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good athletic form during deadlifts at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

Knee Pain from a Different Angle

Knee pain is a very general term and can have many causes. One cause would be trauma. For many of us engaged in physical activities and sports that may be the cause. For the majority of people knee issues seem to creep up especially in their late 30s, 40s and 50s. Often it is associated with someone becoming more active again and picking up a sport, or fitness training to improve their body composition. All of the sudden the knee starts hurting.

To understand better the complexity of the knee we need to understand more about its anatomy.

Knee Anatomy

The knee joint is one of the most complex joints in our body. It consists of

  1. The patellofemoral joint (knee cap to distal part of the femur)
  2. the tibial-femoral joint (the femur interacting with the tibia (shin bone))
  3. It has meniscii functioning as increasing the joint surface and working as shock absorbers. They are C-shaped.
  4. The ligaments attached to the femur, tibia, & fibula lending it stability and guiding movements.
    1. Patella Tendon attaching on the bottom of the patella and allowing the force of the anterior femoral muscles to lead to knee extension by being attached to the tibia
    2. The cruciate ligaments stabilizing the knee in a sagittal plane
    3. The collateral ligaments stabilizing the knee against folding open sideways (coronal plane)
  5. Bursae are little sacks filled with fluid to protect tendons going over bones, etc.)
  6. There is a multitude of muscles working on the knee: flexing, extending, rotation etc.

What does the hip and the foot have to do with my knee?

Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting form training
Bad form jumping, like demonstrated can lead to injury

In addition of myriad muscles going over the knee, the hip and the muscles pulling on the hip or the foot position play a major role in your knees function. Inactive gluteal muscles can lead to changes on how the quadriceps pulls on the patella and its tendon. This can have a significant impact on patella positioning, cartilage damage, etc.

A similar situation happens when a foot is not properly supported by its arch and ankle. If your ankle collapses inwards you will have an increased risk of knee injuries due to “overuse” or rather “biomechanics”.

Basically in addition to being sensitive to traumatic injuries (i.e. in soccer, football, tennis etc) the knee is the slave to hip mechanics and foot mechanics.

How can I improve the situation if it is caused by weak hip stabilizers?

There are plenty of things you can do for the hip ranging from functional movements like deadlifts, single leg deadlifts, bridges, single leg bridges to small movements like side to side walk w/ mini-bands, bridge walks, hip hikes. 

Trap bar deadlifts are great because they work hamstrings, glutes, adductors, etc. The single leg version really helps with stabilization and is the functional progression.

I would definitely recommend you supplementing these exercises with movements like loaded bridges, clamshells, etc.

Bridges are absolutely fantastic to activate the glutes in a more isolated fashion than squats and deadlifts. With bridges make sure that the back stays straight. Don’t push the weight over the toes but rather keep the weight on the whole foot or slightly more oriented towards the heel. You have various options to set up the bridge. You can either lay down on the floor, the feet even with the floor, elevate the feet or elevate the back. Elevating the back or feet increases the range of motion and is definitely preferred. If you struggle to use a bench for your back, you can set it up on a 10” box a well. Again, I would recommend to progress to single leg bridges down the road. Make sure to use adequate padding for the bar. The bar should be sitting between pubic bone and ASIS (anterior superior iliac spine)

Clamshells on the other hand are a great isolation exercise that can support the work that you are doing with the compound movements. They are just one of many exercises that can be used for this purpose: quadruped donkey kicks, quadruped fire hydrants, cable kickbacks, back extensions, etc. can all be used to supplement the big movements. 

What You can do for your feet

Short foot exercises like the one in the video are a great tool to work on foot position and strengthening up intrinsic foot muscles. In addition to the isolated exercise make sure to integrate the short foot into squats, deadlifts, etc. 

Conclusion

Knee pain at least due to postural issues and weakness don’t have to be necessarily accepted as part of life. Working on fixing muscle activation & technique training can help clean up your form, improve joint positioning and potentially enable you to be a lifelong healthy athlete.

The sooner someone starts to address these issues the better. Depending on your age and activity level, exercises and foam rolling might not be all that is needed. You might need the synergistic efforts from massage therapists, chiropractors, trainers and your own diligence to get back “on your feet”.

