Thor: BIG, Bulging, Strong... Cardio+Xfit

Thor/Chris Hemsworth
(Picture at Celebitchy.com)

Today I'll be presenting deep thoughts.

Mhhhhmmm.... Mighty God of Thunder and weather... Thor (played by haaawwwt and humble aussie Chris Hemsworth) and his *haa ah!* mitochondria...


SUMMER FLICKS ARE HERE LADIES!

Watch 'em (and try to stop drooling). It was a toss up between Thor and the FF/XXX franchise (2 hotties) which was a t-o-u-g-h-i-e. [Celebitchy Thor and his mighty abdominal muscles rule the box office was a factor.]

Mr.Hemsworth [and his mitochondria] talk about his workout HERE. Bulking out excessively on heavy lifting made him 'blocky' and unable to move lithely, but provided the beef. However, switching it up to 'cardio and crossfit-style' workouts gave him the final movie form (listen at 1:33), fit that fancy Nordic warrior outfit and save Asgard and the world.

'Woman Makers': Cry Like a Little Grrrl

Diablo CrossFit "Woman Makers" from Diablo CrossFit on Vimeo.

Here is haaaawt Jeremy, Crossfit coach and co-owner showing how to do Woman Makers... 6min MetCon after 3-3-3-3-3-3-3 strict push presses. I love talking digestive, health and paleo topics w/him and other members. Recall his Primal Nutrition 101, upside down food triangle (sans 'lots of s*x'): HERE.


Did 28 but I lost count (30? 32??) in 6 min AMRAP (as many reps as possible). I didn't Rx either, just 20# wts (instead of 25# or 36#)

'Beware Of the Sexy Metcon...'

Crossfit Disco
Courtesy of Youtube.com

"John Welbourn of CrossFit Football visited Sweden [Crossfit Sthlm] he left a permanent mark..."


The video was posted at my gym's blog by Jeremy.

OMG too hilarious. But great form (and outfits)! Good hip extensions at the top of the box jumps, oooohhHH nice snatches, excellent height and deep bootie squats on those wall balls. WOW CTB (chest-to-bar) pullups which are always my envy... completely full range of motion... esp after exhaustion failure w/wtf wallball-burpees.

Low Carb Paleo: Weight Loss 50 Pounds

Courtesy Shouts

A couple of acknowledgements to my uber COOL blog buddies...

Thank you NephroPal for being an amazing party-geek pal!! The above lovely SPOOKY graphics are courtesy of Dr. T.

Thank you Jimmy Moore for the recent shout-out at Livin La Vida LOCA! Jimmy, you are my HERO . . .


*evil laugh* HAAA HAA HE

Thank you Gentlereaders, today I am going scare the cr*pola out of you.


I haven't posted any 'before' vs 'after' pictures until now. I hope it might possibly inspire people to make and reach their goals. Truly NOTHING is impossible.

Transformation is about releasing what is already inside. One of the best tools that I found to motivate myself is to visualize what I want to transform myself into... like... gentle yoga-ites, wicked Angelinas, bad*ss DC comixxx superheroes.

OK so now you know my secret... mind over matter... mind over MASS... mind over the MIDDLEGUT. Feel free to share yours...


AFTER: Low Carb Paleo 19% Body P H A T

I've come a long way BABY... and I intend to stay that way. As a former fatty (yeah I can say that but you can't) like many others, you get into a mindset where you know what behaviors may trigger a so-called relapse back to former fattiness. For myself I have found through many trials and errors that certain things work. What works without fail is having good hormone control by exercising frequently (low intensity, long duration + high HIGH intensity, short short duration... yeah s*x counts unless your cardiologist told u 'no') and watching the intake of carbohydrates (fruit, ice cream, rice, potatoes, french fries MY DOWNFALL, etc). All CARBS. I indulge only if I know that I will be doing some workout later, otherwise I'll pay for it by gaining 2-5 lbs the following week. Yeah, that is just the mitochondrial biomechanics of my formerly thrashed pancreas and the intense quantity of adipose cells that I have from being 50 lbs fat.

Fat cells shrink but never go away...





BEFORE: High Carb USDA S.A.D. 38++% Body Fat

Being overweight since my teens makes me really appreciative of the transformative changes that other individuals have gone through or are currently going through. It is not easy sometimes.

Hurdles and obstacles can be like running a Navy Seal gauntlet. Holidays are even more brutal! Summers can be cake to stay active doing jogs and summer sports but I find for myself winters absolutely require strategic planning. I organize going w/friends to half-marathon events to guilt myself into not flaking on them (and me). The cold freezes my BOOTAH off. (And I live in Cali, sorry!!! *aaah*) Another deterrant for bad habits creeping back is scheduling 'rewards', for instance, going to day spas for relaxing massages. In fact, calming massages helped me to lose weight and improved athletic performance. Is everyday too much? j/k.





