5 Consecutive Long Jumps

I do the jumping knee tuck or hops before I perform any explosive or fast movement. Reason is to lay down muscle motor neuron pathways related to the activity to be performed. Basically telling the body, "Ok we're gonna go hard and fast! Be ready!"
You will never see me hold a stretch before an activity like this. I would be sending the wrong body readiness message as in, "Relax, go easy."




This idea of performing 5 consecutive long jumps (5CLJ) came from a coach at the University of Wisconsin- Lacrosse. The average person should be able to broad jump their own height in distance. He has sufficient data that correlates one's long jump ability to speed. He had a group of world class time 400M sprinters at the time I discovered him. They were jumping around 11 feet. Which is amazing!



But we do 5CLJ's because it brings in a bigger athleticism challenge. The ability to land from an explosive jump, re-coil the muscles and spring forward again repeatedly requires: coordination, the exploitation of the plyometric effect on muscles and tendon and overall body strength (think armswing, core muscles to re-align the body mid-air and obviously legs & glutes).

Those studs from UW-L were jumping 55 feet in the 5CLJ. The end of the tape in my videos was at 45 feet. I have some work to do I guess.

Diabetes and Obesity is a Business

If you have diabetes or know someone with diabetes, understand this. Unless the diabetic has a non-functional pancreas, diabetes is reversible. Yes curable. It's only a disease if you break it down into dis-ease, meaning the body is not as ease. Rather it's overwhelmed. Poor food choices causing the body's hormone system to spin out of control; and this doesn't happen overnight, the culmination of eating habits and lack of knowledge of what is being sold as foods, over time, lead up to this condition.

Your suffering is big business. If diabetes was limited through society's active role in taking care of itself, this business niche would dwindle. The Diabetic Association would be smaller, insulin drug manufacturers, suppliers and "dealers" would lose profits. Magic drug weight loss scams would disappear, diet books and centers would not be so abundant. And the food manufacturers who "feed" us the ingredients (which are generally cheaper in cost to manufacture) would have to re-structure. This is a profitable consumables cycle and we are caught in the middle with no benefit. Maybe KNOWING the difference isn't enough, it might come down to tasting the difference.

The Route to Obesity Passes Through Your Tongue

According to Neuroscientists, obesity gradually numbs the taste sensation of rats to sweet foods, and drives them to consume larger and sweeter meals. This is apparently a critical link between taste and body weight.

Previous studies have suggested that obese persons are less sensitive to sweet taste. In summary of all these studies, chronic overeating is due to a missing satiety signal resulting in obesity and developing diabetes with an increased preference for sweet foods. The mechanism is that about 50% fewer neurons are firing when the tongues of the obese are exposed to sucrose – less sensitive to the taste of sugar.

Conversely, Super tasters who are sensitive to the bitter compounds found in broccoli and other foods were found to be about 20% thinner than non-tasters. Super tasters also tend to have more papillae, the tiny bumps on your tongue that hold taste buds. While non-tasters tend to like much sweeter, hotter and more bitter foods – they simply can't taste the food as well.

Influence of Hormones on Your Sweet Tooth

Leptin – a hormone produced by your fat cells – is believed to be a sweet-sensing hormone. With that, it is likely that either a lack of leptin or your body's failure to respond to the hormone contributes to having that sweet tooth. It's already been discovered that animals and humans with low leptin levels, or with defective leptin receptors (leptin resistance), tend to become obese. This hormone signals your brain when your fat cells are full; instructing your body to reduce hunger, increase fat burning and reduce fat storage. So in addition to increasing cravings for sweets, low leptin levels also diminish your feelings of satiety – leading to CONTINUED intake of sweets.

The issue is leptin resistance (similar to insulin resistance). If you eat a diet high in sugar and grains, blood sugar levels rise, insulin kicks in to deliver it to the liver and muscles, once those stores are topped off the excess sugar is metabolized to fat (picture a potbelly). The fat cells become full and trigger a leptin release to tell you to quit feeding your face. But overtime with excess food consumption both insulin and leptin become ignored by the body. These two hormones are around so much that the body doesn't "listen" to them.

Enter insulin resistance and leptin resistance. Insulin resistance develops diabetes, and leptin resistance develops obesity. Not just muffin tops and saddle bags but also that pregnant man look – you know that solid looking potbelly. That's visceral fat, fat surrounding the organs of the abdomen. Yuck!

