I guess GSK is banking on there being a bunch of suckers out there.   Prescription fish oil?  Wow, I guess congratulations are in order for Glaxo, the pharmacist, and doctor that can pull off charging someone into filling that prescription.  Go ahead and save some money, do yourself a favor and go to Wal-Mart and pick some up fish oil w/out the dr. visit.

Glaxo’s marketing of prescription and FDA approved fish oil may have more product and highly regulated, but is it worth the cost and time of a dr. visit?  I’ll just keep buying it the same way I always have, and leave the doctor out of it.  I can read and use the internet, and feel pretty good about the product I’ve been getting.  Thanks, but I’ll take a pass Glaxo.

With these painful back issues understandably he has been reluctant to hit the weights. My approach will not be the traditional heavy clean-squat-bench approach that he associates with the weight room from his experience as a college athlete.  It will also not be an emasculating marathon of nautilus and Curves-style circuit or endless crunches and variations of ball sit ups.

So here’s where we began: the foundation begins with a conditioning base and center mass strengthening.

Note: I try to avoid the word “core” because I believe it has been branded as a synonym for crunches and endless “ab only” exercises.  I use terms like “trunk,” “hip girdle,” or “center mass” that can be considered “core” training. I just don’t want to confuse people with the branded meaning of endless abdominal-only exercises.  I prefer more complex total body movements that effectively engage the midsection along with hips, shoulders, and/or multiple body parts.  Abdominal only exercises are not bad, but I believe in most exercise programs they are misplaced as the top priority.

Day 1 : Exercises range from 3 to 4 sets of @ 10 reps per set

Jump rope @200 jumps or for time

Burpees

Kettlebell swings 16kg 2 hand and 1 hand

Kettlebell 1 hand overhead squats

Med ball pushups 2 hands 1 ball, and (1 hand 1 ball) switch

Bosu ball squat, lunges

Kettlebell shoulder press, and high pulls

Swiss ball push ups.

For the next 2-3 weeks I will be using a steady dose of bodyweight, kettelbell, and other moderate strength training methods, with a focus on improving his conditioning base and flexibility,  and carrying out exercises through smooth and full range of motion.

Now that Christmas is over and New Year’s is less than a week away, you’ve made up your mind that 2010 is your year to get fit, lose weight, and eat right.

Congrats on taking that first step.  Making up your mind is # 1.  Commitment and consistency are daily choices you will have to continue to make.

Start slow. Don’t blow out an O-ring trying to start where you left off.  For some, a nice long walk four or five nights a week may be just what the doctor ordered.

You don’t have to join a gym. Striveperformance.com and other great web-based resources are here to help with exercise ideas that you can do at home or on the road with minimal or no equipment.  Bodyweight exercises aren’t just for beginners.  Pistols, pushups/ pullups, walking lunges, crawls, dips, plyometric jumps can challenge even the fittest of athletes.

Diet. There is enough information out there (and most of it is great) to spin anyone’s head.  I’ll keep it simple and give you three things to think about that will make a big difference in how you look, perform, and feel.

1. Drink more water.

2. Eat more protein.

3. Eat more fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

There it is.  Keep it simple and don’t overwhelm yourself.  Let me know if I can help, shoot me a question at Kyle@striveperformance.com or Formspring me.

Studies have made claims that the average American gains more than 5lbs. from the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday season.  What?  Sounds a little exaggerated.  According to the New England Journal of Medicine these claims are a stretch and unsupported by clinical data.

The good news is the real number is closer to 1 lb. The bad news is that a single lb year over year adds up, and can contribute to some serious weight gain/ obesity over a lifetime.

So what do you do about it.  Rather than sit out of the fun, you’ve got a couple of options to limit your holiday damage.

A few tips for keeping off that holiday pound.

• Drink more water. Substitute water for the 2nd helping of egg nog or holiday punch.

• Dig into the nuts instead of the sweets.

• Take a walk with the family instead of sitting around.  Pick a neighborhood with some good lights and enjoy an evening walk.

• Substitute some relays for board games or TV time at your party or with your family. (bat race, bear/crawl, wheel barrow, sack rack, …)

• Have a “Feats of Strength” competition.  (Push-ups, pull-ups, or a good old fashioned race make for some big time fun.)

Have fun and enjoy the holidays. Add some activities and make a few healthy choices to avoid the unwanted gift of a few extra pounds.

The challenge with baseball players, quarterbacks, basketball players and other throwing/shooting athletes is how to increase strength evenly throughout the shoulder girdle without compromising shoulder mobility or range of motion.  Keys include balance in your press and pull exercises and performing all movements through a full range of motion.  Don’t make the mistake of avoiding strength training because you’ve heard it will mess up your shot, or throwing motion.  Proper and balanced resistance training will add power, bring up lagging body parts, and help prevent injury.

The kneeling tornado drill for throwing athletes (see below) is a an example of how to increase strength through functional and balanced resistance.

Xtreme Outdoor Fitness’ 100 Burpee Challenge with a few more variations including the kettlebell swing burpee.

Soy protein like most everything else has pros and cons. Simply put soy is a low cholesterol source of protein, but is not as complete as egg or whey protein.  The best source is as usual in it’s natural bean form, and there are some drawbacks to the processed powder  or milk form.  I don’t believe that in moderation soy is bad, but would not replace animal, or your protein powder with it.  The beef on soy stems from it’s production and the use of pesticides.

In short, I’ll leave the debate up to you, but my recommendation is go ahead and enjoy your edamame, but leave the bulk of your milk drinking to cows and mamas. For those eating a high protein diet, keep the majority of your protein consumption to meat, eggs, and other protein supplements.

Swings (single or double) are terrific for developing hip snap and target the glutes and hamstrings.  Coaching points include: drive from heels, snap hips, keep back flat (big chest and butt). Weight should float close to eye level from hip drive, with no engagement of shoulders.

Other benefits include: trunk (core strength) and grip strength.

I found this link on how to make the above pictured pull up bar. This site has lots of cool ideas for making your own stuff and it is great.  You can check other posts of mine for making your own rings, trapeze bars, and parallettes.

Is obesity really about overeating?  Gary Taubes author of Good Calories, Bad Calories, dives deep into causes and myths of obesity.  A very interesting speech goes for an hour and 17 minutes.  I encourage you to watch the whole thing, but to sum up; Fat is mobilized when insulin decreases.  Carbohydrates drive insulin which drives fat.  Carbohydrates make us fat.