Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Michael Castrogiovanni: Athleticism in Taking Kettlebells out of the Box
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Beautiful Strength. Kettlebells are heavy iron balls with handles. They are great for strength and conditioning work. They look like this:
Indeed, some of us have spent money to learn how to teach people how to use these things safely. Mainly by learning how to swing them between our legs up to above our heads in an arc. A simple move, but folks who watch this and do not know the technique, that simple gesture is pretty freaky. But let's say you've learned the techniques and you're out there practicing kb's - Michael Castrogiovani, an amazingly fit guy, RKC Team Lead, and creative athlete, makes the rather poignant observation is that all the movement happens in that same body zone. Not ot put to fine a point on it: between the legs. And so Michael asks, what happens if we move outside that box?
Athleticism & Strength. There was an interesting theme of discussion at a recent kettlebell certification course, the RKC II - it was athleticism. Athleticism had been ascribed to kettlebell practice, and so the question came up, ok what's athleticism. Fluid movement. Effortless looking movement - making movement look beautiful and easy.
The above video of Castrogiovanni seems a pretty cool example of athleticism, with kettlebells as the tool to let it be demonstrated. Beautiful, isn't it?
Delight. Awhile ago i wrote a post about the rarity of delight especially in one's practice. The live demo that Michael put on with with fellow RKC TL Jeremy Layport was that.
If you get a chance to work with Michael or to see him juggle or kb toss, you'll be delighted, surprised and no doubt inspired by the athleticism. A new way to think about heavy objects moving through space.
Related Posts
Update - Michael has agreed to an interview for b2d on his work with tossing kb's, so will look forward to that in the near future. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Indeed, some of us have spent money to learn how to teach people how to use these things safely. Mainly by learning how to swing them between our legs up to above our heads in an arc. A simple move, but folks who watch this and do not know the technique, that simple gesture is pretty freaky. But let's say you've learned the techniques and you're out there practicing kb's - Michael Castrogiovani, an amazingly fit guy, RKC Team Lead, and creative athlete, makes the rather poignant observation is that all the movement happens in that same body zone. Not ot put to fine a point on it: between the legs. And so Michael asks, what happens if we move outside that box?
Athleticism & Strength. There was an interesting theme of discussion at a recent kettlebell certification course, the RKC II - it was athleticism. Athleticism had been ascribed to kettlebell practice, and so the question came up, ok what's athleticism. Fluid movement. Effortless looking movement - making movement look beautiful and easy.
The above video of Castrogiovanni seems a pretty cool example of athleticism, with kettlebells as the tool to let it be demonstrated. Beautiful, isn't it?
Delight. Awhile ago i wrote a post about the rarity of delight especially in one's practice. The live demo that Michael put on with with fellow RKC TL Jeremy Layport was that.
If you get a chance to work with Michael or to see him juggle or kb toss, you'll be delighted, surprised and no doubt inspired by the athleticism. A new way to think about heavy objects moving through space.
Related Posts
Update - Michael has agreed to an interview for b2d on his work with tossing kb's, so will look forward to that in the near future. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
PDF
Thursday, February 25, 2010
michael jackson's "this is it" - amazing example of 10,000 hours/reps for expertise
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This post is sort of about Michael Jackson. What's michael jackson got to do with a blog about wellbeing and being well? it turns out, there ain't no denying, he is the embodiment of talent combined with practice practice practice. If 10,000 hours is the minimum, then Jackson was an expert in performance - of moving his body and music - by the time he was 11 - 15 at the outside (calculations below). While his performance videos over the past - gosh - decade? have looked like charactertures of himself, his posthumous This is It, showing him working and working physically in versions of tunes demonstrates a fluidity and casualness of expertise reminiscent of another wiry little guy/athlete/dancer, Fred Astaire. And i can't believe i'm saying this. But credit and awe where it's due.
This meditation started on a long long flight from the UK to San Jos. i thought i'd listen to some tunes while working. "This is IT" the material put together after (very right after) Jackson's death to give a sense of Jackson's planned London shows was on. I have not considered myself to be a michael jackson fan, but i have to tell ya, seeing him *work* with a live band and dancers easily half his age, i was amazed.
Unfortunately seeing one youtube snippet doesn't do it (i don't think; it didn't for me seeing the promos for this.)
Ya have to see the continuous movement from work to work - as well as the working on. For what?
A fifty year old skinny man, let's face it, moving more fluidly than his very muscled, virile male cadre. The contrast is intriguing. One might assume that in order to do the moves, leaps and so on of the boys on set, that one would need to have their bowling ball shoulders. Well it seems not.
What may be hard to grasp unless you've tried it is that just walking at a clip and singing is no small thing. Give it a go. Now change the walking to fancy choreography. This guy is pretty sonically perfect while pulling off complex movements and NOT ever sounding out of breath. Who else doesn't look like "and now i'm gonna dance" - Even the mighty impresario Prince doesn't have the movement integrated into his being, i mean does he? no. He *looks* like he's dancing as opposed to well just being himself. Like Federer with a racquet?
