Survival of the Fittest

I especially could have used this handy how-to video from Picker Produce on Halloween night, when my friend Pam (partially pictured above in her flight attendant costume, drinking milk and eating cookies while attempting to open a pomegranate) mangled the fruit in a savage attempt to harvest its seeds.

Check out a better way below.

It seems that every few months, an article appears disparaging the value of exercise for weight loss. The latest is "Why Doesn't Exercise Lead to Weight Loss?" from the Health section of the The New York Times.

The article posits that because a study of 58 obese subjects who did 12 weeks of aerobic exercise at 70 percent of their max heart rate (i.e., steady-state cardio) -- without changing their diets -- resulted in, on average, just a seven-pound weight loss over that time period, exercise doesn't play much of a role in weight loss. (Never mind that an unmonitored diet means the tendency to disproportionately increase food intake once you start exercising was also unmonitored.) 

Writer Gretchen Reynolds also points to a study on the "afterburn effect" -- the tendency for the body to burn an elevated number of calories for hours after a workout -- that concluded afterburn was a bust. Yet strangely, the type of exercise used in the study was relatively low-intensity -- an hourlong cycle at just 55 percent of aerobic capacity.

What makes this strange -- and noteworthy -- is that it's usually high-intensity activities that are thought to trigger the afterburn effect.

As someone working for a publication that strives to provide both depth and breadth of information, this sort of half-picture presentation is disturbing to me. When did journalists set exercise up as the antidote to terrible eating habits? The kind of thing that maybe we shouldn't bother with if we aren't seeing dramatic weight loss no matter what we're eating and drinking? When did we stop differentiating between different intensity levels of exercise? Between cardio and weightlifting, and their many subsets?

Perhaps, rather than renouncing the role exercise -- that vague catchall -- plays in weight loss, we should focus on the synergy that occurs when you make specific lifestyle and exercise choices. Rather than make sweeping generalizations and dismissals, let's dig into the details about what type of exercise has what type of effect, and the impact eating nutrient-dense foods has in supporting our fitness goals, regardless of how much and in what ways we're moving. The devil -- and devil dog -- is in these details.  

There are a huge number of places to get great fitness information, on the web and otherwise -- and most of the people providing said information work in the trenches of the fitness industry, so they're witnessing firsthand what works (and doesn't). A few of my favorite sources that have covered the topic of fat loss (I'm positive I'm overlooking quite a few -- my apologies!): Alwyn Cosgrove, Leigh Peele, Mike Roussell, Robert Dos Remedios, Sara Cheatham, Michael Boyle, Josh Hillis, Jason C. Brown, Pamela MacElree and Craig Ballantyne.

The last time this happened -- August 9, to be exact, when Time published the hysteria-inducing article "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin" -- a number of reliable fitness experts crafted thoughtful rebuttals. My favorite was by Tom Venuto, author of The Body Fat Solution.

I think it applies nicely to this more recent article, as well -- take a few minutes to read it, and see what conclusions you draw about the role exercise plays in weight loss: "Why Time Magazine Owes the Fitness Industry a Big Fat Apology."

UPDATE: To read a response from Pilar Gerasimo, editor in chief of Experience Life, click here.

(photo credit: LAYeiser)

This May interview with Eric Cressey on unstable-surface training (UST) planted the seed for this November article for Experience Life. The gist? If you have healthy ankles and you're still doing squats on wiggly surfaces such as wobble boards or BOSU balance trainers, you might be doing yourself a disservice.

"While there appear to be considerable injury rehabilitation and prevention benefits to UST for people dealing with existing neuromuscular shortcomings, there's little data available to support the assertion that UST can favorably impact a healthy, trained athlete's performance," says Eric Cressey, MA, CSCS, founder of Cressey Performance training center in Boston. In fact, Cressey says, doing UST can actually de-power healthy athletes.

So what can you do to improve your balance? Simply put, you need to challenge your stability while your lower body remains in contact with solid ground. This includes training techniques ranging from single-leg work and asymmetrical loading to applying destabilizing forces while attempting to remain stable.

Read the full article for exercise ideas.

(Photo credit: Kizzlexy.)

This video was forwarded to me by Sara Wiley, associate director of strength and conditioning at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She's the smartest. If you have a spare hour and twenty, you really must check it out.

Eat this. Be happy.

View recipe at Serious Eats.

(Thanks to Laura Murphy from Starvacious for sharing the link with me.)

Back in August, I attended the Perform Better Summit in Long Beach, Calif. And aside from gathering some great article ideas for Experience Life, I did my fair share of playing around with fun fitness toys. All in the name of research, of course.

One of my favorites was the TRX. For those of you not yet familiar with the TRX, we could call it a "bodyweight suspension training system consisting of 12 feet of nylon-webbed straps, handles, and various anchors that can be attached to any sturdy, weight-bearing base," as they'd like us to, but boiled down, it's essentially a rope with handles that you attach to a fixed point and use to do body-weight exercises.

It's a useful piece of equipment for just about anyone, because the user has control over the amount of body-weight resistance and stability based on what body angle and foot placement they choose. Another bonus: It's bang-for-your-buck, multi-muscle and -joint training because you're working in multiple planes of motion. Meaning, you can get a whole lot of work done in not a lot of time.

In fact, it's such a handy contraption that Men's Health named it the "Best Total Body Tool" of 2009. If you decide you must have your own, the TRX itself runs about $150, and a door anchor about $25. Or they sell bundles for less than that. Not bad for such an all-encompassing piece of equipment.

