Tag Archive for: exercise

What Can We Learn from Birds of Prey?

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When Paula and I spent last week visiting our son and daughter-in-law in Summerville, South Carolina, one of the things we did was visit the Center for Birds of Prey, and it was a tremendous experience. We saw bald eagles, turkey vultures, horned owls, storks, and many more, including a truly amazing flying demo with a hawk, an owl, a kite, and a vulture. The birds on permanent display have been injured and wouldn’t survive if returned to the wild. I could spend all week on a single bird and still not cover all we learned. To find out more, check out their website www.thecenterforbirdsofprey.org, and if you’re near Charleston, plan to visit. They do wonderful work rescuing birds of prey and nursing them back to health as well as breeding birds for other educational programs or to help save a species.

Paula asked a great question during the flight demonstration: do the birds in captivity get fat? The answer forms the basis for this week’s Memos. The answer is yes, of course. When a bird must fly for hours to find and catch food, it uses a lot of calories. If the birds can’t fly, they die in the wild. When the birds are in captivity, they can’t burn enough calories so if they eat as much as they want, they get fat.

Lesson? If you’re not moving regularly and every day, it’s really hard to control your weight. More on Thursday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Move Up to Interval Training

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Recently I watched an interview with the cast and production staff of the third John Wick movie, which will be released soon. What struck me was the physical preparation to do the action and fight scenes. When the third installment of the movie was announced, Keanu Reeves shouted to himself. “All right. It’s time for John Wick Training!” He worked more than six months for six to eight hours per day on physical training specific to the fights and action scenes that were going to be in the movie, and he uses stunt doubles very rarely—it’s all up on the screen. Halle Berry, who’s new to the series, jumped at the chance to do that training as well. I can’t wait.

You and I don’t have the hours in the day to do that type of training, but we can do better than we are right now. Interval training seems to have become a mainstay of fitness recommendations. I’ve used it for years to increase my fitness level. It’s stressful because the effort is so hard, but you can adjust the effort to where you are today.

Check out the Health Info titled Interval Training. It explains the concept and how to construct your own interval program. If you want to take it one step up in intensity, check out the Spartan Workout that combines strength with endurance interval training.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

How to Bust a Plateau

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It happens to everyone when we lose weight: the scale stops moving downward even though we’re doing everything the same as we’ve been doing. How do we start losing again?

Patience. While the scale may not move, there’s a lot going on. Hundreds of changes are happening in just about every cell of your body as it adapts to your new eating and exercise regime. Those changes take time to happen, and you just have to ride it out. Don’t reduce your calories any more than you have. Reach for patience; remind yourself that great changes are happening even if you can’t see them on the scale.

However there are a couple of ways that exercise may help you start losing weight again. The keys are: do you have the additional time? And are you fit enough to do them? You probably need to talk to your doctor to know. To learn more, check out the Health Info paper titled Busting Weight Loss Plateaus.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Exercise Intuitively

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The age of Jane Austen’s England was much different from the current age; going for a two-hour walk seems almost a fantasy in today’s world. Being figuratively chained to a desk or some manner of work that doesn’t provide freedom of movement seems to be the norm. When it’s time to walk, we must accomplish the most in the shortest time available. Our schedules simply don’t provide the freedom to do more.

Or do we just not look for opportunities in our day where can stretch at our desks, go outside and take a series of deep breaths, take the stairs instead of the elevator? We tend to categorize what we do in specific ways: “This is the time to exercise and we have xx minutes to get it done.” Has it helped our society much? How fit is the average American?

Based on Kozlowski’s background for his books, he found that the average person in that time could typically walk seven miles at a stretch. They did not seem to count steps and they rested when they felt like it. In Pride and Prejudice, Lizzie Bennet seems to spend the afternoons tramping around outside whenever possible. (And for the record, Paula is a long-time aficionado of Jane Austen and insists the 1995 BBC version is the definitive Pride and Prejudice for its casting, costumes, and success in capturing the spirit of the original book.)

All that walking wasn’t what we call exercise today, but it was effective. Maybe it’s our attitude toward exercise that needs adjusting. Where can you find opportunities to move in your day?