Do not expect immediate and permanent results.You might have had the problems for years and progress might be really slow. If you can reduce pain and increase performance, I consider the effort well worth it.

What if it is not working

Exercises are great but training can only bring you so far. As mentioned above it might take a village to get you back on track. Massages, manual therapy, chiropractic, as well as physical therapists might be necessary to get you started.

 

References:

http://teachmeanatomy.info/lower-limb/joints/the-knee-joint/
http://www.physio-pedia.com/’Q’_Angle
Schuenke et al.  (2006). Atlas of Anatomy – General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System. Thieme.

 

Healthy Nutrition at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

How much protein is too much?

Current Protein Intake Recommendations

The general recommendation for a sedentary person is 0.8g of protein/kg body mass.

Athletes take anywhere from 1.2-2g protein/kg body weight. Endurance athletes rank anywhere between 1.25-1.75g/kg while powerlifters and bodybuilders take in about 1.75g-2.8g/kg body weight.

What does research say?

Recommendations for athletes vary from 1.28g/kg body weight to 2.8g/kg body weight (divide your weight  lbs by 2.204). A short study lasting only 7 days did not find any significant changes in urinary creatinine, albumine and urea. The “Nurse Study” a survey, supports those findings but indicates that this might not hold true in people with renal failure.

In healthy people a steady high protein diet does not seem to have negative effects on the liver but might have damaging properties with a high protein refeeding when the person fasted for longer than 48 hours.

Some people argue that amino acids are acids after all that the acidity might become a problem. Looking at the research though it seems that it is not potent enough to cause harm to most individuals. It only becomes a potential risk if the calcium intake was below 400 mg/1000kcal consumed and even then the relationship seems relatively weak.

Kidneys seem to work fine unless there is a problem with the sodium-bicarbonate buffering system which balances out the acid:base ratio.

What have rats to do with it?

Well, rats that were exposed to resistance training were able to decrease the impact of a dramatic protein intake increase.

Take Away

It is pretty simple. If you are healthy a steady high protein diet won’t have a negative impact on you. Should you have liver or kidney concerns it is strongly recommended to consult with your physician first before dramatically increasing your protein intake. A higher protein intake has shown to improve weight loss, performance, & recovery.

We recommend our weight loss clients to take in about 1g of protein/lbs of weight and have a lot of success in weight loss, lowering BP, etc.

Adjustments need to be individually made. One size does not fit all but the research clearly shows that a higher protein intake is connected to more positives than negatives as long as the person is healthy.

If you are interested in find out more about us, click below:

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References:

Examine Can Eating too much protein be bad for you?

 

 

Solid nutrition advice at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

Supplementation – What do you really need?

This question arises quite frequently with our online or offline personal training clients. The concern is real and there are definitely sometimes advantages to supplementing. The problem is that the fitness & supplement industry has muddied the waters when it comes to what you really need.

What supplementation do you really need?

This brings me to the first question. What do you really need. Most of us listen to some fellow lifters, weight loss colleagues, etc. What works for them will work for you and me. Well, that can be dangerous, inefficient, or expensive and at its worst all three.

How to identify your need?

Urine & blood testing might be the best option to really identify what you need. The problem is the expense.

There are a couple of other options.

  1. Identify your goals: weight loss, recovery, performance, muscle gain, etc.
  2. Write down your basic diet for one week, don’t change anything
  3. Analyze the diet for the following factors
    1. Macro-Nutrient Intake: carbs, protein, fats.
    2. Vegetable intake
    3. Fruit intake
    4. Nutrition during exercise
  4. Sleep patterns

Goal based supplementation

  1. Weight Loss: weight loss supplementation is sketchy at best. Some of the supplements that work can have interactions with medications. You should consult your physician before randomly using supplements.
    1. 2 Cups of coffee per day spaced throughout the day then add
    2. 2x10mg of synephrine, get used to it, then add
    3. 2x 90 mg of salicin (white willow extract)
  2. Muscle Gain
    1. Carb+Protein drink during workout (30g of carbs+10-15g of protein)
    2. Creatine 5g/day, no loading phase necessary, basic creatine monohydrate the best
    3. Nitrate through 500g of your chosen veggie like beets
  3. Injury Recovery
    1. 1.5-2.0 g of protein / kg of weight; in g/lbs = a little bit under 1g/lb
    2. Supplementation of 3-9g of fish oil/day (too high of anti-inflammatory response can reduce healing)
    3. Avoid oral Vitamin E supplementation, since it may slow healing
    4. Vitamin A may be taken by up to 10,000 UI daily for week 1-2 of an acute injury but will build up toxicity.
    5. 1-2g of Vitamin C can help recovery from surgery, injury and ulcers
    6. Turmeric can be taken to up to 8g without contraindications. It has a poor oral bioavailability and should be taken with black pepper extract (piperine).

