Training Principles

Over the next little while, I will be blogging as I study for my CSCS Practical Exam. My blogging will involve written blogs as well as potentially video blogs (vlogs) summarizing my study content. The reason why I plan on doing this is for a couple of reasons. First of all, this gives me plenty of blog topics to discuss and share with my readers, but to also increase my knowledge of the content so that I will be that much more prepared for my exam.

Specificity

In short, specificity refers to the training modalities aimed towards a specific sport or action. This is extremely important when an individual wishes to train for their desired sport or event. When training specific movements, an individual should try to mimic their sport-related movements and actions as much as possible. For example, if a baseball pitcher wishes to increase their throwing velocity, they need to of course strengthen their shoulder and arm, but also train to increase their angular velocity as well. A strong arm does not necessarily allow you to throw a baseball at a high speed, you would need to specify your training to increase that arm/ball speed.

Another aspect that is involved in specificity, and a topic that I have discussed before deals with athletic periodizational training. Athletes generally compete in sport seasons that they can target their training schedule around. For example, after a sport season has completed, an athlete will usually go into a short recovery or "off" time. They will then get back into a training schedule based on how long they have until the next season starts. Early training usually involves a lot of strength and endurance training, but as the training schedule progresses closer and closer to the sport season, this is when the athlete begins to specify their training more and more in order to increase their sport-specific skill set.

Overload

Overload refers to the workload being applied to an individual. Some may refer to this as "progressive overload" which essentially means that you need to continue to challenge your body in new ways in sequential training session in order for the body to continue to adapt and improve over time.

Exercise causes micro tears and damage to the body which is then rebuilt and repaired with proper diet and rest in order to become stronger for future use. In order for this to continue to happen, the body must continually increase its workload in order to continue the adaptation process.

Progression

Progression is related to overload in the fact that an individual needs to continue to progress with their training by increasing their workload in a number of ways. Workloads can be progressed in a number of ways such as shortening rest periods, increasing resistance loads, increasing workout durations, etc. all based on an individual's specific training schedule.

When combining all three of these training principles, a highly effective training schedule can be created for an individual based on their goals and aspirations to create faster, stronger and sometimes bigger muscles to perform better and more efficiently or fatigue-resistant.

-Tyler Robbins
B.Sc. PTS

Food Label Claims Part 2

In a previous post, I detailed some common grocery store food label gimmicks that companies try to cash-in on, so today we are going to look at some more common themes when it comes to product labels.

"High Source of Fiber"/"High Fiber"

What does it mean?
Generally means that the product contains 4 grams of fiber or more per serving

What to watch out for
Once again, keep an eye on those recommended serving sizes in the Nutrition Facts label on the package. To reach the listed amount of fiber you will need to consume the product's recommended serving size which may mean you are also ingesting a high amount of sugar, carbohydrates, fats, salt, etc. The average adult should be aiming for 25-35g of fiber per day, but many people are not coming close to that!

"Source of..." (ex: "Source of Magnesium")

What does it mean?
Generally this means 5% or more of the recommended daily intake of the intended nutrient.

What to watch out for
If you have been told that you are deficient of a specific nutrient, then you may be more prone to looking for it on packaging. Keep in mind that most people reach their daily recommended nutrient levels by eating a balanced diet consisting of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, lots of water, and can be topped off with a general multivitamin. If, however, you are looking to boost your levels of something in particular, make sure you are not too blinded by the fact that a certain food product may actually be worse for you. For example, you may even see a "high in calcium" label on a sugary cookie package because the milk chocolate chips in the cookies contain calcium.

"Source of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids"/"Source of Omega-3 Polyunsaturates"

What does it mean?
This is generally seen on products that contain 0.2g or more of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids per serving.

What to watch out for
Omega-3's have a slew of health benefits, but can be derived from a number of sources such as plant omega-3's called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) which is great, but the animal-oil derived docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are more heart-friendly. If you don't like fish, or are weary about levels of mercury, look into fish oil supplements that can also get the job done!

"No Artificial Flavors"

What does it mean?
All flavors must be derived from whole natural foods from a plant or animal source.

What to watch out for
This claim on packaging is usually pretty legit, just keep in  mind that natural sources are not necessarily always making the product better. For example, this is becoming increasingly more and more popular on candy packaging but does not make candy healthier for you.

-Tyler Robbins
B.Sc. PTS

Training Styles - Athletic Performance

Many people in the training world either have little to no knowledge of proper applications of specific rep ranges and their applicable uses. To no fault of their own, many people stick to their 8-12 or 12-15 rep ranges to simply stay “fit”. These systems work well if you are just looking to stay mildly active and ‘look good’.