And to tie everything together, the excess sugar travelling around in your blood stream from the inability of insulin to deliver causes heart disease in that sugar acts as rust on our blood vessels. Elevated blood sugar levels for long periods of time corrode the arteries; cholesterol (which is actually a friend to the body) comes in and patches up the "rust spots" in the blood vessels. And you can only do so many patch jobs.

The Addiction

Making matters worse, refined sugar has been found to be far more addictive than cocaine – one of the most addictive substances currently known! So if you think quitting tobacco is tough, giving up sugar can be even harder.

The Fix

Well from everything I just said taste of foods is not going to be the best indicator for what's good for your body.

Modify your diet by bringing in good fats about a third of your diet worth. No, fat does not beget fat – that's an '80's marketing concept by food manufactures to sell cheap unhealthy fat free foods.

Avoid insulin spikes. Never ever ever drink a soda by itself or just have toast, or just have pasta. The general rule is 4 carbs to 1 protein for insulin to do its work properly. Meaning you need to have some source of protein with every meal or snack.

Re-sensitize your taste buds. Eliminate just one of the food nemeses from your diet for 21 days at least. Then go back and just have a taste. Odds are, it won't taste nearly as good as you remembered it being; and may even be disgusting. Another feedback from my clients who cut out pasta for long period of time is that they notice a bloated gut feeling whenever they eat it again. Good sign to stay off the pasta.

Exercise. Physically demanding activities drain the glycogen (sugar) stores in the muscles. Now the muscles will listen to insulin because it has what the muscles need – more sugar as fuel. The fat cells shrink because insulin isn't visiting them as often with goodies. But another hormone comes along to visit the fat cells mobilizing them to "shape up" and lean out (I will save that for another story) and now, like a well run and efficient business everybody is getting along and doing their jobs right all because you decided to eat right and exercise smart.

Lat Pulldowns Behind Neck

Back to basics.
The lat pull-down behind the neck.
Look at Mikael's form & technique.

• Upright posture
• Chin up and head straight forward
• Appropriate hand grip width to allow for full range of motion
• While pulling down focusing on rotating the shoulder in towards the spine
• While letting the weight up she is controlling it, smoothly and allowing her shoulder blades to rotate up and out... hmmm kinda like angel wings.

When doing this exercise the goal is not how much weight you can do. Rather, it's a mind-on-muscle thing. Feeling the movement. Keeping perfect alignment.

Somedays you just need to go into the gym and connect with your body. Not worry about weights, reps, speed or heart rate. Simply connect. The whole mind, body, spirit thing comes alive when you allow yourself to have one these days.

Red Bull

Here's a direction question I received via Facebook mail:
In your opinion, is Red Bull bad for the body, or neutral or like coffee (assume the sugar free kind)? Do you know much about it?

Here we go, brace yourself.

Just one can of the popular stimulant energy drink Red Bull can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. The effect was seen even in young people.
The caffeine-loaded beverage causes blood to become sticky, a pre-cursor to cardiovascular problems such as stroke.
One hour after drinking Red Bull, your blood system becomes abnormal, as might be expected from a patient with cardiovascular disease.
Red Bull is banned in Norway, Uruguay and Denmark because of health risks.
Energy drinks have been popping up all over supermarket and convenience store shelves in recent years, and have overtaken bottled water as the fastest-growing category in the beverage business.
No less than 3.5 billion cans of Red Bull were sold last year in 143 countries.
Yet questions regarding the safety of Red Bull, as well as other energy drinks, keep cropping up at regular intervals when yet another overzealous energy-addict keels over.

Some energy drinks can contain a huge amount of caffeine -- as much as 300 milligrams in a single serving. For comparison, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits caffeine in food and beverages to 65 mg a serving (energy drinks, however, are not regulated by the FDA).