What's that video he did with his sister - black and white, somewhere in space - most expensive video ever made? Scream, right. thank you google. - watch the two of them move - she's very good, but he's well, even more very good. Ya may not like all his music, but anyone who studies movement at any level, appreciates form, athleticism, coordination, has to be just a little slack jawed.
This is It is an opportunity to see at least a sense of where practice meets performance as effortlessness. Talk about the four parts of efficiency.
Tension/Relaxation/thousands of thousands of times.
How is it that it seems instantly one can tell Michael Jackson's signature dance moves when so many others repeat them? That smoothness that seems no one else has - and that he's always had.
How about practicing for hours at a time a day, starting at 5 years old?
The stories of how driven his brothers, and especially he was (by his dad), to practice practice practice, pay off.
As said, at that rate, not unlike Mozart set to practice at age 6, Jackson would have had the 10000 hours in with his brothers to be expert at performing and moving by the time he was 15 at the outside: let's average his daily grind out to 3hrs a day by 350 (assume something stops on sundays), that's 1050 hours. *10, 10500 hours
Looking at video of jackson at 15 he was already silky silky smooth.
Expert no kidding. No wonder watching him rehearse for the o2 shows is like a master class in precision detail. One of the musicians complements him for knowing his records so precisely. I thought, c'mon he wrote them; of course he knows them, so likely something else is meant - and when you see the film, it's more like the control he has - we never see him play an instrument - i have no idea if he plays anything. but we do hear him simulate a bass rif perfectly in terms of the tones he wants from line.
But before i wax further about the music, let me come back to the movement.
between him and his troope
bigness: it's all for show.
Male ballet dancers have big legs and big butts. perhaps that's all the jumping.
Fred Astaire was not big. But oh is he smooth. Smoother than gene kelley, donald o'connor, name it from that era.
Michael Jackson, in his own ilk, displays that.
I own when i had seen clips of his work previously i'd thought it repetetive - everything a reiteration of thriller on, but again, watching him rehearse, that just didn't seem to be the case. Signature moves but in a far more fluid context - or something.
You see him inventing moves with his lads and it's just SO effortless it feels a little inhuman. How did he do that? where did that come from - and you can feel the young guns catching the move, repeating it, but it's heavier for sure. despite the younger, faster reflexes.
I did not expect to be impressed, little own watch this film with attention.
I still don't understand the obsessive adoration especially of his dance group, many of whom were not even alive when thriller came out, to say nothing of his motown work.
but no matter what my response to jackson may be on so many levels, watching him rehearse/perform with his peers - the folks designing the show (which looks like it would have been an awesome spectacle -in a good way), there's no denying this rather magnificent example of motor learning, neural patterning, those several sets of ten thousand hours of work combined with some not small raw talent, into this embodiment of physical, performance excellence.
He's 12 in the above clip for "i want you back" Expert? For a real treat - 5 years later with Cher. Goodness. On Larry King, after Jackson's death, Cher said she was gobsmacked by his talent (ok she didn't say gobsmacked) and how it's his movement - the way he danced that was so amazing - and how he made her look good when she couldn't dance. Expertise again? DO watch her moving next to him. He's all over the place, and she's barely moving. But unless you were watching for it, would you see that? You do see a moonwalk precursor towards the end. oh heck here it is.
it's not a snatch test, but wow.
The point of this post?
Just i guess that it's amazing how one can be taken by surprise by excellence - i really had no idea this guy was THAT good, but malcolm gladwell i think missed a trick not having his profile in Outliers, too.
I don't know if having spent some time looking at motor learning, developing patterns, ideas on expertise development, 10,000 towards the perfect rep quest, etc, is what lead me to focus on this film on this long flight tonight, or just anyone seeing this film that is just one consecutive stream would be so moved.
But, to my surprise, i encourage you, if you're interested in athleticism and grace, and just sheer talent, check out This Is It, and please let me know what you think. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
This meditation started on a long long flight from the UK to San Jos. i thought i'd listen to some tunes while working. "This is IT" the material put together after (very right after) Jackson's death to give a sense of Jackson's planned London shows was on. I have not considered myself to be a michael jackson fan, but i have to tell ya, seeing him *work* with a live band and dancers easily half his age, i was amazed.
Unfortunately seeing one youtube snippet doesn't do it (i don't think; it didn't for me seeing the promos for this.)
Ya have to see the continuous movement from work to work - as well as the working on. For what?
A fifty year old skinny man, let's face it, moving more fluidly than his very muscled, virile male cadre. The contrast is intriguing. One might assume that in order to do the moves, leaps and so on of the boys on set, that one would need to have their bowling ball shoulders. Well it seems not.