There have been many studies done in previous years understanding our physiological adaptations to resistance training and their approach to healthy living, but also athletic performance.

Muscular endurance is a term given to muscles that have a higher resistance to fatigue over multiple repetitions. This is a great training period for women who do not wish to look “bulky” or get too large of muscles. This can also be an effective first phase of a mult-phased athlete periodization training block. To train muscular endurance, the aim is to use lighter weights and higher reps (more than 12 to be accurate). The approach here is to have low intensity (weight/resistance) and higher volume (repetitions) to develop a little bit of strength and hypertrophy, but mainly to prime the muscles to be efficient and burn fat stores as a primary fuel source.

Muscular growth or “hypertrophy” has been shown to be most effective in a 6-12 rep range. This is the training style many bodybuilders use and mostly all males in a gym setting. This is generally works well as periodational middle ground. What I mean by this is that you are able to train your muscles in a little bit of multiple systems. The muscles have to adapt to be more efficient when pushing towards the 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th repetition. Meanwhile, the muscles themselves are developing a little bit more strength and power, while also growing in cross-sectional area, or size. Again, this tends to be most effective for males who want to ‘look good’!

Power training is generally only used in training modalities of professional and higher-end collegiate athletes as they have the equipment and staff available for such goals. Power training is aiming for that 1-6 repetition range. Here, you have a little bit of muscular hypertrophy, virtually no efficiency training, but you are training the muscles to be very strong and powerful. The types of exercises performed are things most people would associate with seeing on TV such as deadlifts, power cleans, push press, etc. They are highly dangerous exercises that should only be carried out in proper settings with proper trainers and personnel as you are aiming for low volume (reps) and high intensity (resistance) to max out your muscles in that 1-6 rep range.

So how does this apply to the athlete world you ask? Certain sports may require athletes to be of a certain size and weight while maintaining power and performance. This applies in multiple ways. For example, an American football lineman may want to reach a certain goal weight in his off-season training to not only have a lot of muscle mass, but to also be heavier and therefore harder to push around. His training periodizational approach would be to spur on muscular growth, but then to train with power exercises to give his muscles a fast, explosive nature to them.

Let’s look at a Professional European soccer (football) star though. Sure, his off-season training goals may also be to gain some speed, power and strength, but he does not want to put on a lot of muscle as that could hinder his agility and performance. By adding certain amounts of muscle to his body, he would essentially have to re-train his muscles to be as skillful as they were before.

The soccer star’s approach, which is one that has come under review lately, is one that may surprise some individuals. Individuals of these types of sports would need to rely more on the muscular endurance and muscular power type of training modes by either doing repetitive exercises with very high reps, or skipping the 6-12 rep range workouts completely and aiming for power-lifting type exercises.

Another perfect example of this type of training is NHL hockey players. Many of these athletes take part in off-season training that makes them faster, stronger, and more powerful by combining high-volume/low-intensity and low volume/high-intensity training without putting on too much mass. This is done in an effort to improve performance without sacrificing any of their speed and agility!

-Tyler Robbins

B.Sc. PTS

Diabetes Kills 1 Person Every 7 Seconds...

Time for people to wake up:

Diabetes kills 1 person every 7 seconds: study

September 13, 2011

Ben Hirschler

Reuters

LONDON- The number of people living with diabetes has soared to 366 million, and the disease kills one person every seven seconds, posing a “massive challenge” to healthcare systems worldwide, experts said on Tuesday.
The vast majority of those with the disease have Type 2 – the kind linked to poor diet, obesity and lack of exercise – and the problem is spreading as people in the developing world adopt more Western lifestyles.
Diabetics have inadequate blood sugar control, which can lead to serious complications like heart disease and stroke, damage to the kidneys or nerves, and to blindness. Worldwide deaths from the disease are now running at 4.6 million a year.
The latest figures, unveiled at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) congress in Lisbon, underline the need for urgent action by governments at a U.N. meeting next week, according to top doctors in the field.
The high-level United Nations meeting in New York on Sept. 19-20 – only the second to focus on disease after one on AIDS in 2001 – will consider what should be done to counter the growing problem of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes.
Food, drinks and tobacco companies are in the firing line for selling products linked to cancer, heart disease and diabetes, but health campaigners fear politicians may not set firm targets or provide funds for a decent fight.
The NCD Alliance, which groups 2,000 health organizations from around the world, argues that spending $9 billion a year on tobacco control, food advice and basic treatments would avert tens of millions of untimely deaths this decade.
Cash-strapped governments, however, have baulked at finding new money, though the cost of inaction may be even greater, with annual healthcare spending on diabetes alone now put at $465 billion.
The new figures on the prevalence and cost of diabetes are to be published in the fifth edition of the Diabetes Atlas, the authoritative guide to the disease issued by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).
The previous edition in October 2009 had estimated the number of diabetics at 285 million for 2010, although a separate study published in the Lancet medical journal in June this year had already put the figure at a much higher 347 million.
“The IDF’s latest Atlas data are proof indeed that diabetes is a massive challenge the world can no longer afford to ignore. In 2011 one person is dying from diabetes every seven seconds,” said IDF President Jean Claude Mbanya.
Mbanya and EASD Vice-President Andrew Boulton said more research was needed into strengthening health systems around the world to deal with diabetes.
Many older classes of diabetes drugs are now available as cheap generics, but global drugmakers – including Sanofi , Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk – aim to introduce new classes of drugs that could further extend treatment options.
Global sales of diabetes medicines totaled $35 billion last year and could rise to as much as $48 billion by 2015, according to research firm IMS Health, driven by increased prevalence and treatment, especially in countries such as China, India, Mexico and Brazil.

Motivation Blog - Deep Sea Fishing

Here is a short clip from one of those BBC documentaries following a free-diver in Cuba going spear fishing. In this clip, the man stays underwater for around 2 and a half minutes, but the narrator claims he can go longer. A perfect example of how you can train the human body to adapt to extreme conditions!

Food Label Claims Part 1

This will be part 1 in a series of blogs looking at claims made by food manufacturers and how they can sometimes be deceiving. Often times, when a certain health topic or category becomes main-stream in the media, companies jump all over the opportunity to plaster certain labels on their products in order to 'cash-in' on catch-phrases or buzz words. Below, and in subsequent blogs, I will detail information about certain label catch-phrases you may see at the grocery store.

"Calorie Reduced"/"Fewer Calories"/"Light"/"Lite"

What does it mean?
Companies tend to remove fat when creating "Light" or "Lite" versions of their products. These products can, and usually have up to 25% fewer calories than their 'regular' counterpart.

What to watch out for
Calorie reduced products can be especially handy for those of you watching what you eat, but make sure you read your Nutrition Facts on the back of the packaging and compare to other similar products to see what is actually being added/removed to reduce the overall calories. Often times, companies may even try and fool you by using phrases like "Light Tasting" when referring to the taste or color of the product. Also beware of "Light" or "Lite" beverages such as soft drinks and beers as they may not be as reduced as you think they are, not to mention Diet sodas may actually be worse for you due to the artificial sweeteners!

"Low Fat"/"Low in Fat"

What does it mean?
This usually means the product contains 3 grams (27cal) of fat or less per serving.

What to watch out for
First of all, keep an eye on what exactly the "serving size" suggestion is on the Nutrition Facts label, as you can easily double or even triple your grams of fat by living with the "It's low fat so I can use more" philosophy. Also, the human body is designed to enjoy fatty foods. We enjoy the taste because our bodies need fats to survive, so when a company removes fat from its products, they tend to not taste as good, and if something doesn't taste very good, you are unlikely to purchase it again. Fat is generally replaced with sugar to improve the taste, which can lead to vicious blood sugar cycles leading to increased hunger, so try and pick products that have the lowest amount of sugar.

"No Trans Fat"/"No Trans-Fatty Acids"

What does it mean?
Generally means contains fewer than 0.2g of trans fat per serving and less than 2g of saturated fat per serving.

What to watch out for
Trans fats are man-made to increase the shelf-life of food products. They are completely useless to the human body. Many recent research studies have also been done linking trans fats to some forms of cancer. This "Zero Trans Fat" label fad is a perfect example of companies slapping this on their label when they may not actually be completely trans-fat free! Definitely check your Nutrition Facts label on the back of your products and try to avoid whenever possible!

"Cholesterol Free"/"No Cholesterol"

What does it mean?
Generally, this indicates that the product contains less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol per seving.

