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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

P90X /Insanity Hybrid -Last week UGH ( week 12)

A girl wrote this on my Insanity thread:

LOL--I'm about to throw it all out the f#%#'n window! Dude--my husband bought me peanut butter icecream--my absolute favorite! I'm really going to kill him. I'm definitely in a bit of a workout/diet funk. I will get back on track today!!! I remember when Annalise was having trouble getting through the last week of P90x. I was thinking--wow, how could it be? She's just about done, and yet here I am in the same situation. In my defense, I've been feeling drained and a bit under the weather lately--like I might be coming down with something. Maybe it's just psychological--who knows? Anyway--Chest and Tri's later today with ARX and at least 20 mins of cardio. That's the plan and I'm sticking to it.

My response to her:
I laughed at work Cynthia when I saw this, not at you , I am having the same problem(s) this week
I missed workouts two nights in a row , just want to sleep.
I Ran a good 3.5 with trevor this morning, and I intend to go down for Cst now, it is okay week 12 is on and next week are recovery workouits so i can finih back and legs on the weekend. Need some YOGA!!!

So it was out thirteenth anniversary Monday, we both worked late and she had to pack to head to Orlando , no celabration until the weekend. I have been married 31 years of my life WTF, I am old.

See did grab my arm over the weekend and say oh that is scary( my diamonds of gold ) haha

Trust me I don't have big guns but they asre getting there under the last layer of blubber!

Be good all Mikey

Monday, September 19, 2011

We don’t get fat because we overeat; we overeat because we are fat

Has anyone read “Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It” by Gary Taubes? It is a research book about how the body holds onto fat with the conclusion being avoid grains and the fat will fall off. I was so intrigued I began testing this hypothesis on my family. We are all converts now.

I have summarized the book below as it's not an easy read; mainly a research book examining years of ‘ignored’ research that proves its point. In this summary, I borrowed heavily from the author’s blog where he defends himself after a contentious appearance on Dr Oz.

I will give you the author's hypothesis up front, explain his main points and at the end tell you the “What to Do about It” part.

Hypothesis: “We don’t get fat because we overeat; we overeat because we are fat.”

Unlike what we have been fed by science and media since the 1960s, it is not fat that makes us fat. Nor is it gluttony or sloth as moralists like to guilt trip us to believe. It is hormones that make and keep us fat: Insulin, estrogen, testosterone and more. Some people are genetically predisposed to accumulate fat, others to burn it. It depends on hormones, most of which are out of our control; all except Insulin. Insulin is the one hormone that we all can consciously control through our diet by cutting carbohydrate rich foods: all grains, all sugars, corn syrup and starchy vegetables. This is a good thing as Insulin is the biggest bad guy and needs to be controlled; especially in those who are already fat.

You see, what makes fat cells fat is Insulin. “Raise Insulin levels and we accumulate more fat in our fat cells. Lower Insulin and fat is released from the fat cells so our lean tissues burn it for fuel.” So regardless of our predisposition to get fat, we can lower our fat by lowering our carbohydrate intake. But, “there’s no one-size-fits-all prescription for the quantity of carbohydrates we can eat and still lose fat or remain lean.” “For some, getting lean might be a matter of merely avoiding sugars… And for some, weight will be lost only on a diet of virtually zero carbohydrates”

In a nutshell; “Carbohydrates drive Insulin drives Fat.” This fact is found in European research from the early 1900s on; but after the end of World War II Americans turned their back on it. Around the 1960s we came up with ‘faulty’ science touting low fat diets and exercise as means to lower body fat. Obesity rates have risen steadily since then.

Making matters worse, “a blanket recommendation to eat fruits and vegetables and whole grains, as Oz prescribes and now Weight Watchers and the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, ignores this aspect of human variability completely. It assumes that people who are predisposed to fatten can tolerate the same foods and benefit from the same very mild dose of carb-restriction that the naturally lean can.”

The fact is; the more fat you have; the more fat you accumulate. To understand why; think of it as the evil doings of two culprits: LPL and Insulin. “LPL is the enzyme (in less technical language, the thing) that works to pull fat from the circulation into whatever cell it happens to be sitting on. If that cell is a muscle cell, the fat is used for fuel. If it’s a fat cell, the fat is stored.” Obviously, the more fat you have, the more likely the enzyme will be sitting on a fat cell when it dumps its load. Next the evil culprit, Insulin, comes along; like an overzealous prison warden, he builds more and more prisons that are impossible to escape from. In other words, Insulin — “creates new fat cells… and it inhibits the escape of fat from the fat cell and its use for fuel.”