What may be hard to grasp unless you've tried it is that just walking at a clip and singing is no small thing. Give it a go. Now change the walking to fancy choreography. This guy is pretty sonically perfect while pulling off complex movements and NOT ever sounding out of breath. Who else doesn't look like "and now i'm gonna dance" - Even the mighty impresario Prince doesn't have the movement integrated into his being, i mean does he? no. He *looks* like he's dancing as opposed to well just being himself. Like Federer with a racquet?
What's that video he did with his sister - black and white, somewhere in space - most expensive video ever made? Scream, right. thank you google. - watch the two of them move - she's very good, but he's well, even more very good. Ya may not like all his music, but anyone who studies movement at any level, appreciates form, athleticism, coordination, has to be just a little slack jawed.
This is It is an opportunity to see at least a sense of where practice meets performance as effortlessness. Talk about the four parts of efficiency.
Tension/Relaxation/thousands of thousands of times.
How is it that it seems instantly one can tell Michael Jackson's signature dance moves when so many others repeat them? That smoothness that seems no one else has - and that he's always had.
How about practicing for hours at a time a day, starting at 5 years old?
The stories of how driven his brothers, and especially he was (by his dad), to practice practice practice, pay off.
As said, at that rate, not unlike Mozart set to practice at age 6, Jackson would have had the 10000 hours in with his brothers to be expert at performing and moving by the time he was 15 at the outside: let's average his daily grind out to 3hrs a day by 350 (assume something stops on sundays), that's 1050 hours. *10, 10500 hours
Looking at video of jackson at 15 he was already silky silky smooth.
Expert no kidding. No wonder watching him rehearse for the o2 shows is like a master class in precision detail. One of the musicians complements him for knowing his records so precisely. I thought, c'mon he wrote them; of course he knows them, so likely something else is meant - and when you see the film, it's more like the control he has - we never see him play an instrument - i have no idea if he plays anything. but we do hear him simulate a bass rif perfectly in terms of the tones he wants from line.
But before i wax further about the music, let me come back to the movement.
between him and his troope
bigness: it's all for show.
Male ballet dancers have big legs and big butts. perhaps that's all the jumping.
Fred Astaire was not big. But oh is he smooth. Smoother than gene kelley, donald o'connor, name it from that era.
Michael Jackson, in his own ilk, displays that.
I own when i had seen clips of his work previously i'd thought it repetetive - everything a reiteration of thriller on, but again, watching him rehearse, that just didn't seem to be the case. Signature moves but in a far more fluid context - or something.
You see him inventing moves with his lads and it's just SO effortless it feels a little inhuman. How did he do that? where did that come from - and you can feel the young guns catching the move, repeating it, but it's heavier for sure. despite the younger, faster reflexes.
I did not expect to be impressed, little own watch this film with attention.
I still don't understand the obsessive adoration especially of his dance group, many of whom were not even alive when thriller came out, to say nothing of his motown work.
but no matter what my response to jackson may be on so many levels, watching him rehearse/perform with his peers - the folks designing the show (which looks like it would have been an awesome spectacle -in a good way), there's no denying this rather magnificent example of motor learning, neural patterning, those several sets of ten thousand hours of work combined with some not small raw talent, into this embodiment of physical, performance excellence.
He's 12 in the above clip for "i want you back" Expert? For a real treat - 5 years later with Cher. Goodness. On Larry King, after Jackson's death, Cher said she was gobsmacked by his talent (ok she didn't say gobsmacked) and how it's his movement - the way he danced that was so amazing - and how he made her look good when she couldn't dance. Expertise again? DO watch her moving next to him. He's all over the place, and she's barely moving. But unless you were watching for it, would you see that? You do see a moonwalk precursor towards the end. oh heck here it is.
it's not a snatch test, but wow.
The point of this post?
Just i guess that it's amazing how one can be taken by surprise by excellence - i really had no idea this guy was THAT good, but malcolm gladwell i think missed a trick not having his profile in Outliers, too.
I don't know if having spent some time looking at motor learning, developing patterns, ideas on expertise development, 10,000 towards the perfect rep quest, etc, is what lead me to focus on this film on this long flight tonight, or just anyone seeing this film that is just one consecutive stream would be so moved.
But, to my surprise, i encourage you, if you're interested in athleticism and grace, and just sheer talent, check out This Is It, and please let me know what you think. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
mc's balsamic vinegar diet: fat loss xtreme taste delight
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Diets as a regular approach to body comp, as opposed to good nutrition practices, are bad. They're evil. They show no respect for the complexity of us as humans. They say if you just eat this magic way you'll get the body you want. They have no respect for the neurological trespass that radical changes can invoke when broached without preparation or understanding: that for someone struggling with weight for a long time, it's rarely just about the food.
We see proof of this all the time: we know that folks who diet can get stuck in a cycle of deprivation/retaliation. Martha Beck describes this practically split personality response to the diet (a code word for denial) in here fabulous book about approaches to getting one's head right for food change in The Four Day Win.