Nutrition based supplementation

We are talking about good basic nutrition. I know you have a busy life. That is why I had you write down your nutrition for 5 days. It will give us some ideas on where we can help with nutrition.

  1. If you are low in carbs, don’t worry about it, you usually do not need to supplement it  unless you are an endurance athlete and need a higher carb intake.
  2. If you are low in omega-3 fatty acid, because of your fat sources you can supplement 3-5g/day with some high quality fish oil
  3. If you are low in protein, we recommend supplementing with a high quality whey/vegetable protein. A minimum of 0.8g / kg if you are completely sedentary, up to 2g/kg as an athlete
  4. If you are low on veggies & fruit on some days you can supplement with a freeze-dried greens & fruit product on those days, as well as some fiber, if your diet is low fiber.
  5. If you have weight gain goals, or performance goals you want to make sure to eat during workouts longer than 60 min and or workouts in the early morning. A mix of carbs+protein comes in handy (mentioned above).

Sleep & Recovery

If you are not sleeping enough  (<7 hours). You should definitely see what the cause is:

  1. Do you allow enough sleep? allow 7.5 hours of sleep at least
  2. Do you have the television on, or watch movies or read on your tablet? It will interrupt your melatonin production. You can get a blue light filter app for your device or nerdy glasses 🙂
  3. Are you a worrier? Write down the things that go on in your mind and take a 10 min warm to hot foot bath. It helps you to relax
  4. If all of these fail to improve your sleep:
    1. 200 mg of magnesium citrate or malate can help as a base
    2. 600 mg of lemon balm and 80 mg of lavender oil can work for people who have intrusive thoughts or anxiety. Take it 30 min prior to your bed time
    3. If you have trouble falling asleep take the magnesium and 500 mcg of melatonin 30 min before going to bed.

Conclusion

Supplements should always be exactly that: they should supplement your nutrition and your lifestyle. They are not a replacement and should not be abused. Make a serious effort in order to get your ducks lined up in a  row.

 

Have an awesome day,

Michael

References:

Examine.com
Berardi, J. & Andrews, R. (2013). The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition. Precision Nutrition

 

Young woman weight training

Be Honest With Yourself – Succeed in Fitness & Life

  • A lot of people are self critical and mistake that with being honest with themselves.
  • A lot of people are deluding themselves into thinking they are doing better than they really are.

How can that be – is it not contradictory?

Well, like everything life is not simply black or white, one way or another. We have grey areas everywhere. In some areas our inner critic comes out and when she/he comes out she means business. If we would hear anyone talking like that to someone we would be like: “Hold on there for a second, you cannot talk to that person like that!”

On the other hand we have often plenty of areas where we think we do pretty well but really may do only a mediocre job at best.

What does that have to do with fitness?

  • The Inner critic: people who have a strong inner critic have often a tendency to be harsh to themselves when they mess up, cheat, etc. The consequence is often that they say in their mind: F*** it, I suck, I already cheated, might as well go for it. In addition, they are more likely to not try again because they don’t want or need that negative feedback anymore. They give up more easily. Research in the field of “Positive Psychology” in the pasts 15 years has shown that people in this area are often doing better by training “mindfulness” in combination with self-compassion. It seems allow them to be human, to not go all out after cheating but resetting their efforts.
  • The person who thinks they eat or exercise better than they really do has a different problem. They don’t understand why they don’t make any progress despite their perceived effort. If you fall into this category, get an honest assessment by a third party like a trainer. Write down your training and the times you actually went, the effort you put in. Write down your food intake clearly to see for you and your personal trainer. It is eye opening and often fixes the problem.

What does that mean for you?