Now here is a catch 22; with all our fat locked up so we can’t burn it for fuel, we need more fuel for our bodies to burn so that we can move. This is the fact upon which the author based his hypothesis: “we don’t get fat because we overeat; we overeat because we are fat”. Regardless of how much we eat, if our fat cells are hogging it all; our body will demand more. It will harangue us, “Feed me, FEED ME!” Like that plant in Little Shop of Horrors, it’s insatiable.

So what does it do, if you don’t feed it enough to make up for what it is hoarding away in its fat cells? It slows you down, so you won’t burn so much of its precious little fuel: fat…, hungry… and too tired to move. Sound familiar?

You just can’t fool Mother Nature. So what can you do? According to all the research; there is only one thing; fire the prison warden. How? Avoid the foods that increase Insulin levels. Basically, the foods that were absent from human diets during the 2.5 million years of evolution leading up to the industrial era (a scant 300 years ago) that we are still poorly adapted to — easily digestible starches, refined carbohydrates and sugars.

The good news is, we can do this without going hungry. We are advised that if we eliminate carbs, we can eat fats and protein till we are full and still lose weight. In addition, if we avoid sugars and artificial sweeteners, we will eventually lose our cravings for carbs.

If all this is true, which I plan to test on myself; it will explain why I have hung onto my baby fat (i.e. post pregnancy weight gain) despite having always exercised, eaten whole grains and avoided fatty food. While I have dropped a few pounds, I expected more dramatic results in the past 4 years since I became a Pescetarian (a vegetarian that eats fish). I admit I was a vegetarian that also ate sugar every day.

I know it is true that we do crave the carbs that feed the monster. But according to a study of carb deprived kids, they lost their cravings after 12 to 15 months. I think that’s too long to suffer so I am cheating with Shakeology. I’m not sure how that may skew my test results, but I don’t care; after only one month, I no longer craved sweets or coffee and my Reflux settled down. It only has 17 carbs so I don’t see any reason to give it up. If I am going pull off a 50 lb fat loss and win the Beachbody Contest, I need all the help I can get!

I like to think that it is not our fault that so many of us are fat; but I believe it will be, if there is a proven way to reverse it and we don’t try.

Meanwhile one thing we can all do is give a break to the many people (a third of our population) who struggle with obesity. Fat isn’t a reflection on one’s character! As a friend of mine said after reading this, “I might have to stop being so judgmental!” Now there’s an idea whose time has come!

Do it, just for the health of it!

Tani-Rae

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Day 71 three weeks to go:

Finished the wood siding replacement on the back of the House Yeah!!
Just a little paint work to do now!


Now that I have my major work on the house done for the year I intend to put in some longer runs myself, I was motivated watching the people run the 65-85 minutes 10 miler last week, I should be in that comepmny myself (the 85 minute range anyways)
Great job!

Lot of talk about Vibrams ( VFF)

Regarding Vibrams:


I have had arch problems, flat feet, myself and wear SOLE's in my workout and running shoes. It is a custom orthotic you fit yourself by heating to 190 degrees in the oven and popping into the shoes, then molding with your feet. You can get these at REI.

I do walk around more and more in barefeet at home and I enjoy that!
BTW I worked a 10 k race a few weeks ago and guys were running it barefoot on the pavement, They had on their Barefoot running club tee shirts! LOL power to them!

Day 71 three weeks to go:

Okay so I banged out a good Chest & back and ab ripper last night!
Tried something different I ran 2 miles on the treadmill before the workout,
I am thinking of getting a lifecycle or a spinner to warmup and get some (more) cardio.

I am not as big of a football fan, but the Pats were taking it to the Dolphins big time . Brady had a personal record passing 517 yards!So I had to watch some of that !
So any ways I was later than expected by the time I did the P90X workouts, I had planned to run two more after the workout, but I had to shower and go to bed!
I did raise the weights on pull up the pants and lawnmowers so that is good almost up to 50's!


Bring it everyone, running on the beach sounds pretty good right now!

Go Bills!!

Mike

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Get Ripped. Get Walking.

Get Ripped. Get Walking.by Tim Henriques – 8/29/11


High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has become a conditioning staple. But what about another simple but hugely effective fat-stripping activity, namely steady-state walking?
Fact is, for the typical person that's muscular, lifts weights regularly, and looking to get a bit more cut, walking can be the perfect compliment to a rigorous weight lifting routine.