In Beck's approach, one's way to "thinner peace" as she puts it, is by helping one's self prep for the kind of changes to habits a shift in food consumption really triggers, and offers strategies to help get ready for the change.
I've written about the cost of change before: we are rewiring ourselves, literally, both hedonically
(our habits for pleasure/satisfaction/sufficiency) and homeostatically (what hormones for instance get triggered when to say "you're hungry; go get carbs). I really like Susan Roberts' approach to this shifting of "instincts" as getting one with what's going on inside and having some mercy towards oneself that there are reasons we're so driven to consume, and that changing these takes time.
It's just not only about the food (as i've said before).
And folks here know that my favorite approaches to getting knowledgable about nutrition is precision nutrition (why), and that i'm also intrigued with eat stop eat as a complementary strategy.
All good.
So where does balsamic vinegar come into it?
Well, whether you're getting set to make weight as an athlete or getting ready for a special event, or just want to kick start the sanity of a diet with some self-inspiration, there are times when one may wish to crash diet. Pray these are rare. Here's my own example: i'm getting ready for an event; i was away for more than a week on the road and ate terribly. And i know how to manage road food, so won't go into why this week was a bust, but i've been paying for it since, and i want to get back to the right weight for the event. Shallow, but there it is.
So, what's the best way to do this? Well i don't know, but the way i do it is to turn to Lyle McDonald's Rapid Fat Loss Diet. McDonald offers the same caveats: a crash diet is a short-ish term thing; it is not a way of life, but there are times (not one's life) when drastic measures may be appropriate.
By drastic, we're talking what's usually known as a Protein Sparing Diet, with a few mods. The best part of the book is really the discussions around how to figure out how long to be on this, how to come off it, and how to gage what you need, why, and strategies to optimize your *short term* practice of this.
The diet part is largely getting your daily protein requirements from very lean sources (including protein powder), doing a multivitamin and calcium, doing your algae or fish oils to get the right fats, and eating all the greens you want. Leafy greens don't really add up calorically to a hill of beans. Well, literally they don't.
We're getting closer to the balsamic
Just eating a piece of protein is not so filling. However, what i've been finding is that raw leafy greens from salad greens to baby spinach, and throwing in some sprouts, is not only overwhelming to the eye (as in, 'that's a lot of food'), it's also slow going to chew. And that's great!
Normally, i'd put olive oil and balsamic on a set of veg like this, but that oil is too dear right now since it's fat i'm trying to burn, so for the first time i've been exploring well, what about just the balsamic? Oh wow.
Now, when i say balsamic here, i mean some really nice balsamic (what is balsamic?).
Getting Intrigued
Yes, like everything else made in the world, we can Get Intrigued about a particular food product. There are various types of balsamics just as there are wines and olive oils. Having had the pleasure to travel to spain at one point i got to try a bunch and learned about this incredible condoment. This is aged, pressed grapes. It's sweet and clean and oh so nice with just a hint of tartness. And also as with all things, the most expensive doesn't always mean the best either. There's a supermarket brand in the UK - selfridges - which is very very nice. And surprisingly another supermarket, waitrose, makes one too, that rivals more name brands. To my taste anyway.
AND the best thing is, it works on its own without the olive oil's fruity complement. Drizzle some of the really nice stuff on this stack of leafy greenery and it goes from a mouth full of fodder to something really quite delicious.
There are probably tons of chemical reasons for why the vinegar part of the balsamic is reacting with the lettuce to begin to cook it, and react with it, but oy, let me tell you, it's a way to make that plate of greens desireable.
Slow Down, Chew: create taste sensation and lasting delight
WHich brings us to two other great food tips we hear all the time: chew the food a lot, and eat slowly. Why? well, the mastication process brings out the flavours of the foods, and if you have a variety of greens and sprouts and balsamic notes on a plate, squishing, crushing, chewing those leaves cracks open their flavours. And heck, if you're on such thin gruel as this calorically, making a meal last as long as possible is also a good thing.
Indeed, concentrating on the food, tastes and flavours is another rewiring step that has been shown apparently to help people eat less. On this diet, no problem, one is eating less BUT in doing so, we're learning habits to carry back to Sane Eating to continue to get more from less.
Tucking Into Tastes.
Perhaps when one is so calorically restricted, creating savoriness and sweetness and just flavourfulness is truly a great practice to develop - chewing goes a long way; seasoning takes that a bit further - and while perhaps motivated by a keen focus on fat burning for the moment, for whatever short term necessary evil goal requires this (or possibly it's an aesetic rather than aesthetic one), these are useful habits to take back towards as said that sane eating (i mentioned precision nutrition if you're not sure what that looks like - here's a free ebook of most of it).
So if you find yourself in a place where you need to get a fat drop happening fast, by all means, consider the Rapid Fat Loss Diet, and bring the good quality Balsamic to the table.
And when you get a head start on where you need to go - really the time limits discussed in the book are IMPORTANT - to look at refeeds, duration, etc, and just stopping it - there are some great approaches, as said: pn, eat stop eat. All good, all sane, all healthy habits based.