Diet Diet Diet

At my all-time high weight, I became committed to embrace changes when I could no longer fit into size 10 jeans... Vanity can be a great motivator. Whatever floats your boat. No I don't really care about heart disease or strokes. Just. My. JEANS.

First I started jogging again. What a cr*ppy lame*ss way to lose weight. Didn't lose more than 10 lbs per year the first three years. I had to discontinue my oral contraceptive at one point because it was giving me irregular skipped heart beats (from high insulin/ glucoses) which prevented exercising beyond a threshold.

The weight really came off when the diet came into line.

I stopped nearly all CARBS (1 carb = 15 grams high glycemic index):
--rice (2 cups daily = 6 servings carbs)
--bread, chocolate croissants, granola cereal (1-2 servings carbs)
--cranberry juice (O M G 2-3 servings carbs)
--caramel walnut sticky buns (bottomless pit)
--Peet's mochas XTRA LARGE (7 servings carbs incl HFCS)

Kept the meat, seafood and non-starchy veggies.



Low Carb Paleo Reverses Obesity

Inadvertently I went low carb Paleo though I had not even heard of Paleo back in 2005. My main grain was rice (coz I am Asian). In the beginning, it was hard to stop but when I felt lighter, stronger and less HUNGRY, it wasn't difficult.

For Asians, Pacific Rim and Indo-Asians, BMIs of 27 or greater than are considered obese (HERE). As you can see from the above 'before' pictures, no doubt about it I was obese. Metabolic syndome. Low HDL, high Triglycerides/sdLDL and blah blah blah. Back then, I would've failed any glucose or insulin tolerance test... if I didn't know how to cheat and pass (e.g. no carbs x2 days prior; I educate diabetes patients).

During pharmacy school I learned how to jog with my drinking buddies and girlfriends... but when I strained a hamstring and didn't know how to heal it, I turned to a 10 lb box of See's chocolate and regained 20 lbs. I was lucky enough that after re-injurying the same pathetic hamstring, my wonderful doctor gave me a referral to physical therapy. The skills from physical therapy changed my training and conditioning forever. I learned the benefits of stretching, strengthening and yoga, and learned that I could re-build my physical body.

Rebuild my brain? Gluten, omega-6 and obesity are toxic to the brain. Diet, yoga and fish oil rebuilt my brain.



Saturated Fat Grew My B**BIES Back

Like any anal retentive pharmacist, you go to the nth degree. I chronically ran a lot (really hard, really far) because I thought it was 'healthy'. My lowest weight was too low (lost lean mass, sarcopenia). My diet was too low saturated fat... though back then I 'thought' it was sufficient and actually high.

The result was I got really sick. In 2004, I developed asthma and coughing spells for 6-8wk durations annually. The birth control contributed (raised insulin, decreased B12, lowered estrogen and testosterone which maintain healthy bronchodilation and lung immunity). I was a stupid pharmacist; I didn't know. A couple of courses of antibiotics likely j*cked up the inflammation further by imbalancing the gut flora and biofilms. Later I was fortunate to discover vitamin D in 2007 (via the heartscanblog) and cured myself and my kids. We are now all off inhalers, antibiotics, steroid tapers, albuterol breathing treatments and same-day urgent care visits. THANK GOD for the stellar Dr. Davis, his healing strategies and opening my eyes to the lies behind the fairy stories. When my daughters were on steroid inhalers, I noticed that they stopped growing for 3 months. I always wonder if my oldest is permanently stunted from the effects of antibiotics and steroids. Now... the only steroid we do is vitamin D!

When I lost 50 lbs of weight by 2007, I also lost some feminine A S S E T S . My BMI at the time was 18.2-18.6 and weight 108-110 lbs (lifetime low). Took 5 years to lose 50 pounds. And the t&a. Bra size: (---) A ! (normal: D). When I started blogging February 2008 for Dr. Davis, the timing coincided with the beginning of my personal trial with Crossfit and high saturated fat diets for the purpose of attaining and regaining health benefits. Petro turned me on to Hyperlipidemia.

It worked.

My muscles and mammaries all grew (back). I started Crossfit shortly afterwards in March 2008 after reading Volek, Drs. Eades and Robb Wolf. At my DiabloCrossfit affiliate I met several others who had also lost 50+ lbs in only 1-2 yrs (not 5). Our family went gluten-free July 2008 and threw our first Paleo princess bday party (albeit high carb) in August for our daughter. Got Xfit nutrition certified in October 2008. Got more sat fat in and did some more Xfit, gained some muscles... some gluts... more mammaries... good stuff. What a rollercoaster of the best times of my life!