Here's video of our TRX instructor demonstrating how to do a Rotational Pull -- great for the core.



And here we are giving it a go. (Note: My videographer, one Jason C. Brown, kettlebell guru, didn't start filming till we were almost done, hence the somewhat-shoddy-looking reps. He was crap. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)



For more TRX exercises, check out these videos.
 


And a challenge from Todd Durkin, owner of Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego (coincidentally, this is where the USA women's 7s rugby team trained when we were in town for the USA Sevens tournament last February -- cool place).
 

On a bright and early morning in Minneapolis this week, my dear friend Ham Sandwich (practically her real name) asked me if I'd like to join her for a weighted sled workout at the University of Minnesota.

For no better reason than I had already been awake for hours due to jet lag, I somewhat cheerfully agreed. After all, I've had a soft spot in my heart for brave wolf-pooch White Fang and his Iditarod race since fifth grade when the reading teacher (my mom) read the book aloud to us and cried. (The fact was, she cried every single year -- it was part of the the lore of Mrs. Sinkler's classroom.) I mean, the dog's heart did burst in the end, but how bad could the training be? Errr ... right?

A short while later, Ham and I descended upon the hockey arena, where we met up with our former Valkyries' rugby teammate Sara Wiley, associate director of strength and conditioning at the U and 2008 NSCA collegiate strength and conditioning professional of the year. 

Here, Wiley explains how sled training benefits athletes and the general fitness population alike.

AFTER A DYNAMIC WARM-UP consisting of loose skips (2X20), backwards running (2X20), power skips (2X20), knee hugs (1X20), Spiderman lunges (1X20) and Cook hip lifts (1X8ea), Wiley presented us with our workout.

PART 1: PUSH-N-PULLS
Work in a 1:1 work ratio with your partner (i.e., your rest time is her work time and vice versa -- no additional breaks). Please note that weights should be adjusted according to your fitness level and ability. Rules of thumb are that it should be difficult, but not so difficult you can't maintain good form.

PULL - 1/2 arena (approx 100 yds) - 105 lbs.
PUSH - 1/2 arena - 70 lbs.
PULL - 1/2 arena - 105 lbs.
PUSH - 1/2 arena - 70 lbs.

Here, Kristin Zdanczewicz (the aforementioned Ham Sandwich) demonstrates how to do a weighted sled pull; note that Wiley is giving form tips in the background, such as keep your chest up, ankles dorsiflexed, knees driving and core tight.

 

And here,  Zdanczewicz demonstrates a weighted sled push; note again that Wiley is giving form tips in the background, such as keeping your arms locked out (if possible), core tight, and your momentum going forward rather than grinding downward. (My sincere apologies for the pervy-sounding breathing on this one -- I would have liked to have waited a bit longer after finishing my 1/2-lap pull before taping again, but I couldn't! We were working 1:1!)



PART 2: PUSH STRIP SET
Do this all-push series consecutively with no rest in between lengths. Distance = a 50- to 60-yd straightaway; cover ground as quickly as possible. Collapse in a puddle afterward. I mean stretch afterward.

First length: 105 lbs. (then strip one 35-lb. plate)
Second length: 70 lbs. (then strip another 35-lb. plate)
Third length: 35 lbs. (then strip the remaining 35-lb. plate)
Fourth length: weight of sled only; go for speed

Pseudo-demonstration/explanation in the video below.



IF YOU'RE INTERESTED in going in with some friends to purchase one of these bad boys for yourself, Wiley mentioned Gilman and Elite FTS as reputable companies to purchase from (the latter being less expensive, though still a couple hundred bucks).

Got any sled-training experiences to share? 

After finishing a Tabata Protocol burpees workout during a recent trek to Italy, my training partner and I noticed a couple beach vendors having a laugh at our expense. We invited them to partake, and they made it through about a minute before hightailing it back to the safety of the sand.

Lesson learned: Burpees are no laughing matter, silly as they look.
 



Just a quick lil workout to get your heart pounding: Four minutes of doing burpees 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off. That's it.

For more on the method behind the mad mad Tabata Protocol, see "The Tabata Tune-Up" in the March 2008 archives at experiencelifemag.com.

For another suggestion for incorporating burpees into your life -- in a big way -- check out the One Hundred Day Burpee Challenge, the brainchild of a handful of motivated women from the New York Rugby Club.

Andrew Heffernan's article on how to properly train your core -- without doing a buncha crunches -- is the No. 1 most-read article on the Experience Life website right now.

Read "Core Essentials" to find out what core training is and isn't, and to discover (or rediscover) five top core-strengthening exercises.

(Photo credit: Phils Room)

I've got a thing for butter beans, and it's been ages since I've been able to find them in a grocery store (word has it they're mainly a Southern thing). Some people say butter beans and lima beans are the same thing, but those people are crazy.

Butter beans are bigger, blonder and more tender -- which is perhaps why they've inspired at least four different songs available on iTunes (compared to lima beans' two), including one called "The Ballad of Butter Beans." In other words, people really, really like 'em. 

So imagine my delight when I came across this sight the other day. I filled my cart with cans of this treasure (no I didn't), to the point where little kids were pointing at the "bean lady" (no they weren't). But I did make a tasty, simple butter bean salad today.

Butter Bean Salad
One can butter beans, drained
Olive oil
Splash of raw apple cider vinegar
Walnuts
Salt
Chili powder

You figure out how much of each to use -- I'm no food chemist. Now someone get to writing a new song! 

Find out how to grow your own butter beans here.