Personally, i can hardly wait to get back to real eating, but balsamic and loads of leaves has been a revelation.
Related Links
Note:
A reminder, too, that Brad Pilon's free teleseminar is Feb 24 - the free slides that just got mailed around about calorie cutting for weight loss related to height and only height is worth the sign up alone. That's a head spinner. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
We see proof of this all the time: we know that folks who diet can get stuck in a cycle of deprivation/retaliation. Martha Beck describes this practically split personality response to the diet (a code word for denial) in here fabulous book about approaches to getting one's head right for food change in The Four Day Win.
In Beck's approach, one's way to "thinner peace" as she puts it, is by helping one's self prep for the kind of changes to habits a shift in food consumption really triggers, and offers strategies to help get ready for the change.
I've written about the cost of change before: we are rewiring ourselves, literally, both hedonically
(our habits for pleasure/satisfaction/sufficiency) and homeostatically (what hormones for instance get triggered when to say "you're hungry; go get carbs). I really like Susan Roberts' approach to this shifting of "instincts" as getting one with what's going on inside and having some mercy towards oneself that there are reasons we're so driven to consume, and that changing these takes time.It's just not only about the food (as i've said before).
And folks here know that my favorite approaches to getting knowledgable about nutrition is precision nutrition (why), and that i'm also intrigued with eat stop eat as a complementary strategy.
All good.
So where does balsamic vinegar come into it?
Well, whether you're getting set to make weight as an athlete or getting ready for a special event, or just want to kick start the sanity of a diet with some self-inspiration, there are times when one may wish to crash diet. Pray these are rare. Here's my own example: i'm getting ready for an event; i was away for more than a week on the road and ate terribly. And i know how to manage road food, so won't go into why this week was a bust, but i've been paying for it since, and i want to get back to the right weight for the event. Shallow, but there it is.
So, what's the best way to do this? Well i don't know, but the way i do it is to turn to Lyle McDonald's Rapid Fat Loss Diet. McDonald offers the same caveats: a crash diet is a short-ish term thing; it is not a way of life, but there are times (not one's life) when drastic measures may be appropriate.By drastic, we're talking what's usually known as a Protein Sparing Diet, with a few mods. The best part of the book is really the discussions around how to figure out how long to be on this, how to come off it, and how to gage what you need, why, and strategies to optimize your *short term* practice of this.
The diet part is largely getting your daily protein requirements from very lean sources (including protein powder), doing a multivitamin and calcium, doing your algae or fish oils to get the right fats, and eating all the greens you want. Leafy greens don't really add up calorically to a hill of beans. Well, literally they don't.
We're getting closer to the balsamic
Just eating a piece of protein is not so filling. However, what i've been finding is that raw leafy greens from salad greens to baby spinach, and throwing in some sprouts, is not only overwhelming to the eye (as in, 'that's a lot of food'), it's also slow going to chew. And that's great!
Normally, i'd put olive oil and balsamic on a set of veg like this, but that oil is too dear right now since it's fat i'm trying to burn, so for the first time i've been exploring well, what about just the balsamic? Oh wow.
Now, when i say balsamic here, i mean some really nice balsamic (what is balsamic?).
Getting Intrigued
Yes, like everything else made in the world, we can Get Intrigued about a particular food product. There are various types of balsamics just as there are wines and olive oils. Having had the pleasure to travel to spain at one point i got to try a bunch and learned about this incredible condoment. This is aged, pressed grapes. It's sweet and clean and oh so nice with just a hint of tartness. And also as with all things, the most expensive doesn't always mean the best either. There's a supermarket brand in the UK - selfridges - which is very very nice. And surprisingly another supermarket, waitrose, makes one too, that rivals more name brands. To my taste anyway.
AND the best thing is, it works on its own without the olive oil's fruity complement. Drizzle some of the really nice stuff on this stack of leafy greenery and it goes from a mouth full of fodder to something really quite delicious.
There are probably tons of chemical reasons for why the vinegar part of the balsamic is reacting with the lettuce to begin to cook it, and react with it, but oy, let me tell you, it's a way to make that plate of greens desireable.
Slow Down, Chew: create taste sensation and lasting delight
WHich brings us to two other great food tips we hear all the time: chew the food a lot, and eat slowly. Why? well, the mastication process brings out the flavours of the foods, and if you have a variety of greens and sprouts and balsamic notes on a plate, squishing, crushing, chewing those leaves cracks open their flavours. And heck, if you're on such thin gruel as this calorically, making a meal last as long as possible is also a good thing.
Indeed, concentrating on the food, tastes and flavours is another rewiring step that has been shown apparently to help people eat less. On this diet, no problem, one is eating less BUT in doing so, we're learning habits to carry back to Sane Eating to continue to get more from less.
Tucking Into Tastes.