Muscles and mammaries net GAIN: 11 lbs ! Boo !

Prior Posts:
--What To Do After You've Lost 50#
--Get Into My Genes


Pubmed Reference (THANK YOU nocarb! Will try out ur COOL handy dandy TOOL):
Prevalence of overweight and obesity and their association with hypertension and diabetes mellitus in an Indo-Asian population. Jafar TH, Chaturvedi N, Pappas G. CMAJ. 2006 Oct 24;175(9):1071-7.

Hot Paleo Cave Girls

Thanks Dr. T my NephroPal.

Cavegirl company... is good company.






Viva la hunter-gatherers and FUR. Raquel Welch . . . One Million Years B.C. and neolithically... unforgettable.





My personal faves are historically captured on celluoid... female hunter-gatherers who are oh so talented and good with their weapons and swords....




Crossfit babe?

Maybe...







Ursula Andress, quintessional #1 Bond Girl, catwoman, and H-G babe. (she's Swiss -- they're pretty much as Paleo as Europeans eat, drink, handstand, hike, live, get sunshine). WOW. EXCELLENT handstand... any Crossfitter would be impressed. Still working on mine...


This blogger wonders where are all the hawwwt Paleo cavewomen?


They are at . . . C R O S S F I T .

DCF rules

Xfit Princess Melissa Byer's Health/F*ckoff FOOD SCALE (a must-read)

Hard Exercises: Pistols

From ZenPharoah
Demo of the Single-Leg Squats/Pistol
On an inverted Bosu... with dumbbells... (don't get dizzy with that lame camera)
Instability + Multiple Joints + Weights = Explosive Power + HOTNESS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-N-lBbTtYw

If I tried this, I'd get explosive knees...





Working on a couple of things this year...Gotta a feeling...!
--basic pistols
--handstands
--kipping (can do a 100 w/bands but that's bunk, need to do REAL ones)



Courtesy of sexy Steve Maxwell -- check out his new updated Strength and Conditioning coaching site! This gal is STRONG. What a trooper... My max is 4 pistols each side right now (without any pre-exhaustion bridge work). At our Crossfit gymnastics workshop I learned how to do handstands on the rings -- cool deal and very fun! Real handstands on the other hand are tough...

Don't Blow Your WOD on Your First Snatch...

...Or First Jerk *ahhhh*
...Or First 2 Rounds of Tabata Torture


I don't know what attracted me to Crossfit first...

How Crossfit diet and health principles are aligned with TYP... The Paleo diet which 80-90% of all members and trainers follow for optimal performance, gains and superior health... Robb and Nicki's gym (ranked top 30 in the U.S. By Men's Health)... the HAWWT people at my gym... my first warrior trainer Luca who could rip your head off if he wanted to... the MLF who keep us safe (military, law enforcement, firefighters)... how T-Muscle (formerly known as T-Nation) tries to knock it but can't like HERE...

Or the raunchy, hilarious inside jokes about our workouts!

So here is my progress (in my tri Zoot suit)...



Finally my insulin is better controlled (no more tooth abscess b/c it was pulled and the synthetic progestin nearly out of my f*&#$(@ system) after a year of Hormone H*LL... and the 6-paks are re-emerging...again...

Insulin.

It can be your friend or your enemy. It can grow great hypertrophic muscles or screw your metabolism, jack your hsCRP and prevent loss of belly fat.

Low carb, mod-high fat Paleo and bursts of anaerobic exercise at Crossfit control insulin.

As does
--avoiding dental infections
--avoiding dental inflammation
--avoiding synthetic/FAKE hormones which increase inflammation and insulin

OK I learned the hard dumb way.

In my experience (and Robb Wolf's), Paleo and Crossfit control autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation, the crux of today's modern illnesses including heart disease. Our gym has a story of normalization of NASH/fatty liver disease within ONLY 1 month of Crossfit/Paleo, in addition to stories of complete reversal of IBS cases and many fantastic stories of 30-50 lb-weight loss. Robb has a tale of two pharmacists *cough cough* with NASH/fatty liver (which is autoimmune) and resolution with Paleo eating and Crossfit (one case the liver tests were so high, he was on a liver transplant list), and numerous other stories including one painful/burning, autoimmune lower extremity vasculitis (who I met at his b-day party) and another lifelong cutaneous tarda.


Here are my studmuffin Xfit homeys. Our Diablo Crossfit affiliate gym came in 16th out of 100 Xfit gyms. Congrats babes and boys! Y'll R-O-C-K.



Today for Sunday's WOD (workout of the day) we did TABATA... torture... *haa*

Workout:
Tabata deadlift (135lb men, 95lb women, barbell deadlifts)
Tabata dumbbell push press (men 45lb dbs, women 25lb)
Tabata burpee

A "Tabata" is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest. 8 rounds total (4 minutes). Count reps for each round. Your 'score' for each exercise is the lowest number of reps completed in any one round.