Do Energy Drinks Really Really Live Up to Their Name?
When you break down the contents of one of those eight-ounce cans, the primary ingredients are caffeine and sugar (in the form of glucuronolactone, sucrose and glucose). So the answer is yes, energy drinks will
provide you with a quick burst of energy.
However, this is not a lasting effect, and drinking several in a row will not turn you into a flying superhero, no matter how hard their sinister marketing geniuses try to convince you otherwise.
According to the official website, Red Bull's benefits include:
Improved performance
Increased concentration and reaction speed
Increased endurance
Increased metabolism
However, the effects of this energy drink will be similar to that of drinking a cup of coffee or a can of soda, in that when the effect wears off you'll start feeling lethargic and will likely crave another can (or cup) to boost your energy once again. As many of you likely know, it can become a vicious cycle.

The problem with that recommendation is the fact that no one really knows the net effect of chugging Red Bull like you would coffee. Coffee has caffeine, yes, but it doesn't contain all those other artificial and energy-boosting ingredients, including no less than TWO artificial sweeteners (in addition to all the other sugar).
Aspartame alone has been shown to have multiple neurotoxic, metabolic, allergenic, fetal, and carcinogenic effects. I don't believe it is safe for anyone to drink and Dr. Mercola wrote an entire book about it called Sweet Deception.

Do Energy Drinks Have Health Benefits?
Nutritionally speaking, energy drinks are comparable to carbonated beverages like soda in that they offer little of value to your body. Yes, there are traces of B vitamins in Red Bull, and it contains the amino acid taurine, but this cannot make up for the detrimental effects of caffeine and sugar.
Although caffeine can certainly increase short term reaction speed, one major problem is that no one really knows how the combination of ingredients in Red Bull will affect your body. This is especially concerning since energy drinks are marketed toward people under the age of 30, and are especially popular among students and night clubbers who oftentimes drink several cans at a time.

Who Should Definitely Avoid Energy Drinks?
It is fairly self-evident that children should never consume these kinds of drinks, but due to the detrimental health impact of their contents, it would definitely be wise to avoid energy drinks if you:
Are pregnant or lactating
Are sensitive to caffeine
Suffer from anxiety
Suffer from high stress
Suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome
Have high blood pressure
Are predisposed to cardiovascular disease
Have any kind of blood clotting disorder

As lead researcher Scott Willoughby stated, Red Bull can be deadly when combined with stress or high blood pressure, as it can impair proper blood vessel function and raise your risk of blood clots.

Mix with Alcohol for a Potentially Deadly High
Mixing energy drinks with alcohol, which is combining a stimulant with a depressant, has become an increasingly popular occurrence at bars. When mixed with alcohol, drinks like Red Bull are instantly morphed into popular club drinks like "Vodka Bulls" and "Yager Bombs." The combined effect of these substances is unknown, but researchers say overloading your body with heavy stimulants and heavy depressants could lead to heart failure and according to previous news stories about fatal outcomes from this deadly mixture, that's not just a theory.
Countries like France and Denmark banned sales of Red Bull following several reported deaths of people who mixed it with alcohol.
The Red Bull brand has even made it into the scientific literature. The journal Medicine, Science, and Law published an article in 2001 on the effects of alcohol and Red Bull combined with yet another stimulant: ephedra.
The result? Acute psychosis.
And in the Journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society, an Italian case study reviewed an incident of "postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) associated with a vasovagal reaction," recorded in a young volleyball player after an excess intake of Red Bull. (Whatever that means, right? Be patient read on)
They concluded:
"Considering the widespread use of Red Bull among young people who are often unaware of the drink's drug content, this case report suggests Red Bull be considered a possible cause of orthostatic intolerance."
Orthostatic intolerance is a condition in which a change from the supine position (laying down) to an upright position causes an abnormally large increase in heart rate (more than a 30 beats per minute increase, or a heart rate greater than 120 beats per minute within 10 minutes of sitting or standing up).
POTS has also been proposed as a mechanism for symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, so if you're suffering from chronic fatigue, drinking energy drinks is likely NOT in your best interest, which is why I included it in the list above.
You also need to be aware that consuming large amounts of alcohol -- even wine -- will increase your insulin levels, thereby accelerating your risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases.

If you're drinking energy drinks for the reason most people do -- to get more energy – know that there are far superior options than artificial energy drinks. Humans are not naturally sluggish or constantly tired. This lethargic state is something that many of us have brought on ourselves.