It is important to find a positive but honest environment that supports your efforts and holds you accountable. Your spouse or partner is often not the right person for that job because we have a tendency to take things to personal. Better would be a life coach, personal trainer, doctor, or dietitian. If for some reason you cannot afford that make sure to write it down for yourself. There are also “mindfulness classes” that help you be more self aware and teach self compassion as well.

If you are looking to get help with your program, we are always there for you.

Michael

Woman grocery shopping

Grocery Shopping For the New You

Grocery shopping is a problem for many of my personal training clients. They often go several times a week which is advantageousfor fresh items . Very few though cook on a daily basis. Going out to eat is quite common because they feel that time is precious or they are simply too tired after coming home from a busy day.

The Pitfall

Avoid diet traps at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting
Which way will you go?

There is a pitfall though when you go shopping several days a week. You are a walking by the food that you crave, that you are trying to stay away from. if you are in any way like me, then you have the problem that as long as you don’t see it, you are doing great but that when you go shopping and walk by your addictions, you sometimes cannot help but buy it and as a consequence eat it. It is even worse if I walk into the store unprepared and/or hungry.

How to avoid the traps of store display

Some stores like Harris Teeter allow online shopping. There is no easier way to avoid the displays and candy / icecream traps then shopping online. You don’t even have to enter the store to pick up your food. You have to pay a small amount per shopping but if you get all your grocery shopping done once a week you might spend $10-20 for online shopping/month but have saved way more than that in junk food.

If you are someone who despises online shopping then going in with a plan is the way to go. A detailed shopping list of everything that you truly need is the best. Honestly most of us don’t do that.

Even if you have not made a detailed shopping list you can still walk in with a plan. If you have been following this blog for a while then you know you want to make sure you have enough protein, veggies, some fruit, fats, and maybe some starchy carbs.

  1. Look for your veggies & fruit (produce section or frozen area)
  2. Next, fill up your protein for the week, best choose two for some variation from the meat/poultry/fish section. Look for things that are about to expire or on sale to save some money. Other great sources of protein are eggs, cottage cheese, greek-, European style yoghurt, cottage cheese (dairy section)
  3. Fats you can get in the produce section (avocado), oils (extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, etc)
  4. Your starchy carbs you can find in the produce/frozen section. You can get some quinoa or brown rice but would stay away from pasta, etc.
  5. If you need some supplementation you can get those at the pharmacy area of your grocery store like whey protein, fish oil, quest bars.
  6. Staples: Toilet paper, etc

For most of your food items you should not have to venture into the middle of the store. Always ask yourself, does the article you are purchasing fall into the categories, protein, veggies, fruit, healthy fats, low glycemic load+index carbs. Shopping for your categories and marking them off mentally might help you stay away from the crap.

Read Labels

Pay attention when reading labels. Foods with long ingredient lists are usually not a good idea.

Learn how to read labels at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting
Do you read your labels or fall for the manufacturer’s claims

Avoid trans fats or products that add in additional sugars like sucrose, glucose, sugar, maltodextrin, corn syrup, etc.) By the way organic sugar is still just that….sugar. 

Companies make all sorts of claims like: gluten free, health, wholesome, added vitamins and minerals, contains real fruit, natural, fat free, low-carb, high-protein.

Please, just because something is gluten free does not make it healthy. Read the label carefully. Avoiding chemical additives is always an additional benefit.

Conclusion:

  • Shop online if you can
  • Have a detailed shopping list or shop by marking off important categories
  • Never shop hungry
  • Shop on the outside of the grocery store as much as you can
  • Shop once a week to avoid being exposed to your cravings

 

Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting Nutrition Fat Loss

Are Low Carbs Diet Dead?

Recently a new posted study gained a lot of attention from the media proclaiming that the Low-Carb Diets are not as effective as Low-Fat diets. I am grateful to the people at Examine.com who looked more closely at the study design to try to figure out what this study really means. This post will just summarize shortly what the article has to say. If you are interested you are welcome to read the article here: Really Low Fat vs. Somewhat Low Carb

Study Make-Up

  • It was a six day study
  • 19 volunteers resided in a metabolic unit
  • Calories were reduced by 30% in both group (352g of carbs w/ 17g of fat vs 140g of carbs w/ 108g fat)
  • steady protein intake
  • exercised 1 hour/day on a treadmill
  • both groups went through both protocols after a 2-4 week break
  • Body fat analysis via indirect calorimetry

Results:

This is where it gets interesting. The “low carb group” had a decreased metabolism of about 98 kcal, while the “low fat group” had a drop of 50 kcal. This difference is not high enough to explain the variation in fat loss.