My score: DL 43# 11 times; DB PP 15# b/c I suck 6 times; burpee 4

The key of course to Tabata is to pace yourself. Don't blow your WOD on the first one to two successive rounds.

Warrior Race: Provoke...MY ENVY...

Totally underappreciated roles were Hannibal King's and Parker Posey's in Trinity: Blade III . . .


What is trinity?

How is it important? Why might duoism be oddly unbalanced? Where's the fulcrum?

Whether it's a war on heart disease, inflammation, cancer, unhealthy habits out-dated-medicine, or unbalanced hormones, when we are engaged in a 'war', how do we do we achieve success alone? Defined by movie buff Mr. Broaddus "ultimately, the trinity is about relational unity and fellowship." Personally I find fellowship at a variety of unusual places -- comfort like an oasis and warmth like sunlight -- where similar Paleo people exist. A sorta weird amalgamation between the energy of the online communities (Crossfit, Evo/Paleo, Primal, etc) and the Xfit gym community has unexpectedly occurred! When people ask me what I do... (um... 4how i look. yeah can u believe?) I actually find it hard to separate all of it. Where does it begin? Where does it meld? I don't know anymore!

We need neolithic science, tracking, testing for optimal paleolithic lifestyle changes and maintenance.

Transformative change CAN trickle around. It does. Even when people embrace just a tiny bit of it... they notice more energy, elimination of bloating and IBS stomach issues, better athleticism in their kids, reversal of bipolar/PMS/femi-shrill-tendencies, normalization of NASH-fattyliver-tests, melting of 2-4 inches of belly waist circumfrance, and even PSA-prostate improvements in only 2-4 weeks.

For genetic expression and physical phenotypical transformation, how long does it take?

Well... if I had known about evolutionary lifestyles and Paleo -- not FIVE yrs like my case to lose 50 lbs. Maybe just FIVE months maximum. Definitely mental, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal changes are noticeable in only TWO to FIVE weeks.

Examine the hero Blade and his journey -- he's a chimera/hybrid of the best between vampires and humans. He understands both... fights an internal battle for both. Even King too (in the comic bk -- naught... the movie wtf). We are all products of an embarrassing past/genetics/culture and trying to optimize what we understand to be the best.

Yes. It conflicts with the SAD mainstream.

Yes. It conflicts with your doctor who is still trained on 20+ year old textbooks and data.

Yes. It conflicts with the whole-grain baloney dogma as well. Keep eating your grains, lottsa fruit and corn oil. Yeah. Stay fat and unfit.

Suck at life.

Don't reach your genetic expression potential.

Don't be disease-free.

Don't take a few supplements.

Shorten your lifespan.



Blade III: Trinity
I find the cast quite curious for this little movie.

Cast (in credits order)
Wesley Snipes .... Blade
Kris Kristofferson .... Abraham Whistler
Ryan Reynolds .... Hannibal King
Jessica Biel .... Abigail Whistler
Parker Posey .... Danica Talos

Nearly every line King uttered was like... SNL's best years condensed... Who knew comic timing was part of Mr. Reynold's repertoire... AND PALEO-LIKE FAB ABS... Mr. Reynolds has admitted in interviews that he has to work hard 1-3 hrs a day to gain and maintain the 40 lbs muscle mass he packed on for the Blade Trinity role (did he eat non-Paleo crap? no. if u watch the interview. but who f**@+#$*!% cares). Anyhow, revel at his hard-earned results... frames 1:49 3:06 and 4:02...!

Best HILARIOUS Part of Blade 3:
MORE GUY-CANDY




Good guffaws for Friday evening...

• Lines from one of the funniest scenes in vampire movie history... can't-shut-his-mouth-nightstalker-HannanibalKing-quotes.
• Parker Posey is the vampire with fangs in her *** and her lines are CLASSIC
• As y'll know I'm a BIG fan of OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS (*ha* and candy... except candy getting beaten up *OUCH*): Danica: [after licking one of Hannibal's wounds] 'ur tasting a little bland, Lover... r u getting enough fatty acids in ur diet? have you had lake trout...? mackerel?'
• Second best line: 'Okay, I'm - okay, seriously now. It's in the meat of my b*tt, just below the Hello Kitty tattoo.' omg S O . . . F U N N Y. . .
• Posey's hair -- nuf said (I've had good hair days like her *haa* Also, don't miss her in the quest for the 'O' in OHIO movie *haaaaa* God she's so good)
• Finally. Danica Talos: 'And how about everyone here not saying the word "****" anymore? It provokes my envy.'