Perhaps when one is so calorically restricted, creating savoriness and sweetness and just flavourfulness is truly a great practice to develop - chewing goes a long way; seasoning takes that a bit further - and while perhaps motivated by a keen focus on fat burning for the moment, for whatever short term necessary evil goal requires this (or possibly it's an aesetic rather than aesthetic one), these are useful habits to take back towards as said that sane eating (i mentioned precision nutrition if you're not sure what that looks like - here's a free ebook of most of it).
So if you find yourself in a place where you need to get a fat drop happening fast, by all means, consider the Rapid Fat Loss Diet, and bring the good quality Balsamic to the table.
And when you get a head start on where you need to go - really the time limits discussed in the book are IMPORTANT - to look at refeeds, duration, etc, and just stopping it - there are some great approaches, as said: pn, eat stop eat. All good, all sane, all healthy habits based.
Personally, i can hardly wait to get back to real eating, but balsamic and loads of leaves has been a revelation.
Related Links
- Edeli: a great place to get beautiful olive oils if you're in the UK (no relationship to this company; just like their stuff)
- respect the fat
- whole proteins/whole grains
- glucomannan for satiety, fiber and no cals
- optimizing HIIT for fat burning
- When you can't HIIT, do what?
- what the heck is sustenance??
- MOTIVATION - what it might be and how to get more of it.
Note:
A reminder, too, that Brad Pilon's free teleseminar is Feb 24 - the free slides that just got mailed around about calorie cutting for weight loss related to height and only height is worth the sign up alone. That's a head spinner. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Sunday, February 21, 2010
begin2dig joins the 21st century: facebook and twitter
Follow @mcphoo
Tweet
Having struggled with how to do facebook, and having wrestled with frustrating my non-fitness geek colleagues on twitter with all this wellbeing info stuff, i have, in reading a wee ebook called "crush it" learned that i can clear the field for better communication(thanks miketnelson for the pointer).
So to connect better, learn more, share our good STUFF:
duh? duh.
i hope (really, i do) that you'll consider adding these links to your rich social networking space.
A goodly number of folks come through b2d daily, and thank you! but i hear from few of y'all in the comments.
Comments i know take time - so i hope you'll consider that FB and Twitter may facilitate faster contact.
And of course you can still connect with b2d via RSS feed and via Email for instant updated as soon as a new blog post is published.
AND to those who put their faces right out there on this site to say they Grok B2D, wow, thank you. Glad you're here.
Thanks again for stopping by & taking time to have b2d info as part of your infosphere
best
mc
Related Posts
So to connect better, learn more, share our good STUFF:
- begin2dig now has its own facebook page:
(url: http://www.facebook.com/pages/begin2dig-b2d/321154145333)
the goal is to have ongoing discussions about topics raised here where comments may seem too formal (though i'd love to engage with folks with more comments) - begin2dig now has its own twitter feed:
(url: http://twitter.com/begin2dig)
even faster exchanges on topics - please @begin2dig me! (is that a verb?)
duh? duh.
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Saturday, February 20, 2010
Improving Longevity with Calorie Reduction in Humans?
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Lots of studies on rats and a few other mamals have seemed to 
show the benefit of caloric reduction and longevity - mainly it seems in the way that CR impacts core temperature (a bit lower is better), fasting insulin levels, and oxidative stress - that free radical stuff. Testing CR and humans is going to be trickier. So researchers a few years ago looked at simply the effects of CR on these very markers that have been hypothesised to have an effect on longevity. What their work shows is that yup, CR has these effects.
The resson i mention this piece here is that neither Alan Aaragon's 2007 critique of IF (which i've cited before as a good ref and which Chris over at conditioning resaerch has also detailed); nor have i seen the work referenced in the more recent Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon.
So here's the abstract; the full article is also available for free, which is nice.
Now, i haven't seen a comparison of these same markers considered in a study where folks are JUST exercising and eating right (say a la precision nutrition's principles), but that is what folks like Aragon suggest - that exercise and diet have the same effects. A head to head study or gathering of results would be nice.
There is a nice 2009 follow up study by this group that looks at metabolic adaptation of folks on CR and CR + exercise. Bottom line: the folks who keep exercising while on the CR do not experience a metabolic adaptation like the *just * CR's (in other words the CR's metabolism really drops, and so does their activity). IS that maintenance good for longevity markers? not clear. But in terms of weight loss maintenance, surprise surprise:
SO diet, combined with exercise is still a good thing for maintaining ongoing body comp goals. Great.