We need to understand that this study did not compare apples with apples. They used a really low fat diet and a moderately low carb diet, if they wanted to go to an extreme on the low carb diet like they had on the low fat diet and keep it equal their fat intake would have had to be in the negative, which is hardly possible.

The fat metabolism at least in the short run is dependent on glycogen as well. This could be one of the reasons for the difference in outcome compared to a steady state glycogen in the long run.

Really low carb studies have shown to lead to a slightly higher fat loss over a 6 month period but after that seem to even out with a low fat diet. In addition most low carb diets usually make up for a higher protein intake which helps fat loss.

Like the authors of Examine.com mentioned, this study was designed to see the results over a short term period. The research shows that you lose body fat on a low carb diet or a low fat diet. In the end, what matters most is the ability to adhere to it.

Nowhere was the actual food mentioned in the article. A whole foods, minimally processed, diet has many advantageous independently of the macro-nutrient intake. Fat loss is not the only factor to measure success by, like a recent study showed comparing diets heavy in meat or cheese to a high carb diet. The meat and cheese diet improved cardiovascular risk markers significantly compared to the high carb diet.

Conclusion: Don’t buy the media hype

The study was designed to fill in some of the gaps in nutrition it does not prove or disprove the effectiveness of any diet.

If you are in the process of cleaning up your diet, reducing junk food, eating more whole foods you are probably one step ahead. You can lose weight on a low fat diet or on a lower carb diet but you cannot out-train your food intake!

Personal Training at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

5 Fitness Myths That Keep You From Being Successful

The 5 Myths In Fitness 

  • Really short workouts several times a week will get you a fit, athletic body
  • High Intensity Interval Training is all you need to shred. Steady state cardiovascular training is dead.
  • Crossfit-, yoga-, running-like training will make you a good performer in everything.
  • You are gaining fat because you are getting older it is a race against time
  • A really low carb diet is all you need

Short Workouts will get you a fit athletic body

We all have seen the advertisement on TV or the internet. Work out for 10 min and you will have the body that you always wanted. Well that is a bunch of crock. Fitness and athleticism is dependent on what you put in. If you work out every day for 10 min without having done anything prior, your fitness level will improve. You won’t become a shredded athlete with a six-pack or have those long, lean, toned arms you always wanted. Improvement is relative to effort put in. You will be healthier with your 10 min a day but please don’t expect miracles.  Now, working out 3-6 hours a week can accomplish a lot which would put you at an average of 30-60 min on most days.

Ditch the steady state cardiovascular training and do HIIT only

High intensity interval training has shown to be a very effective tool in weight loss. But if you look at the studies you will quickly find out that those doing it also had some steady state training as well as a steady state 10 min warm up prior to each HIIT. Steady state training is still great for improving your cardiovascular fitness, supplementing your strength training and HIIT on off days. Don’t go for hours because you would reduce the anabolic effect of your strength training but 20-30 min of low-moderate intensity can speed up your results.

Crossfit, yoga, running… is all I need – I will become SUPERHUMAN

Please, let’s understand one fundamental principle in training: training adaptation is highly specific. That means that if you do a lot of crossfit, you will get better at crossfit, if you run a lot you will become better at being a runner, etc. Yes, there is a cross-transfer of strength and endurance to other sports but only up to a certain degree. A powerlifter is really strong but his strength help him little in running and he might be too heavy to be an efficient rock climber. To be really good at something, that something needs to be your primary sport or training tool. The result will be: You are really good at ONE THING! Fitness is relative to your field. 

Cross training, supplemental training to enhance your performance in your chosen sport is important to prevent injury and improve your longevity in your discipline. Well rounded athletes will never be as good in each discipline as specialists but they might have less overuse injuries –> General Fitness

I am gaining fat because I am getting older

One of the most famous excuses in history. Are you sure it has nothing to do with

  • you not sleeping anymore,
  • because you have a busy schedule,
  • because you are not exercising anymore,
  • because of work, that your kids take all the energy that you have left,
  • that you are sitting on your butt at work all day long?