Blade TRINITY TRAINING
OK... Per the actors and actresses... To achieve less than 10% body fat, they attributed it to Physical Training and Diet. DIET DIET DIET.

--45min cardio, 1 hr WEIGHTS, 1 hr martial arts/boxing, 1 hr archery (Jessica Biel), yoga, SLEEP
--Diet: low low carb, veggies, protein protein protein (no large meals -- several small ones)
--CLICK HERE for their secrets!




Random great G-radio finds:

• Infra-Red by PLACEBO: "I'll Find You (tyd)...can't see in the dark..."
• Under the Rose by H.I.M.: "I dream of the winter in my heart turning to spring. While the ice gives way under my feet . . . To prove you wrong and scare you away. I admit my defeat and want back home. In your heart under the rose . . . "
• Somebody Help Me by Full Blown Rose
• Pain by Three Days GRACE
• One Girl Revolution -- Hot girl-warrior power: Abigail Whistler
• The Highwaymen -- 2nd voice, the wise samurai peace-loving poet-warrior Kris Kristofferson

LSD + Other Things I Like

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Lats ('Wings'), Gluts... Hypertrophy YEAA!

I'm watching the two masters duke it out at the Augustus Masters Golf tourney final round (I don't play or watch golf...but I'm partial to watching... the feline persuasion)...and have to revel at how FANTASTIC these golf giants look! And...PLAY. What has Phil been up to...??? A more proportioned V-look and smaller waist... and a strength, agility, and power in his stroke that hasn't yet been revealed until now. What awakened this Hugh Grant-like golf star? Did he discover Xfit? Or has he started lifting WEIGHTS with some INTENSITY...?! Did he cut back on wheat=grain-garbage...? GO Lefty!!



Then . . there is the . . . T-i-g-e-r . . . Like my nieces, an elite hybrid of Asian and contemporary American genetics/culture. Coming off a long break (read: rehab'd knee) (and now with 2 cutey little children) looking FINER than evah...bro. Has he intensified his training with his Navy Seal buddies in San Diego? Check out the (still) narrow hips, beautific wide strong lats (Latissimus Dorsi, 'wings' ANGEL WINGS as my sister 'M' calls them on her former-Marines hubby), biceps/pects/traps...

Oh yeah... his golf game aint too bad either *wink* ROAR Tiger! Baby catch up :)


At Crossfit we have a few coaches who are fans of the longer Navy Seal type formats. Unfortunately I did bring my bro-in-law to one of these training days (and he has yet to come back *bummer*). To say the least, these Xfit days are memorable workouts... I recall, we did 8-6-4-2-1 rounds for time of: 20 pullups, 20 burpees, 20 boxjumps, 400m-sprints. Yeah. Fun. For 30+++ mins. Esp for... mere mortals. I should've looked at the white board first...then gone home :) j/k. This is about the only workout I remember w/any degree of clarity... Not just because pain imprints on the brain... But for its extreme length and ferocious intensity... And for its phenomenal and frightening overnight-producing results on muscular !!hypertrophy!!. My sister 'M' noted that within 24hrs, her hubby grew WINGS. *haa* Lats that she hasn't seen since their first child was born (like, she is now 9yo). The hypertrophic growth I noticed was in biceps 1 inch incr in upper arm circumferences overnight unbelievably, no joke (no angel wings...because I can't do pullups...and still struggle wtf now). Just buff She-Woman arms. And gluts... as you know I'm Asian. And you are not incorrect in your suppositions of the standard Asian connotations for planar-dimension-geometry of the hind-posterior views. But naught now - - thanks to Xfit.

"Body by Crossfit..." Nice logo? THANK GOD I discovered HIIT/Tabata/Crossfit. Because otherwise I would never NEVER in a million years ever EVER subject myself to the torture, pain, shin-literal-splits, and callouses I routinely undergo now (please please don't fear... it's really NOT that bad). My *ss is addicted. To the FANTASTIC results. I sometimes even do it at home now! The coaches/trainers at Xfit sometimes like to spur the females on by yelling... uuh... I mean ENCOURAGING to go lower, b*tt to the ball, during squatting or wall-balls...'YOU WANT A BIGGER B*TT, R I G H T . . ? ! ! ! ' Well...actually, no I can't really afford another $100+ pair of designer Sevens to highlight my new *ss... and no...as the thighs and b*tt are ALREADY bursting out...(though waist zero, kudos to Paleo + Xfit + cardio).