Oh and to put icing on the cake of why exercise with diet (spliting the total CR between diet and exercise) is a good thing, the gang just published a study showing that while fat loss is the same no matter how you get you mojo on and calories off, with exercise is better:
normal healthy eating (like PN) and exercise, there seems to be at least a few of us who are using say precision nutrition approaches to eating/health on most days (and getting questions on nutrition addressed) and ESE fasting once or twice a week - for me this protocol is an exploration; nothing definitive, but intriguing. Just FYI
Related Posts
Citations:
Heilbronn, L. (2006). Effect of 6-Month Calorie Restriction on Biomarkers of Longevity, Metabolic Adaptation, and Oxidative Stress in Overweight Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 295 (13), 1539-1548 DOI: 10.1001/jama.295.13.1539
Redman, L., Heilbronn, L., Martin, C., de Jonge, L., Williamson, D., Delany, J., Ravussin, E., & , . (2009). Metabolic and Behavioral Compensations in Response to Caloric Restriction: Implications for the Maintenance of Weight Loss PLoS ONE, 4 (2) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0004377
LARSON-MEYER, D., REDMAN, L., HEILBRONN, L., MARTIN, C., & RAVUSSIN, E. (2010). Caloric Restriction with or without Exercise Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 42 (1), 152-159 DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181ad7f17 Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Lots of studies on rats and a few other mamals have seemed to show the benefit of caloric reduction and longevity - mainly it seems in the way that CR impacts core temperature (a bit lower is better), fasting insulin levels, and oxidative stress - that free radical stuff. Testing CR and humans is going to be trickier. So researchers a few years ago looked at simply the effects of CR on these very markers that have been hypothesised to have an effect on longevity. What their work shows is that yup, CR has these effects.The resson i mention this piece here is that neither Alan Aaragon's 2007 critique of IF (which i've cited before as a good ref and which Chris over at conditioning resaerch has also detailed); nor have i seen the work referenced in the more recent Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon.
So here's the abstract; the full article is also available for free, which is nice.
JAMA. 2006 Apr 5;295(13):1539-48.
Effect of 6-month calorie restriction on biomarkers of longevity, metabolic adaptation, and oxidative stress in overweight individuals: a randomized controlled trial.
Heilbronn LK, de Jonge L, Frisard MI, DeLany JP, Larson-Meyer DE, Rood J, Nguyen T, Martin CK, Volaufova J, Most MM, Greenway FL, Smith SR, Deutsch WA, Williamson DA, Ravussin E; Pennington CALERIE Team.
Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 70808, USA.
Erratum in:* JAMA. 2006 Jun 7;295(21):2482.
Comment in: * JAMA. 2006 Apr 5;295(13):1577-8.
CONTEXT: Prolonged calorie restriction increases life span in rodents. Whether prolonged calorie restriction affects biomarkers of longevity or markers of oxidative stress, or reduces metabolic rate beyond that expected from reduced metabolic mass, has not been investigated in humans. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of 6 months of calorie restriction, with or without exercise, in overweight, nonobese (body mass index, 25 to <30) men and women. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Randomized controlled trial of healthy, sedentary men and women (N = 48) conducted between March 2002 and August 2004 at a research center in Baton Rouge, La. INTERVENTION: Participants were randomized to 1 of 4 groups for 6 months: control (weight maintenance diet); calorie restriction (25% calorie restriction of baseline energy requirements); calorie restriction with exercise (12.5% calorie restriction plus 12.5% increase in energy expenditure by structured exercise); very low-calorie diet (890 kcal/d until 15% weight reduction, followed by a weight maintenance diet). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Body composition; dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), glucose, and insulin levels; protein carbonyls; DNA damage; 24-hour energy expenditure; and core body temperature. RESULTS: Mean (SEM) weight change at 6 months in the 4 groups was as follows: controls, -1.0% (1.1%); calorie restriction, -10.4% (0.9%); calorie restriction with exercise, -10.0% (0.8%); and very low-calorie diet, -13.9% (0.7%). At 6 months, fasting insulin levels were significantly reduced from baseline in the intervention groups (all P<.01), whereas DHEAS and glucose levels were unchanged. Core body temperature was reduced in the calorie restriction and calorie restriction with exercise groups (both P<.05). After adjustment for changes in body composition, sedentary 24-hour energy expenditure was unchanged in controls, but decreased in the calorie restriction (-135 kcal/d [42 kcal/d]), calorie restriction with exercise (-117 kcal/d [52 kcal/d]), and very low-calorie diet (-125 kcal/d [35 kcal/d]) groups (all P<.008). These "metabolic adaptations" (~ 6% more than expected based on loss of metabolic mass) were statistically different from controls (P<.05). Protein carbonyl concentrations were not changed from baseline to month 6 in any group, whereas DNA damage was also reduced from baseline in all intervention groups (P <.005). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that 2 biomarkers of longevity (fasting insulin level and body temperature) are decreased by prolonged calorie restriction in humans and support the theory that metabolic rate is reduced beyond the level expected from reduced metabolic body mass. Studies of longer duration are required to determine if calorie restriction attenuates the aging process in humans.
Now, i haven't seen a comparison of these same markers considered in a study where folks are JUST exercising and eating right (say a la precision nutrition's principles), but that is what folks like Aragon suggest - that exercise and diet have the same effects. A head to head study or gathering of results would be nice.