Your lack of energy is likely due to a combination of factors including:
Poor food choices
Low-quality food
Stressful lifestyle
Negative emotions
Lack of sleep
Lack of exercise

Increasing your energy levels, then, is as easy as remedying these factors by:
Eating right for your nutritional type
Increasing your intake of omega-3 fats
Eliminating grains and sugars from your diet
Releasing emotional stress and negativity with the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
Sleeping when you're tired
Exercising

Source: Mercola.com

P.S. My short answer to drink options other than plain old water: Tea from simply water (of desired temp) and a tea bag. Also, to have citrus fruits in your water.

Definitely the best explanation of a habit that I have ever heard

So like many of us who are working on self-improvement, you want to make positive changes in your life, maybe you struggle with regressing back to your old ways. Ever wonder what could be an underlying cause or factor?

Think of your habits and how they affect your life. Are they good habits, neutral or are they destroying you?

Look, habits are a big deal and we need to keep them in check for our own personal gain as well as realize how they affect the important people in our lives. We are in control of our habits and only we can make necessary changes if needed. Evaluate your habits and determine if they are making a positive impact in your life; if not how can you modify your habits?

The following is definitely the best explanation of a habit that I have ever heard:
I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half the things you do, you might just as well turn over to me, and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done, and after a few lessons I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great men; and, alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision of a machine; Plus, the intelligence of a man.
You may run me for profit, or run me for ruin; it makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me and I will put the world at your feet.
Be easy with me, and I will destroy you.
Who am I?
I am a HABIT!

- Author Unknown
*Which of all the habits do you choose to be yours?

Share your habits. What are some good habits that you have? What are your bad habits that you would like to change? What are some ways you have thought of to reverse those habits? If you are unsure on how to change them - list the habit and I will try to list suggestions to help you out.

Side Plank Combo

Can you hold a plank from every basic angle? Are you bored holding forever? What's the point if you can hold a plank for 2 minutes or more? Move on you've graduated to challenging yourself with more difficult variations.




First off, a plank is simply holding your body straight as a board. Think when you are at the top of a push-up movement and arms are straight. That's a plank. Most common mistake is letting the mid-section droop (which is a sign of weak core or abs, back and hips) or over compensating and rounding the back or piking the body up. Most common measurement of progress is how long you can hold the position.

Ok, so here's what's going on this video.

Shaun is holding a side plank on one elbow with one foot on a bosu ball, while holding his other leg up in the air to create more instability. With his other arm I have him doing a row with a light jumpstretch band.

Effect: With the progressive resistance from the band and the fast explosive pull, he's training to be powerfully fast as swimmers need. And being put into a position of instability, many various muscle groups are firing to maintain balance and control. Something to think about as when you are in the water there is nothing to brace you besides the water.

Remember this is only one aspect of a complete training program, don't just do these types of exercises. Be sure to incorporate strength, muscle stamina, cardio for heart and lungs, balance and coordination. Eat right and sleep well. Perform phenomenally!

Pomegranates

Pomegranates have been in the supermarket for a few months now. Pomegranate season typically runs from October to January. Although a native fruit of the Mediterranean region (used for thousands of years), most pomegranates found in US markets come from California's San Joaquin Valley.

A good ripe pomegranate will have a deeply colored skin (usually reddish purple) and will be heavy for its size (i.e. juicy!).

Most pomegranates are shipped ripe, so it is unlikely you’ll get an unripe one. On the other hand, you may encounter some that are old and dried out. Avoid fruits with cracks or soft spots. The skin should be leathery but smooth. An old pomegranate will also be considerably lighter than a fresh one.

Sweet, juicy, and delicious, this exotic fruit can be daunting to anyone that hasn't used it before. However, opening a pomegranate and removing the juicy purple seeds (actually arils) is quite simple. Just check out my photo step-by-step guide to opening a pomegranate:

How to Cut and Open a Pomegranate

Next, eat the seeds as they are or on a salad or in one of these delicious pomegranate recipes:

Pomegranates have been around along time, but modern science has unlocked some of its secrets. Here's some numbers from the USDA for a medium sized pomegranate.