Many muscle mags have crossed my threshold in the past year... 'research' in the name of elite cardiovascular health and this healthful-minded blog of entertaining educational edification...! ohyeah . . . BTW the articles are... E X C E L L E N T . . . Right... Actually, one of the best for women is Oxygen and the latest issue is devoted to G-L-U-T-S. *wink* I have to say all the gals at my Xfit Shed are HAWWWT and their gluts... are even HOTTER (and most humble)... Again, Xfit doesn't hurt. For an ideal posture, core and power-elliciting movement (eg, jumping, hill-running, anything), gluts and lats are two of the top 10 muscles to recruit, maintain, and focus on modifying. Add'l great tips of course at T-nation: HERE.

In Oxygen some of the best figure models and coaches give their personal advice.

• Jen Hendershott, 'Great glutes are a product of a balanced meal plan, good training and consistent cardio. Your bum says a lot about how hard you train." (Ok now turn around and let me see your sexyback, clinically and scientifically speaking, let's track how you are training) Two-time Ms. Olympia has butt building down to a science, Oxygen states. Her Drill: 8-12 exercises per workout, 15 reps of 4 sets, once a week. Her top three tricks:
  (1) JUMP SQUATS (yea!! I concur)
  (2) Slow and intense cardio (eg walking on a treadmill at an incline of 10 for 20-30min with dumbbells on shoulders)
  (3) Lateral lunges (p.87)
• Annette Milbers, "Glutes training actually changes the shape of your body and it's the best ANTI-AGING TOOL out there!" Annete ranks legs day as her favorite and beats boredem by changing her workouts eveyr 6-8wks (I totally concur, randomness is good and very EVO/paleo). Her Drill: Eight exercises per workout, 18-20 reps for 4 sets, once a week. Her top 3 tricks:
  (1) S-Q-U-A-T-S (see a pattern?)
  (2) Hamstring curls
  (3) Walking lunges (p.88)
• Gina Lombardi, author Deadline Fitness (Wiley, 2008), "PLYOMETRICS can turn your pancakes into melon halves in no time." Suggested drill: jump 12-20 reps onto 18" plyo box (beginners) and add weights 8-10 # dumbbells (advanced). At Xfit, we do 24-30" box-jumps for time or for counts. Some of best advice I've rec'd was from Carry, MILFy Xfitter, "rest at the top, when you land on the ground, get back on top as fast as you can." Haven't looked back since I started taking that advice. Thanks Girl! That advice has also saved my shins! Before, I'd periodically leave half my BL**DY shin on the edges of the boxes... (p.92)
• My personal advice: boxjumps, thrusters (squat, lift dumbbell 45-65# to straightened arms), and sprints (100-200m-run+rows)

Related medical literature:

• "Gains in maximal muscle strength were essentially similar between groups, whereas muscle P-O-W-E-R increased almost exclusively with PT (PLYOMETRIC) training."
  Muscle adaptations to plyometric vs. resistance training in untrained young men. Aagaard P et al. J Strength Cond Res. 2008 Nov;22(6):1799-810.
• Mitochondrial improvements, again mitochrondria=predicts aging . . .
  Brief intense interval exercise activates AMPK and p38 MAPK signaling and increases the expression of PGC-1alpha in human skeletal muscle. Gibala MJ, Hargreaves M et al. J Appl Physiol. 2009 Mar;106(3):929-34.
• Age and Gender do make a difference.
  I still have to do my low-moderate intensity chronic cardio 4-6 hrs/wk to maintain metabolism + 2-3 Xfit 30-min sessions/wk (otherwise I gain weight when I watch water...*smile* no JOKE).
  "ST (heavy resistance strength training) resulted in increased CSA (cross-sectional area) of type I, IIa and IIx muscle fibres in the trained leg of young men, type I and IIa fibres in young women, type IIa fibres (only fast-twitch) in older men, and type IIx fibres in older women (again, only fast-twitch; that's why my Chronic Cardio is MANDATORY for maintenance/growth of slow-twitch type I muscle...like the H E A R T) (all P less than 0.05)."
  Age and sex affect human muscle fibre adaptations to heavy-resistance strength training. Martel GF, Rogers MA et al. Exp Physiol. 2006 Mar;91(2):457-64.
• Explanation of Type I v. II (eg, slow/endurance v. fast/power twitch muscle fibers): HERE

Related posts:
--Beautiful Things: Sexyback
--Don't Be Sarcopenic


G-Radio: beautiful music, beautiful New Zealand singer... Bic Runga
Good Morning Baby, Precious Things

Abs 2 Die 4...FAQs

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Beautiful Things: SexyBack!

Beautiful Things...You Once Told Me

Andain -- Bay Area beauts and talents

Courtesy of YouTube.com

What is the secret to a sexyback?

S...Q...U...A...T..S

~20-40+ per week (when genetics are not in your favor) I do a lot at Crossfit (hundreds) and at home... they are the BOMB for the B*TT Ladies and Gentlemen... And they prevent falls and hip fractures by strengthening the core muscles, gluts (ie, b*tt), hamstrings and quads. You'll love the results. Get strong. Do 'em. Do them correctly -- otherwise you'll be sorry and require knee surgery...