The first thing to change is accepting responsibility. Accept that you have made life choices that have led you to this point. Now you can make changes. Turn off the TV an hour earlier and read 30 min before going to bed. Talk to your wife/husband to figure out a schedule with the kids, or see what gym offers daycare. Check if you can work out during your lunch break at a gym close to your work.

Most of the reduction in metabolism as we age is due to loss in muscle mass. That loss of muscle mass for most of us is caused not by aging (unless you are a top athlete) but due to being sedentary.

I am going low carb and I will make it.

What does low carb diet mean? A true low carb diet contains 20-50g of carbs per day. That is less than one banana on the low end. Guess what? Your performance in and outside of the gym is going to suck! Some ultra-endurance athletes swear by it but for most of us it does not work or is not sustainable. Having your carb intake around 30% of your total intake is perfectly sufficient. It is much more important to eat whole foods, minimally processed foods. Sometimes people ask me why. The reason: You are eating a higher volume of food which has a tendency to satisfy you sooner. Nice side benefits: more fiber, less additives.

Now go out and rock it.

 

Personal training with common sense at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

Fitness Results – Own The Basics

3Very few people are not enticed by the promises of the fitness industry and celebrity news and media guaranteeing quick results by virtually almost doing nothing.

We live hectic, busy lives and thinking about adding something to this does not really sound too great, regardless of the fact that still millions of us spend ours watching TV, surfing the web or social media every day.

We look for gadgets and supplements to replace the foot work we might have to put in to be successful. In our never-ending endeavor for instant gratification the glamorous promises in fitness magazines, on TV, and the net are just too easy to buy into.

I might have gone a little overboard here but I think it holds some truth. Losing weight & or being fitter does not happen overnight, just like we did not become sedentary or put that spare tire around our waist in one day.

Being healthy is also not just eating healthily and working out. A lot of emotional & physical issues are connected to food and working out. If we do not address our problems like stress eating, boredom eating, food addictions, injuries, drives and urges we might become slave to the old yo-yo principal: having temporary results just to be replaced by bigger, or longer setbacks.

So please, I don’t want to hear about the latest fitness gadget, pill, supplements, pre-workout drink, etc. until you own & practice the basics.

What are the basics of fitness

Interestingly they are in essence the same for most goal. Obviously adjustments need to be made for different goals like muscle gain, weight loss, etc.

  1. Nutrition is key. If you eat junk food every day, fried stuff, fast food, you name it; don’t expect to be healthy and lose weight. If you don’t meet your energy needs and protein requirements and want to gain muscle mass…don’t worry, it won’t happen. You need the necessary nutrients to accomplish your goals, to build lean, healthy tissue. Very basic advice: Have vegetables and some sort of protein with every meal.
  2. Training: I know you live a busy life. Guess what most people live a busy life. You don’t need to work out like in college 6 days a week for 1-2 hours/day to accomplish your goals but if you cannot commit to 3-4 days a week of 30-45 min of physical activity [2.25 hours/wk]  while sitting down the other 109.75 hours in a week [assuming you sleep 8 hours a day] your success is going to be minimal. Now don’t go and be all mad at me. It is what it is.
  3. Sleep: If you pride yourself as someone who does not need a lot of sleep…you are dead wrong, period! Sleep is important for our hormone household, and recovery. It helps regulate hunger and satiation. If you sleep 6.5 hours or less per week you are more likely to binge eat and stuff your face with above mentioned crap food. Reduce the blue light impact from cell phones and tablets or TVs…and that work manual or boring text that puts you to sleep every time….read it, since it seems to help with your sleep problems.
  4. Emotional issues: I am not sure about you but I would say that about 80% of our clients have a dysfunctional connection to food in some regard. This includes me. I am a stress eater and have a food addiction that throws me every time I feel like I am “in control”. Maybe you don’t have emotional issues that connect to your food. If that is you, I am happy for you. Almost everybody has something that they are dealing with that leads to detrimental habits. Find a therapist, a friend, a support group and seek the help that can elevate you. We all mess up. Forgive yourself and move on [easier said than done –> therefore find help]

I prefer to get to the point. It is time to cut to the chase. Stop making excuses, looking for short cuts. It is time to act now.