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: https://wapo.st/2UeaSiZ

Drop and Give Me 41

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The study on firefighters, push-ups, and CVD was interesting—not only for the relationship between push-ups and CVD, but also for the other relationships between the number of push-ups and other variables. Here’s a summary:

As the number of push-ups increased:

  • Body mass index decreased
  • Systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased
  • Blood sugar decreased
  • Total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides decreased
  • HDL-cholesterol increased

One more thing: age decreased as well. In other words, the men in the study who could do more push-ups were younger. Was that the real reason—they were younger so naturally they could do more push-ups? They accounted for age in the statistical analysis, so it doesn’t appear to be so.

Does this study show cause and effect? No, because it’s observational. What it shows is that the lifestyle of the subject is important in the development of CVD. The subjects who had the greatest reduced risk had the highest aerobic and strength fitness, which may be reflective of an overall healthy lifestyle. Because push-ups require no equipment, progress can be easily tracked in a physician’s office. That was the actual point of the study: a simple test that could be predictive of CVD among other factors.

Here’s my challenge to you. After you see how many you do as a baseline, work at doing push-ups every day until you can hit 41. If you can’t do one, start with knee push-ups, push-ups from an exercise ball or chair, or wall push-ups (stand more than an arm’s length from the wall). As you can get to 41 one way, move to the next more difficult type.

When you get to 41, send me an email saying you did it and I’ll send you a coupon code good for 30% off the Optimal Performance Program; Member and Insider discounts apply. I’ll take you at your word, no selfies and no videos. After all, the only person you would be cheating is yourself and your risk of heart disease. I know age doesn’t matter; one of my readers in his 80s can already do this challenge. All it takes is a little sweat equity. Check with your doctor and get started.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.8341.

Push-Ups and CVD

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On Tuesday, I asked you to see how many push-ups you can do before you can’t do any more (if you’re fit enough with no real orthopedic issues). How did you do? I have torn biceps in both arms, but I managed to eke out 21. But you may be wondering why I asked you to do push-ups.

A study published in JAMA Online periodically tested a group of 1,500 firefighters between 21 and 66 in 2000 to 2007. They were given several tests including maximal exercise capacity, height, weight, blood pressure, blood glucose, and the number of push-ups they could do. They were tracked for 10 years.

Researchers divided the results into quintiles based on the number of push-ups. They found that as the number of push-ups increased, the rate of CVD decreased. While not all comparisons were statistically different, there was a definite pattern of benefit.

That wasn’t the only data that proved to be interesting in the study. I’ll finish it on Saturday, along with a challenge.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.8341.

Once a Year, No Matter What!

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I was in the gym locker room recently when I heard a guy ask a question: “Can I use any locker or are they assigned?” I turned to see if he was talking to me, but another guy told him there were no assigned lockers and to use whatever is open. That’s when the locker seeker said, “I couldn’t remember because I’m here only once a year.”

I thought maybe he uses this gym only when he visits this area. Then I realized he meant he gets to the gym only once a year, probably making light of his infrequent visits. The problem is that seems to be what most Americans do: buy gym memberships and never use them.

That’s why a study just published this past week is important. Researchers examined a number of physical variables in a group of firefighters and tracked them for ten years; the goal was to look at factors related to cardiovascular disease. I’ll talk about that study this week.

In the meantime, if you’re fit enough with no real orthopedic issues, see how many push-ups you can do before you can’t do any more.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Fitness Trackers: Number One Fitness Trend

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The American College of Sports Medicine just released the list of top fitness trends for 2019. Top of the list is fitness trackers; second and third are group exercise and high intensity interval training. Fitness trackers taking the top spot surprised me because they’re not an exercise, they’re a tool to track exercise. But if they can help people keep exercising, I’m all for it.

What I think is really beneficial is the tracking itself. Some trackers are very sophisticated; they will include heart rate and even blood pressure. You can sync some with a scale or enter your body weight. Some track distance with GPS if you have an outdoor activity. Many will also track calories if you enter the food data. You can get readouts that are printable if you sync the device with your computer. That’s a great way to track patterns—if you take a look at the data. If you have one and use it, it’s a great tool to keep you on track.

When it comes to having energy when you need it, a fitness tracker can provide valuable information. I’ll cover how you can use any type of tracker to help you have energy exactly when you need it in this Sunday’s 9th Annual Super Bowl Webinar.