Check out proper squat technique here (courtesy of Crossfit).

'You Know Squat' Another great 1.5 minute tutorial

!!KEY!! -- Notice the position of keeping the front of your knee directly above the ankle (not ahead) -- and stick your SEXYBACK out as much as possible. Yea, it is a little obscene but don't worry I'm not watching.

Can squats improve your Lp(a)? Yes definitely by:
--raising testosterone
--raising IGF-1
--lowering resting cortisol (see end study)


Food composition can make a difference to what gains and benefits can be reaped. Researchers Volek et al at Penn State looked about how nutrients appear to modulate how high testosterone increases. Jumping squats produced higher testosterone than benching (more muscles more weight bearing involved). Experiment was conducted in men who have done resistance training for an average of 5 yrs and avg body fat (BF) was 13.3 %. Avg rep max for squats was 145 kg and for bench press 80 kg.

The present study examined the relationship between dietary nutrients and resting and exercise-induced blood concentrations of testosterone (T) and cortisol (C). Twelve men performed a bench press exercise protocol (5 sets to failure using a 10-repetitions maximum load) and a jump squat protocol (5 sets of 10 repetitions using 30% of each subject's 1-repetition maximum squat) with 2 min of rest between all sets. A blood sample was obtained at preexercise and 5 min postexercise for determination of serum T and C. Subjects also completed detailed dietary food records for a total of 17 days.

• Testosterone and cortisol in relationship to dietary nutrients and resistance exercise. Volek JS, Kraemer WJ, Bush JA, Incledon T, Boetes M. J Appl Physiol. 1997 Jan;82(1):49-54.
  PMID: 9029197

Their conclusions summarized are:
**Significant correlations with pre-exercise T concentrations were seen with the below variables (see graph below):
--higher SFA (saturated fat intake) -- 2.9 to 12.6 g/1000 kcal
--higher MUFA (monounsaturated intake) -- 3.1 to 12.6 g/1000 kcal
--lower PUFA/SFA ratio (of course, minimize toxic PUFAs)
--lower protein to carbohydrate ratio (very curious since a fairly high carb intake noted 48-69% and typically considered rather *high* whereas daily energy ranged from 1184 to 3189 kcal per day and average intake was 2362 kcal/day -- protein ideally appears around 15% which corresponds to ~88g/day and avg weight was 75.6 kg -- about 1.16 g/kg average protein for max testosterone)
--low (R=0.53) correlation for cholesterol (intake was rather low 66 to 168 mg/1000 kcal)


**Dietary FAT, SFA, and MUFA were the best predictors of resting T concentrations. The average fat intake was 23% and ranged 10-32%.


**Interestingly, Tegelman et al. (28) observed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.76) between percent energy fat and T in young athletic men, which is very similar to the correlation (r = 0.72) obtained in this study. Also, Adlercreutz et al. (1) reported significant positive correlations between T and dietary fat, SFA, MUFA, and cholesterol in postmenopausal women.

Just do it... Squat...Resistance Train... Here elite rugby players experience intense testosterone hormone surges with weight training to maximum repetition and repeat sets. Watch your sdLDL and Lp(a) drop as you reach your individual warrior potential. Reap benefits with REPS. Push it, I know you can do it. *wink* These researchers are good -- salivary is the way to go for testing.

Salivary testosterone and cortisol responses in professional rugby players after four resistance exercise protocols. Beaven CM, et al. New Zealand (of course) J Strength Cond Res. 2008 Mar;22(2):426-32.

The acute response of free salivary testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) concentrations to four resistance exercise (RE) protocols in 23 elite men rugby players was investigated. We hypothesized that hormonal responses would differ among individuals after four distinct RE protocols: four sets of 10 repetitions (reps) at 70% of 1 repetition maximum (1RM) with 2 minutes' rest between sets (4 x 10-70%); three sets of five reps at 85% 1RM with 3 minutes' rest (3 x 5-85%); five sets of 15 reps at 55% 1RM with 1 minute's rest (5 x 15-55%); and three sets of five reps at 40% 1RM with 3 minutes' rest (3 x 5-40%). Each athlete completed each of the four RE protocols in a random order on separate days. T and C concentrations were measured before exercise (PRE), immediately after exercise (POST), and 30 minutes post exercise (30 POST). Each protocol consisted of four exercises: bench press, leg press, seated row, and squats. Pooled T data did not change as a result of RE, whereas C declined significantly.