Water: 125 g
Calories: 105
Protein: 1.5 g
Carbohydrates: 26g
Sugars: 26 g
Fiber: 1 g
Total Fat: 0.5 g
Saturated Fat: 0.06 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Calcium: 5 mg
Iron: 0.5 mg
Magnesium: 5 m

As you can see, its mostly sugar. That's part of why its so delicious! But beyond that, one of the important factors the USDA isn't telling us about, is the antioxidants in pomegranates. View the Pomegranate Antixodidants Study in pdf form, if your brain is up to it! But if you're not interested in reading that study keep this one important fact in mind:

If you want to get the most nutrition out of your pomegranate juice, then buy industrial processed juice! It has 3 times the amount of antioxidants than fresh squeezed pomegranate juice.

Just stay clear of the "juice cocktail" versions. Typically these juices (applies for all juices) are short on the real deal and long on high fructose corn syrup cheap sweetener fodder.

How to Think & Grow Rich - Tarcher Talks - Penguin Group (USA)

How to Think & Grow Rich - Tarcher Talks - Penguin Group (USA)

The Power in Praising People

by Chris Widener
One of the keys to success is to have successful relationships. We are not islands and we don't get to the top by ourselves. And one of the key ways to grow successful in our relationships is to be "life-giving" people to others. Every person we meet, we either give life to or take life from. You know what I mean. There are people who encourage you and when you are done being with them you feel built up. Then there are others who you feel torn down by. Successful people are people who have mastered the art of building others up.

One of the ways we build people up is to praise them. There is power in praising people! Something begins to happen in them, in you, and in your relationship when you praise someone. Remember a time when someone told you something about yourself in a praising manner? It was great, wasn't it? You probably liked that person more after they praised you, didn't you?

Now I am not talking about praising people for the sake of praising people. I am talking about honestly looking for and praising positive character traits and action of others around you. Don't lie to people. If they have done something wrong, correct it, but when they do something right, Praise it!

With that said, here are benefits of and ways to start praising people.

Benefits
Your relationship grows. Life is about relationships. Family relationships, friends, and co-workers. When we begin to praise people for their positive aspects, our relationships grow. It puts them, and us, on the fast track. Your leadership and influence grows. Who is going to have greater leadership and influence capacity in the lives of their followers, the one who tears down or the one who builds up?

Stronger relationships and loyalty. When the person is appreciated and praised, they become fiercely loyal, because they know that you care for them, love them, and appreciate them. This will take you to success.

Happier, more fulfilled people. I truly believe it is our job to build others up and that they need it. It is a good thing, in and of itself to invest in the lives of others by praising and encouraging them. Even if we never get anything in return, it is the right thing to do to build up other people. Someone else will always come along to tear them down; the successful person will instill in them the power of praise!

Some ways to praise
Character traits. Is there someone you know who is joyful? Hard-working? Honest? Then let them know how much you appreciate that in them. You can do it with a word or a card, or a phone call. Say something like this, "You know Tom, I think it is great that you are such a hard-worker. It seems like you are always the first one here and the last one to leave. You really set a good example and I want you to know how much I appreciate that." Simple!

Action
Same idea as above. "Sue, I don't know if anybody else has told you this, but your work on the Johnson account was excellent. You have a wonderful ability to communicate the vision of the project and that helps all of the rest of us out in our roles and tasks. Thanks for that. It is greatly appreciated."

Other ways you can show praise and appreciation is with a card, a gift, or time off from work.

Make it your goal to praise at least five people a day. If you can, praise ten people a day. Or perhaps you can try to praise everyone you come in contact with. It will take work but it is possible. It just takes discipline and a little work.

Any way you cut it though, there is power in praising people. First for them, then for you!


Monty's notes:
I belong to and train clients at a gym that reminds of the Cheers TV show theme song... Everybody is always glad to see you made it in. How rewarding is that? For many, that is the hardest part of staying on a fitness routine - showing up.

Seratonin is a neurotransmitter in the body responsible for the well being or feel good feeling. It has been proven that simple accepting a compliment or gift of appreciation elevates Seratonin.

Imagine. You have this power in your hands to improve the well-being of those around you which in turn reflects on your improved well-being.

Praise on, praise on!!

Box Jump Hopscotch

Well seems how aerobics is dead, what are we going to do with all those aerobics steps, benches, risers (whatever they call them)?
I know let's get creative and incorporate them into a circuit workout that also includes many other toys in the gym.
So below, is my client Barry (who lost 14 some pounds his first month with me- I didn't realize he had that much to lose). Barry is doing Box Jump Hopscotch. We keep the box height fairly low to keep the foot speed relatively fast.