Pros of Walking
Doesn't add training stress. Unlike interval or HIIT, walking adds very little training stress to the body. But combine more intense cardio with several days of weight lifting each week and the body can quickly become over-trained. Walking, on the other hand, is restorative; you feel better after you finish a walk, not worse, and the effects are immediate.
Hard to overtrain. Because it doesn't accumulate much stress, you can walk a ton. Shin splints might be the biggest worry, but as long as you watch the incline, don't go crazy with the volume, and wear decent shoes, you should be fine.
Burns a lot of fat. Walking is a low intensity exercise, which means it burns a higher percentage of fat. True, walking for 10 minutes doesn't burn much fat, but walk briskly at an incline for 4-8 hours a week and you'll burn a significant amount of fat.
Burns almost no muscle. This is probably the biggest aesthetic benefit to the muscle building crowd. High intensity exercise, particularly cardio, uses glucose for fuel. Normally that isn't a concern as the body will break down its glycogen storage (stored carbs) for glucose.
However, if on a diet and lifting weights, glycogen stores are depleted. If you add regular intense cardio on top of this, the body will release cortisol to help convert amino acids into glucose to be used as fuel. Those amino acids can come from your hard-earned muscle tissue.
Clearly, this is a problem for a muscular individual as whatever form of energy storage you have, you burn more of that particular energy store. Most Americans have considerable bodyfat, and the body is quick to burn that off once they get moving. But a muscular and moderately lean individual will have more muscle than fat. The body will see the muscle as "excess" and will preferentially burn that muscle to meet the caloric demand of the exercise.
Helps recover from resistance training. Walking promotes blood flow, which has been shown to be very important in helping recovery from injuries. Some feel that walking also has a small spinal flossing effect that helps the nerves align optimally and thus conduct their electrical impulses in an ideal way. Ever hear someone say that a walk helps their stiff and sore muscles feel better? Now you know why.
Doesn't cause muscle fiber conversion. Walking stimulates the type I muscle fibers and motor units in the body, not the type II's. HIIT training can call on the type II's, but it tends to convert them to a more medium power, better aerobic fiber (type IIa) instead of a stronger, larger, more powerful fiber (type IIb or IIx). A 30-second interval might seem short for cardio, but it's long for someone focused on strength and power and the body will adapt accordingly.
Builds aerobic fitness. Brisk walking won't get you ready for the Boston Marathon but it does build up the VO2 Max enough to significantly assist with weight training recovery. Walking fast (4.0 mph +) at a high incline for a long duration (without holding onto the handles) isn't as easy as it seems and it can be a great compliment to the fitness developed through intense weight training. Regular fast walking can often take a more muscular male's VO2 Max to the 50+ range, which is usually ideal for them to complete challenging weight training workouts.
Stress relief. Walking can be a great way to have some quiet time, collect your thoughts, ponder your troubles (or escape them), talk with your spouse/kids/friends, or just catch up on those "Game of Thrones" episodes you missed. Truth is, once you complete the walk, you usually feel better and life looks better because of it.
Functional. My favorite word – functional has many definitions, but one is something that mimics and/or improves activities of daily living. If you go with that definition I'd argue that not only is walking functional, it's the single most functional activity a person can perform as the need to walk is crucial for human survival.
Builds work capacity. A fit person should be able to exercise at a moderate pace for a long time. Walking helps build this ability. The knock on most gym rats is that they train their phosphagen (short duration, high intensity) energy system well but they're one-shot wonders. In other words, if they have to work continuously for any length of time, they can't handle it. Walking takes care of that.
Low impact. Walking is low impact, so even if you have sensitive knees or a bad back, walking shouldn't affect it. It might even help improve that condition.
Better for strength athletes than running. Running or jogging has many benefits but strength athletes are better off avoiding it. Many lifters most notice their squat goes down, bodyweight goes down, and power goes down when they jog regularly. The heavier you are, the harder running is on your body. Note that I'm talking about jogging or sprints.
Best exercise to perform fasted. The theory behind fasted cardio is that if the body is low in carbs, it will turn to fat for energy. I agree with this premise and walking is the perfect form of exercise for it. Where everybody seems to screw up is by trying to perform HIIT cardio while fasted, which is a) brutal, because you don't have the energy and b) not smart, because you'll burn a lot of muscle (assuming you have a decent amount of muscle to begin with).
Great for all ages. Walking is great for every body. It's great for the old person trying to stay healthy and independent, it's great for kids who don't get enough exercise, and it is great for the meathead to build more long lasting stamina, burn off some fat, and just to be healthier.
Everyone knows how to walk. Walking is tough to screw up and the learning curve of walking on a treadmill is super short. The biggest mistake made when walking on the treadmill is holding onto the handles, particularly if the treadmill is at an incline. If you hold onto the handles and lean back you effectively eliminate the incline, as now your body is essentially perpendicular to the treadmill – which is what happens when you walk on flat ground.
It works. What did you see Ronnie Coleman do in the morning and the evening in his videos? He walks at an incline. He's not the only one. Trust me, if you perform this regularly, it works.
Walking is pretty awesome but there are a few negatives. Here's a quick list:

Cons of Walking

Walking doesn't build muscle. Don't expect walking to build any real muscle, that's what your weight training is for.
Walking doesn't make one a good runner. If you want to be a good runner, you're going to have to run regularly. If distance running doesn't come naturally to you, you're going to have to practice it regularly to become proficient. You can be a good walker and a crappy jogger; the biomechanics and the adaptations necessary for the two are quite different and the principle of specificity holds true. Be aware that long distance running and high levels of strength and muscle mass rarely go together.
Walking is time consuming. This sucks for busy people. To burn fat I'd suggest 3 hours of walking a week at a minimum; double that number is ideal. This is where we males can take a cue from our female counterparts and multitask. You're likely unable to read while walking at the pace I suggest, but watching TV or chatting or listening to music/books/lectures is a great way to pass the time.
I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of people reading this spend more than 3-6 hours a week watching TV. On a treadmill you could still watch that amount of TV and get lean at the same time.

When to Walk
Timing isn't super crucial when it comes to walking. If you just want to be fitter and healthier then walk whenever you can. The total duration doesn't even have to be continuous. If you want to burn fat, the best time to walk is in the morning in a fasted state as explained above.
The second best time to walk is right after a tough weight-training workout (the workout will have burned off a fair amount of glycogen, leaving your body ready to tap into fat), and the third best time is basically any time you can.

What to Do
The goal is to perform a brisk walk, often coupled with an incline, for a reasonable duration. The incline is a great way to increase calorie burning – a good goal is to find a level that allows you to burn 8-10 cals/min. You're still walking, so any muscle catabolism will be minimal.
You should be able to complete the exercise in full without stopping. If you can't, you're likely going too hard. The duration needed to promote the cardiovascular benefits and burn significant calories is usually 30 minutes or more. Certainly walking one mile (15 minutes) is much better than nothing, but it's walking 3 or 4 or 5 miles that will really start burning some fat, especially if performed regularly.
Listed below are three walking programs, but first, a few points:
• Most can hopefully complete the beginner program relatively easily.
• The intermediate program is likely the best program for the majority of readers to start out with.
• The advanced program is a good program to work up to, particularly if you're under 200 lbs.
• It's much better to start off with a program that's a little easy and let it progress than to start off with a program that's too hard. One shouldn't come close to failing on any of these workouts, particularly for the first month. If you do then you started at least one level too high.
• Don't start in the middle of a program. Start at the beginning of it, even if you think it's too easy. If you can't complete the week 1 beginner walking program then you have to look in the mirror, declare yourself out of shape, and then get your butt in gear!
• This program comes with a suggested frequency of four times a week. If you walk more frequently than that, just repeat one of the days of that week – whichever day you want. Note that each day there's often minor changes in the speed, incline, or time, so pay attention and try to follow the program as written. Little changes will add up significantly over time.
• Don't hold onto the treadmill for any length of time.
• Warm-ups aren't generally necessary, although if you need one feel free to use it. Cool downs are a good idea – cool down for 3-5 minutes at whatever speed and incline you prefer.
• This program was set up for a treadmill so I could give precise speed and incline recommendations without having to worry about the weather. Walking outside is great; you get fresh air and sunshine and you see the birds and flowers and all that crap. The big negative is no regular incline, especially if where you live is relatively flat. You can compensate for this by walking with a 10-40 pound vest/backpack to increase the difficulty.
Rate your fitness level as beginner, intermediate, or advanced. Use the following guideline:
Beginner: Would have difficulty walking 3.5 mph at 5% incline for 45 minutes.
Intermediate: Would have difficulty walking 4.0 mph at 5% incline for 45 minutes but could complete the beginner workout.
Advanced. Could handle walking 4.0 mph at 5% incline for 45 minutes.
NOTE: This program is read mph @ incline% for X period of time in minutes, so 3.5@4% 40' means walk 3.5 mph at a 4% incline for 40 minutes.
Beginner Workout
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4
Week 1 3.0@1% 30' 3.0@1% 30' 3.0@1% 30' 3.0@1% 30'
Week 2 3.1@1% 33' 3.1@1.5% 33' 3.1@1% 33' 3.2@1% 33'
Week 3 3.2@1.5% 35' 3.2@2% 35' 3.2@1.5% 35' 3.3@1.5% 35'
Week 4 3.3@1.5% 37' 3.3@2.5% 37' 3.3@1.5% 37' 3.4@1.5% 37'
Week 5 3.4@2% 39' 3.4@3% 39' 3.4@2% 39' 3.5@2% 39'
Week 6 3.5@2% 41' 3.5@3.5% 41' 3.5@2% 41' 3.6@2% 41'
Week 7 3.6@2% 43' 3.5@4% 43' 3.6@2% 43' 3.7@2% 43'
Week 8 3.7@2% 45' 3.5@4.5% 45' 3.7@2% 45' 3.8@2% 45'