RESULTS:
Individual athletes differed in their T response to each of the protocols, a difference that was masked when examining the pooled group data. When individual data were retrospectively tabulated according to the protocol in which each athlete showed the highest T response, a significant protocol-dependent T increase for all individuals was revealed.

CONCLUSION:
Therefore, RE induced significant individual, protocol-dependent hormonal changes lasting up to 30 minutes after exercise. These individual responses may have important ramifications for modulating adaptation to RE and could explain the variability often observed in studies of hormonal response to RE.

PMID: 18550957

TYPs: Success To Regress

Sometimes it does not hurt to hear the fundamentals repeated because we can be bogged down by advanced discussions on treatment, sophisticated lab testing or diagnostics.


Boiled down Track-Your-Plaque tips for success:

1. BMI -- achieve normal BMI. Advantages -- loss of toxic belly fat and increased metabolism. May take 3-6mos depending on degree of toxic belly fat.

2. Vitamin D3 -- obtain blood 25(OH)D to 60-70 ng/ml -- and Vitamin B3 Niacin (Slo-Niacin or NIASPAN) to raise HDLs. Clinical event reduction and plaque regression with these 2 powerful 'vitamins' cannot be overemphasized. The importance of raising HDL is reviewed here: TYP HDL Report. And we reviewed already here (at the end of the post).

3. Eliminate wheat, cornstarch and grains; Paleo diet RULES

4. Exercise/play/move -- increases metabolism, reduces inflammation, reduces mental stress, and prevents diastolic heart failure -- very common in people with NASH/NALFD and insulin resistance (like Metabolic Syndrome) and Type 2 Diabetes.

5. Do you exhibit elevated Lp(a) (or ultra low HDL)? If so, consider ultra high dose fish oil 8.5 g EPA+DHA daily (studies show only works when combined with moderate exercise/weight loss). Use high potency caps or liquid.

6. Strength training + Intermittent Fasting -- accelerates loss of toxic belly fat.
(However, if you have diabetic retinopathy, please avoid and discuss with your doctor. Extra cerebral pressures (like straining, Valsava, heavy weight lifting) can increase risk of retinal tears and subsequent vision changes/loss.)

7. For the first 1-2yrs of the TYP program, consider L-arginine. Benefits incl increasing NO in the vasculature which lower BP (goal (WSJ Joe Morgenstern's movie review 7/11/2008)? Do you need a trainer? As Wesley bluntly puts it at the end...after his 6 week-long life transformation toward purposeful, elite living... 'so wtf have you done lately...?'

-BG

Bourne Again

Extreme Ways by Moby

Bourne Identity

Courtesy of Youtube.com

Extreme ways may have eventually fallen apart for Mr. Jason Bourne until ultimately he reclaimed his life and identity. Exercising to extreme degrees can actually produce immense gains in fitness and cardiovascular benefits. Some proponents believe our bodies were built for extreme random bursts of energetic anaerobic output as evolutionary-related adaptations to hunting and escaping predators.

Forging elite health is what WAPF and the Paleo diet are all about. The effects of the program are extraordinary vitality, longevity and health. Cancer prevention, hypertension normalization, and diabetes amelioration are additional side benefits.

Crossfit is a new strength/conditioning program I'm trying. It's based on military training for special ops, police academies and even grandmas (according to their advert). Did you know Tiger Woods is using NAVY Seal training to help his awesome game?? To be sure, CF is far different from any 'gym' program out there. In fact it's kicking my a** right now. The Newbie torture routines include pull-ups (I can't even do one), jumping on blocks, lifting 80#barbells (I can't even lift my 50 lb kids!), and many many many squats. Blisters on my hand are raw and popping... Both my abs and a** (!!) hurt. Even my armpits ache (!!).

In a relatively short period, however, I feel swiftly-strong... so... ghetto-sharp...

So... La Femme Nikita... so... Bond Agent 007...

I'm... BOURNE-AGAIN ! *wink*

How can random interval training with high intensity movements benefit the heart and vasculature? This recent study shows how high intensity interval sprints are just as good as high volume endurance training on increasing popliteal artery dilation and distensibility. A randomized controlled trial using high intensity progressive weight lifting in diabetes Type 2 individuals also revealed incredible benefits on improving insulin sensitivity and all the hallmarks of metabolic syndrome (MetSyn). Another study demonstrated improvement in relaxation of heart with a high intensity exercise program in a short 10-day period of time. They showed it is possible to reverse early parameters of diastolic dysfunction (heart failure) in obese MetSyn age 39-60 with simple movements like one hour of walking on the treadmill at 70-75% of max effort.

Whether it's playing catch with your kid, Curves, or Crossfit, embrace intensity and challenge your physical limits.

If you have symptomatic or asymptomatic CAD, consult with your Cardiologist prior to starting an exercise program. Always start low and go slow to prevent injuries.