Processed Meat, Big Arms, and What’s In Your Toolbox?
June 5, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
I actually meant to send this out awhile ago, but with the arrival of the twins I’ve been just a little busy. Holy poop! Holy middle of the night crying! And holy cuteness… all factors keeping me EXTREMELY busy.
Below are a few good blogposts for you to check out…
Dr. Bowden is one of my favorite nutrition experts. In this post, he talks about red meat and why it is actually GOOD for you, as opposed to the devil of the world that many make it out to be. The flawed studies on red meat has led to a bunch of misinformation. Meat that is highly processed (coming from large factory farms) is WAAAY different than meat that comes from grass-fed cows. In the end, the studies should NOT lump processed meat and grass-fed meat in the same category.
I think of it like this; Kool-Aid is not good for us, we know that. Since kool-aid contains water, does that mean we should avoid water? I think not. Get rid of all the sugar, and you are left with good, healthy water. Same thing with meat; get rid of all the processing in some of these meats, and you’re left with a food that has many benefits. Check out Dr. Bowden’s as it goes into more detail than my brief summary…
Processed Meats: What’s Inside May Kill You – by Dr. Jonny Bowden
Many coaches/trainers are not big fans of direct arm work (i.e. curls for the girls and tricep pushdowns). Now, I too get frustrated with those dudes that spend 75% of their time doing concentration curls RATHER THAN the big-boy movements like deadlifts, push-ups, chin-ups, and squats. BUT, if you want bigger arms, you better be doing some direct arm training. Right Jason? …
My Take On Direct Arm Work - by Jason Ferruggia
This one is a older blogpost by me. One of my biggest pet peeves in this field is when someone says that they are a “TRX guy” (or whatever piece of equipment they choose to define themselves as). Those that do this – stupid, just stupid…
Tools In Your Training Toolbox – by me
Hope you all have a great Sunday!
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Preventing Muscle Loss As We Age
May 5, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
I’m in a huge hurry as I’m about to head up to the high school to train the basketball team. And we’ve been doing a lot of preparing around the house for the babies – should be any day now! With that said, I’ll leave you with a link to an article by Dr. Jonny Bowden. The list of great things that omega-3 fats do continues to grow!
Preventing Muscle Loss As You Age - Dr. Jonny Bowden goes over a recent study showing that omega-3 fats help prevent sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss). Getting older is no reason to become a wussy! 
The Glycemic Index – Awesome or Overrated?
April 25, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
Over the years I’ve gotten quite a few questions regarding the glycemic index. While I think it is a decent tool, it is definitely NOT the be-all and end-all as some infomercials like to claim; “the secret to our diet’s incredible success is the breakthrough science known as the glycemic index!” Yeah. Ok. Riiiiight. Below, I’ve copied and pasted a portion of a Q and A that Dr. Jonny Bowden did awhile back. He does a great job of explaining why the glycemic index is overrated, and why the “glycemic load” may be a more accurate indicator of healthy foods. I’ve also highlighted in RED the take-away message that I want you to get out of this Q and A. The more knowledge you have, the body chances you have for a lean, healthy body!
Q: I read that the glycemic index is overrated and that what we should really be paying attention to is glycemic load. What’s the difference?
A: The glycemic index is overrated. You should be paying attention to glycemic load. There’s a big difference. Here’s the scoop:
Glycemic index is a way of measuring the impact a given amount of carbohydrate has on your blood sugar, something you definitely want to know. But to do a fair comparison, they have to use a fixed amount. In the case of the glycemic index, it’s a standard 50 grams of carbohydrate.
Problem is, very few carbohydrate foods in real life are 50-gram portions.
See, if you go to a store to buy spices and there’s a spice that’s $500 a pound, that sure sounds like a lot of money. But if you’re only buying a half-teaspoon of the stuff, it’s pretty irrelevant. You want to know what you’re going to pay at the register, not necessarily what you’d pay if you bought a pound.
Similarly, you really don’t care what the impact of 50 grams is on your blood sugar; you care what the impact of the amount you’re actually eating is.
Glycemic load is a more sophisticated formula that takes into account the actual grams of carbs you’re eating — the portion size. The glycemic index of carrots is high, leading a lot of people to think you should never eat carrots, which is a dumb conclusion. Fact is, the average carrot has 3 grams of carbs. You’d have to eat like a giant rabbit to have a significant impact on your blood sugar.
The glycemic load of a carrot, on the other hand, is only 3, making it an extremely low-glycemic food — unless you’re drinking pure carrot juice or eating 13 carrots at a sitting.
Pasta, on the other hand, has a moderate glycemic index, but is almost never eaten in 50-gram portions. Factor in the portion size at a typical Olive Garden and your blood sugar will be on the roof, and stay there for a week. Not surprisingly, the glycemic load of pasta is very high.
The technical formula for glycemic load is GI (glycemic index), multiplied by the number of grams of carbohydrates in the portion, then divided by 100. Low glycemic load is between 1 and 10, medium is between 10 and 20, and anything over 20 is very high.
That said, remember that both glycemic index and glycemic load only refer to the food eaten alone. Add some fat or protein and the total impact goes down. And plenty of high-glycemic foods are good for you (say, carrot juice) while plenty of low-glycemic foods (fried donut holes) are not.
So take glycemic load into account, but don’t be a slave to it. It’s just one measurement to consider when planning a diet.
Incidentally, athletes in training actually can benefit from high-glycemic foods, especially when they’re training twice a day. Mrs. Smith with Metabolic Syndrome… not so much!
