to open jars to more serious ones like increased likelihood of falling . By strength training, we minimize these risks.

2) Zone 2 Cardio - Get Out and Move: doing any form of cardiovascular exercise whether it's running, cycling, swimming, etc. can have a profound benefit on our heart health and bodyweight. While in recent ...

Coconut Oil for Cognitive Function, Immune System Health, and Weight Loss

Tue, 24 May 2016 06:10:45 -0600

Coconut Oil is a fatty acid that has risen in popularity in recent years because of it's nutritional benefits, tasty flavor, and versatile cooking uses. Coconut oil is a good source of healthy fatty acids like medium chain triglycerides and of saturated fat. In a diet with a moderate fat intake where around 30% of your calories come from fat, you'd want only 10% of that fat to be saturated fat. So for most people a serving size between 1 to 3 tablespoons of coconut oil is sufficient.

Coconut Oil is a nutrient dense food that offers plenty of health benefits.

Evidence for the efficacy of this food has been found both in clinical and epidemiological studies. 3 of the most significant benefits for coconut oil include it’s role as a cognitive booster, as a tool to strengthen the immune system, and as a metabolic aid.

Cyberkinetic Periodization and Autoregulation Tools Pt 2

Fri, 04 Mar 2016 19:20:43 -0700

There are a variety of autoregulation tools available to give you feedback on how to modify your training, I’ve found these to be efficient, relatively simple, and affordable considering some of the tools listed are available even as free apps for most phones.

Cyberkinetic Periodization and Autoregulation Tools Pt 1

Fri, 04 Mar 2016 19:14:02 -0700

-A big mistake many lifters can make is assuming their 1RM doesn’t fluctuate and failing to adjust accordingly. This results in suboptimal training sessions that stagnate progress.

- Adjustments can be made to intensity, volume, frequency, exercise selection, and rest intervals.

-Use tools like RPE, technique rating, velocity trackers, and heart rate tracking to guide you in autoregulating your program.

At one point or another almost every lifter will encounter these scenarios. Scenario 1) they walk in the gym set to work at 90% of their 1RM cause that’s what their program calls for.....the only problem is even the warm up sets at 65% feel heavier than normal. What do they do? Some might choose to grind out the prescribed work regardless of the feedback, in some cases that might be what the doctor ordered and they get through this and finish the workout. More often than not if the lifter does go through with the indicated workout, they ends up leaving the gym feeling more fatigued after a less than workout and have set their training progress back a bit as it’ll take even longer to recover. In a worse case scenario lifting in this fatigued or weakened state leaves them vulnerable to injury and they hurt themselves. Scenario 2) different date this same lifter finishes their first set, their program calls for power cleans at 85% of their 1RM but for whatever reason today their work sets feel like warm up sets. Assuming this lifter doesn’t have any athletic competition that they’re trying to save their peak for in the very near future, do they remain a slave to their program and stay at the % called for or do they put their foot on the pedal and gas their motor a bit to see if they can set a new PR?.

Quick Thoughts

Wed, 06 Jan 2016 20:40:33 -0700

Here's some quick thoughts/observations that I'd like to share with you all:

Baseline Physical Activity: Last month I got a cool watch that tracks stuff like my steps per day, calories burned, etc. While I've always been aware that physically active people burn more energy than sedentary, this new watch really put in perspective how significant the differences can be in a day. I didn't put much thought into why but I set a goal of 11k steps a day for myself. Turns out I greatly overestimated the impact a workout has on my overall daily activity. My workouts are intense but they barely put a dent in my 11k steps goal. The things that did make a difference were parking further at stores and randomly getting up to walk a few steps throghout the day.

New Years, Fresh Start: I've always preferred making changes immediately over waiting for New Years to do a resolution. But I enjoy the spirit of resolutions and the quest for self-improvement. For any resolutions I'd say it's important to know what your end goal is , how you'll go about doing it, and what's required for you to do it.

Sleep: Sleep is one of the most intresting subjects to research. There'...