Week 9 and beyond. Progress to intermediate workout
Perform cardio a minimum of four times per week, a maximum of six times per week. It's okay to perform cardio twice a day if necessary (with a maximum of six sessions per week). Try to burn at least 300 calories each cardio session if you choose not to walk. Bike no more than once per week.
Intermediate Workout
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4
Week 1 3.5@2% 35' 3.5@2% 35' 3.5@2% 35' 3.6@2% 35'
Week 2 3.6@2.5% 37' 3.6@3% 37' 3.6@2.5% 37' 3.7@2.5% 37'
Week 3 3.7@3% 40' 3.6@4% 40' 3.7@3% 40' 3.8@3% 40'
Week 4 3.8@3% 42' 3.6@5% 42' 3.8@3% 42' 3.9@3% 42'
Week 5 3.9@3% 44' 3.6@6% 44' 3.9@3% 44' 4.0@3% 44'
Week 6 4.0@3% 45' 3.6@7% 45' 4.0@3% 45' 4.1@3% 45'
Week 7 4.1@3% 45'+ 3.6@8% 45'+ 4.1@3% 45'+ 4.2@3% 45'+
Week 8 4.2@3% 45'+ 3.6@9% 45'+ 4.2@3% 45'+ 4.3@3% 45'+

Week 9 and beyond. Progress to advanced workout
Perform cardio a minimum of four times a week with a maximum of eight times per week. It's okay to perform cardio twice per day if necessary (with a maximum of eight times per week). Try to burn at least 400 calories each cardio session if you choose not to walk. Bike no more than once per week.
Advanced Workout
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4
Week 1 4.2@2% 35' 4.0@5% 35' 4.2@2% 35' 4.3@2% 35'
Week 2 4.2@2.5% 38' 4.0@6% 38' 4.2@2.5% 38' 4.4@2% 38'
Week 3 4.3@3% 41' 4.0@7% 41' 4.3@3% 41' 4.5@2% 41'
Week 4 4.3@3.5% 43' 4.0@8% 43' 4.3@3.5% 43' 4.6@2% 43'
Week 5 4.4@4% 45' 4.0@9% 45' 4.4@4% 45' 4.6@2% 45'
Week 6 4.4@4% 45'+ 4.0@10% 45'+ 4.0@4% 45'+ 4.6@2% 45'+
Week 7 4.5@4.5% 45'+ 4.0@11% 45'+ 4.5@4.5% 45'+ 4.7@2% 45'+
Week 8 4.5@5% 45'+ 4.0@12% 45'+ 4.5@5% 45'+ 4.7@2% 45'+
Perform cardio a minimum of four times a week with a maximum of 10 times per week. It's okay to perform cardio twice per day if necessary (with a maximum of 10 times per week). Try to burn at least 500 calories each cardio session if you choose not to walk. Bike no more than twice per week.

Get Moving!
Fancy energy system workouts and complex lactic acid routines are fun and definitely effective, but they aren't mandatory if you want to get into great condition. The fact is, to get lean, you needn't look further than your own two legs. Walk, lift, and follow a reasonable diet, and the leanness will come.




Thursday, September 1, 2011

Like P90X? Ready for P90X2? Here it is!

Hello
Give yourself or someone you love one of the hottest gifts this year!! 

You've been waiting...and it's finally TIME! P90X2....NEXT LEVEL TRAINING
P90X-2 is  available for pre-order today, Sept 1st 12pm EST! 

Details:
1. Delivery by Christmas!!
2. Credit Card won't be charged until shipped!
3. Get FREE Shipping
4. Get 2 bonus DVD workouts to compliment P90X2
5. Get into weekly drawing for P90X apparel & GRAND PRIZE... And Tony Horton may even deliver to your door!

You MUST sign up for a free account BEFORE you pre-order to get the FREE DVDs! You can do that by going to www.beachbodycoach.com/xmikew and joining as a FREE member! 
Best regards,
Mike Wetzel
Independant BeachBody Coach

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