        Dr. Chet

Reference: ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal: doi: 10.1249/FIT.0000000000000438

Will Bitter Orange Help You Burn More Fat?

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When it comes to weight loss and exercise, we’re always looking for an edge such as burning more fat at rest or during exercise. Bitter orange is an herb that contains p-synephrine, a reputed booster of fat metabolism while you’re at rest. A small study tested p-synephrine, caffeine, and both together to see the effects during exercise when compared with a placebo; the researchers wanted to find which was more effective in increasing fat metabolism during exercise.

The researchers used 13 young, healthy volunteers for the experiment. They tested each of the subjects on four separate days with three to five days between tests. In random order, subjects were tested taking a placebo, three mg/kg body weight caffeine, three mg/kg body weight p-synephrine, and three mg/kg body weight of a combination caffeine and p-synephrine.

They found that caffeine raised systolic BP by eight mm Hg and diastolic mm Hg at rest; statistically different but nothing extraordinary. During the exercise phase, subjects began at 40% of max capacity and increased effort by 10% every three minutes until they reached 90% of capacity Caffeine raised fat use during exercise more than p-synephrine or the combination of caffeine and p-synephrine. Overall energy use and carbohydrate metabolism did not change.

What does that mean for us? It could mean that a strong cup of coffee or an energy drink would help us burn more fat during exercise better than some exotic plant. Why waste money buying an herbal product with long-standing safety concerns?

What we don’t know is whether that effect would remain after the body adapted to the caffeine intake. Here’s what does work: training your body to use fat as a fuel at rest and during exercise. That’s what the Optimal Performance program is all about. Check it out.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: MSSE 2018. 50(9):1899-1906.

Celebrate Your Independence

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Tomorrow we celebrate Independence Day in the U. S. with parades, picnics, and fireworks. We will eat our favorite grilled foods—burgers and dogs or smoked slow-cooked ribs and corn on the cob and on and on.

The problem is that while we celebrate our nation’s Independence, we are giving up our own independence. Based on a just-released report from the Centers for Disease Control, just 22.9% of all adults meet the exercise guidelines set 10 years ago (1).

It’s this simple: if you’re not working at moving, you’ll eventually lose your independence to move. You’ll need canes and walkers just to be able to prevent falls. You may graduate to a wheelchair and then the ultimate: the motorized cart. The more sedentary you are, the more independence you lose. Ever sink your behind into a chair you couldn’t get out of without help? Imagine if that’s your life all day, every day.

The guidelines aren’t that complicated. Two days a week, do some muscle-strengthening activities: lifting weights, calisthenics, yoga, whatever strengthens and stretches your muscles. Then either moderate-intensity aerobic exercise for at least 150 minutes per week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise or some combination of the two. That’s it. Just about 30 minutes per day.

Yet less then 23% of all adults meet those guidelines. Some states are better than others. The best? Colorado at 32.5%. The worst? Mississippi at 13.5%. Just for comparison, I checked a similar map of the diagnosed type 2 diabetes rate of the U.S. If you super-imposed the type 2 diabetes diagnosis rate over the exercise levels, they would be close to identical. The lower the rate of exercise, the higher the rate of diabetes. Diabetic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, and a whole host of other health issues wait for those who stay sedentary.

The Bottom Line

Over this holiday and the succeeding weekend, try doing some type of aerobic activity every day for 30 minutes. Continuous or broken up into two 15s or even three 10s. If you can, try to do some stretching for 10 minutes one of those days. Find out for yourself that it’s not that big a deal. Then make it a habit to meet those guidelines. Years from now, you can celebrate your independence from canes and walkers, and so on.

Today, I record the 700th edition of my Grand Rapids radio show Straight Talk on Health. See the Health Info page for info on how to listen online; if you’re a Member or Insider, this new edition will be posted after it plays this weekend.

Happy Fourth of July, a belated Happy Canada Day, and a simple thank you to all my readers all around the world—I continue to be amazed at how many countries this Memo reaches. I’ll be back with new Memos next Tuesday. Until then:

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

References:
1. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr112.pdf
2. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pdfs/data/statistics/national-diabetes-statistics-report.pdf.