What to watch out for
These types of labels are generally quite safe to follow as they usually do follow what they say. However, there a few things to keep in mind here. First of all, a very quick and brief overview of cholesterol and how it interacts in your body as many of you may have had a blood test done in your life measuring said values. Cholesterol is used as a major building block in cell structure and formation. LDL (or low-density lipoprotein) is generally considered the "bad" cholesterol because it can combine with fat deposits and other cellular debris floating in your bloodstream to create "plaque" which is essentially road blocks in your arteries and veins. These "road blocks" can lead to a myriad of problems such as heart disease, stroke, etc. HDL (or high-density lipoprotein) is known as the "good" cholesterol and acts as a carrier system carrying cholesterol back to your liver for re-utilization or excretion. Just keep in mind that your body does need cholesterol, so you should consume at least some foods with it. Also keep in mind that cholesterol can only be found in animal products (eggs, dairy, meat) so products that are naturally "Cholesterol-Free" anyways but still put it on their labels (vegetables, etc.) is just one of those clever marketing gimmicks.

-Tyler Robbins
B.Sc. PTS

Recovery and Transition

I am sitting at the cottage on my holidays writing this blog so it is pretty easy to be inspired to blog about recovery and/or transition. I know many of you are probably wondering why I am sitting on my computer rather than enjoying my holidays, and to be honest, this is the first time in a long time that I have taken a week ‘off’ to literally do just about nothing at all. I am not connected to the internet at this time anyways, I am just saving this to a Word document to post later, as I feel that a week of being ‘unplugged’ can go a long way as well.

Anyways, back on topic. Regardless of your fitness level or training status, whether you are training for a specific event or just staying ‘fit’ and ‘active’, everyone can and should take time recovery or transition time. I don’t just mean taking holidays either!

I have discussed the topic of periodization in previous posts and how they work. If you missed those blogs I will summarize for you. All training or exercise scheduling should be broken down into periodized cycles. You have three main types: Microcycles run anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Mesocycles can run from a few weeks to a few months. Finally, macrocycles tend to run months to a year or more.

Periodized training modes have been used since the 1950’s, with more and more support for them starting in the 1990’s. Traditionally, amateur (Olympic) and professional athletes would be the main users of periodized training modes, but the benefits to them can also be attained by the average Joe.

Back to the topic again, as I have already discussed periodization in the past! The idea and main principles behind periodization is to keep your body and your muscles guessing or ‘confused’ so that they are constantly transitioning through stages of growth and adaptation. Problems arise, however, if you do not give your body ample time to do the recovering and transitioning.

I recommend at least 1-2 days of every week to be dedicated to resting/recovering with either sitting on your butt all day long, or least ‘actively’ recovering by doing some stretching, yoga, or mild physical activity. It is usually best to at least move somewhat as an increased blood flow promotes proper circulation for tissue repair/removal of waste. This generally does not seem to be a problem as most people take at least a day or two off every week.

When transitioning between stages or phases, or lacking stages or phases for that matter, is where some people tend to fall victim to overtraining or what is known as the “plateau effect”.

I recommend that people change up their fitness schedules every 3-6 weeks regardless, with some transition or recovery work in between these microcycles. Your body goes through its recovery and growth during that change.

If, however, you stay in a constant state of trying to change your body from day to day, week to week, month to month, your body “plateaus” and ceases to make significant changes.

I know what many of you are thinking, as I am the same way, that you need to get your fix for exercise almost on a daily basis, and that’s fine, you can! I recommend just changing things up and training different bodily systems to allow your worked areas to recover.

For example, if you are training for a specific sport and spend 4 weeks doing an intensive speed and agility training program with lots of explosive, powerful, interval-type training, when you hit your recovery or transition week, throttle back the intensity a bit and try some “LSD” (Long, Slow, Distance) cardio. Rather than running around doing interval sprints, try hopping on an exercise bike and riding at 60% of your heart rate for an hour. It not only allows your body to recover, but you are also changing things up which you may find nice to have a change of pace.

Another example would be if you are doing some heavy resistance training, pushing some heavy weights aiming for your 6-10 rep range, once you get into your recovery week, lighten up the weights and aim for 15-20 reps. You may be surprised at how sore you are the next day. Yes, you are still working your muscles, but you are training them in such a different way that will keep your body guessing and growing, while also allowing your systems that have been trained to grow and adapt properly.

During times of recovery, I recommend things like yoga, light running, stretching and just overall taking it easier than before. As I said, you should try and change up your workout goals every 3-6 weeks anyways, but I find that at most 4-5 weeks of a well-designed workout schedule will have you wanting some time to lessen the intensity anyways. I know I am sure enjoying my time on the beach right now, yet I still got a nice easy run in this morning!

-Tyler Robbins

B.Sc. PTS