If you look for compassionate support and help in your journey to fitness & health, we are there for you.

 

Men's athletic training at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

Increasing Testosterone Naturally Through Lifestyle

Today’s blog is primarily for the guys. We sometimes get asked what a client can do in order to increase testosterone naturally. This is crucial for us since we refuse to work with clients who use anabolic hormones for fitness gains.

Two of the most common dietary supplements that can help are zinc and vitamin D. If you do not take in enough zinc in your diet (sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, wild game, crab, poultry, beans, cashews, chickpeas, almonds, peas, yogurt, mushrooms, oyster & shrimp) it might be appropriate to supplement zinc in your diet.

Vitamin D is important for people living far away from the equator or like most office jockeys stay inside for the most part of their day. An intake between 400-800 IU is commonly recommended in most countries but still might be subclinical deficient.

Examine.com recommends a year round supplementation of 3000 IU of Vitamin D which increases serum vitamin D above 30nmol.

Magnesium (250-400 mg/day) as well as Creatine (5g/day) seem to have a positive impact on testosterone as well.

Interestingly talking to an attractive woman seems to increase testosterone production temporarily by about 30% but that is hardly enough to have a positive impact on your fitness results.

The testosterone increase through sexual arousal diminishes after the arousal is gone but it does not completely vanish and unlike some common myths portray: ejaculation does not negatively effect testosterone levels.

I know this is kind of an odd topic but we are occasionally asked what men can do to increase their testosterone levels without going for hormone treatment.

Have a great day,

Michael

Resources:

Examine.com

A Zombie App can help you with your Fitness in Charlotte at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness

Getting Fit While Zombies Are Chasing You

It is sometimes hard for people to get started working out. There are thousands of apps by now providing you with training tools and good advice but what most apps lack is one crucial thing: The fun factor. 

In comes Zombie Run: This running app that puts you into an interactive post-zombie-apocalyptic world full of perils, opportunities and….walking, jogging, or running at your own pace.

What the game provides:

  • The free version provides you with 4 missions to try out.
  • In between game interactions you are able to listen to your own tunes, Pandora, Spotify, etc, the game will automatically pause the music and restart it.
  • It offers an additional “Chase” mode that notifies you with a warning sound of zombies approaching. In order to avoid the zombies you have to pick up your pace by a certain percentage which can be changed in the paid version ($2.99/month or less)
  • During the run you will pick up items that you can later use to distract zombies from catching you (in case you fail to increase your speed enough) or use it to build out your base (speaks to the computer geek inside of us, ahem me)
  • The game provides an interesting story line that keeps you captivated and makes you want to run more
  • The game will track your run statistics and enables you to share them
  • By now they have accumulated over 200 missions for you to do
  • The paid version can be set to automatically go towards the next mission or you can choose to radio mode (default)
  • The game does not dictate your pace other than to speed up during chases. It also does not forces you to change directions
  • Settings to use when you are on an elliptical, rowing machine or treadmill

    Zombie Run App at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting
    Are you faster than a zombie?

What is my experience:

  • By the time I am writing this I have run two missions with it so far. Running on trails makes it harder to avoid getting caught by zombies due to GPS inaccuracies.
  • Each session so far was about 30-40 min long. I like the radio setting as well as the go straight into the next mission setting
  • It definitely kept me motivated and made me pick up my pace.
  • I have a tendency to push myself and at points I tried too hard to “evade the zombies” which made me gas sooner considering I was running 7-8 miles total in hot and humid conditions
  • I definitely plan to use it more often considering I found the story engaging, the program interactive and it made me work harder. I will to make sure to pace myself.

Summary:

This might not be for everyone but especially for people who like computer games and interactive games this is fun. It can get you motivated to move your butt off the couch. I highly recommend giving it a shot. Become Runner 5 and find out what you can do in-game a well as on the road/trail running

Here is a video that gives you an idea what it sounds like:

Seraphinite AcceleratorOptimized by Seraphinite Accelerator
Turns on site high speed to be attractive for people and search engines.