There is a nice 2009 follow up study by this group that looks at metabolic adaptation of folks on CR and CR + exercise. Bottom line: the folks who keep exercising while on the CR do not experience a metabolic adaptation like the *just * CR's (in other words the CR's metabolism really drops, and so does their activity). IS that maintenance good for longevity markers? not clear. But in terms of weight loss maintenance, surprise surprise:Interestingly, despite similar body mass and composition changes, CR in conjunction with exercise (CR+EX) did not result in a metabolic adaptation. If weight relapse does occur in part as a result of a reduced metabolic rate in the weight reduced state, then perhaps the combination of CR and exercise may be the best choice of intervention to prevent weight regain in overweight and obese individuals. Certainly, more than 20 years ago, Pavlou observed that exercise during a CR-induced weight loss program was essential for success of weight loss maintenance [34]. Since then others have shown with doubly labeled water studies that weight stability following weight loss is sustained by higher levels of activity related energy expenditure and free-living physical activity [35], [36]. To our knowledge no studies have prospectively studied the energetic adjustments of CR only versus CR in conjunction with exercise during weight loss and weight loss maintenance.
SO diet, combined with exercise is still a good thing for maintaining ongoing body comp goals. Great.
Oh and to put icing on the cake of why exercise with diet (spliting the total CR between diet and exercise) is a good thing, the gang just published a study showing that while fat loss is the same no matter how you get you mojo on and calories off, with exercise is better:
In the meantime of waiting for the longevity marker comparison where the condition would be
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 Jan;42(1):152-9.
Caloric restriction with or without exercise: the fitness versus fatness debate.
Larson-Meyer DE, Redman L, Heilbronn LK, Martin CK, Ravussin E.
Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA. enette@uwyo.edu
There is a debate over the independent effects of aerobic fitness and body fatness on mortality and disease risks. PURPOSE: To determine whether a 25% energy deficit that produces equal change in body fatness leads to greater cardiometabolic benefits when aerobic exercise is included. METHODS: Thirty-six overweight participants (16 males/20 females) (39 +/- 1 yr; 82 +/- 2 kg; body mass index = 27.8 +/- 0.3 kg x m2, mean +/- SEM) were randomized to one of three groups (n = 12 for each) for a 6-month intervention: control (CO, weight-maintenance diet), caloric restriction (CR, 25% reduction in energy intake), or caloric restriction plus aerobic exercise (CR + EX, 12.5% reduction in energy intake plus 12.5% increase in exercise energy expenditure). Food was provided during weeks 1-12 and 22-24. Changes in fat mass, visceral fat, VO2peak (graded treadmill test), muscular strength (isokinetic knee extension/flexion), blood lipids, blood pressure, and insulin sensitivity/secretion were compared. RESULTS: As expected, VO2peak was significantly improved after 6 months of intervention in CR + EX only (22 +/- 5% vs 7 +/- 5% in CR and -5 +/- 3% in CO), whereas isokinetic muscular strength did not change. There was no difference in the losses of weight, fat mass, or visceral fat and changes in systolic blood pressure (BP) between the intervention groups. However, only CR + EX had a significant decrease in diastolic BP (-5 +/- 3% vs -2 +/- 2% in CR and -1 +/- 2% in CO), in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (-13 +/- 4% vs -6 +/- 3% in CR and 2 +/- 4% in CO), and a significant increase in insulin sensitivity (66 +/- 22% vs 40 +/- 20% in CR and 1 +/- 11% in CO). CONCLUSIONS: Despite similar effect on fat losses, combining CR with exercise increased aerobic fitness in parallel with improved insulin sensitivity, LDL cholesterol, and diastolic BP. The results lend support for inclusion of an exercise component in weight loss programs to improve metabolic fitness.
normal healthy eating (like PN) and exercise, there seems to be at least a few of us who are using say precision nutrition approaches to eating/health on most days (and getting questions on nutrition addressed) and ESE fasting once or twice a week - for me this protocol is an exploration; nothing definitive, but intriguing. Just FYIRelated Posts
- General b2d nutrition index
- Fasting and Working out - it's alright
- respect the fat
- "you can't handle.." - the protein
Citations:
Heilbronn, L. (2006). Effect of 6-Month Calorie Restriction on Biomarkers of Longevity, Metabolic Adaptation, and Oxidative Stress in Overweight Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 295 (13), 1539-1548 DOI: 10.1001/jama.295.13.1539
Redman, L., Heilbronn, L., Martin, C., de Jonge, L., Williamson, D., Delany, J., Ravussin, E., & , . (2009). Metabolic and Behavioral Compensations in Response to Caloric Restriction: Implications for the Maintenance of Weight Loss PLoS ONE, 4 (2) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0004377
LARSON-MEYER, D., REDMAN, L., HEILBRONN, L., MARTIN, C., & RAVUSSIN, E. (2010). Caloric Restriction with or without Exercise Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 42 (1), 152-159 DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181ad7f17 Tweet Follow @begin2dig
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