With social-distancing in full swing, it may seem like options for improving your health are down to Quarantine and Chill, or participating in the scourge of bodyweight workouts that are woefully ineffective at promoting long-term results. Instead let's look at some options that can be completed within the isolation of your own home!
The use of dry saunas for athletic recovery isn’t necessarily something we’d call trendy. While plenty of people will duck into saunas casually in their own gyms, many view it as a vague relaxation measure, and others even look at it as something of an old-fashioned thing to do. Other forms of physical recovery are trendier these days; for instance, NBA players and teams have lately done a great deal to popularize the idea of cryotherapy (which, to be fair, has benefits beyond being popular).
With this said though, there do still tend to be plenty of people in the world of athletics, both within the public eye and otherwise, who believe in the benefits of dry saunas.
English football teams, for instance, have been associated with sauna usage fairly frequently over the years. Liverpool may come to mind first in this regard. The Reds are one of the most prominent teams in Europe, and currently appear to be on a fast track toward a Champions League title. In fact, the UK’s free betting services, which have all sorts of odds listings for an event this big, are almost universally picking Liverpool to win the Champions League this June. If those picks and odds come to fruition it will be at least in part because of the team’s exceptional fitness, which in turn appears to be somewhat due to recovery efforts. Liverpool’s players have at times been noted for using saunas, and the city itself is actually known for a few spas with, shall we say, more advanced sauna options (like infrared). Meanwhile, it’s not just the possible Champions League winners who are relevant here. Other football stars like Jeremy Vard
y and Harry Kane (the latter of whom will be facing off against Liverpool in the Champions League final) are among those who were known to favor saunas during England’s World Cup run last summer.
Meanwhile, sauna use also remains fairly popular outside of the public eye, among ordinary people in ordinary places. You need only look around at public gyms wherever you might live to discover that many if not most of them actually have saunas of one kind or another included within their facilities. It could be a local YMCA, a major chain like Planet Fitness or Lifetime Fitness, or even a gym associated with a hotel or resort - saunas are typically in place at all of the above, at least a significant portion of the time. It’s impossible for us to gather statistics as to how many people use them or when, the way we know that Harry Kane used a sauna during the World Cup. But it also stands to reason that these gyms and the organizations behind them wouldn’t keep including saunas in their plans if in fact they didn’t get quite a lot of use. By all indications, this is still a very popular activity during or after workouts.
Given these examples, from the local YMCA to the prospective Champions League winners' locker room, it’s safe to say people are still using dry saunas (as well as other kinds). But does this mean we should actually be using them more? What are the actual benefits all of these people are getting from their time in these wellness-oriented hot boxes?
As it turns out, for those who may never have looked into these questions, dry saunas carry numerous benefits, which we’ll briefly summarize here, as per Livestrong:
I am ashamed to tell people what I do. And here’s why...
I once worked with a guy who tied a mini-band around a clients ankles and made him do Power Cleans while directing him to jump onto a box. Maybe he was into some kinky Franz Bosch training, but you cannot convince me this was relatively safe or even sound training. The bad part was this guy had a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from a great school. (◔_◔)
This guy had 4+ years of education about exercise physiology, strength training, biomechanics, etc., and the best thing he could come up with can basically be classified as circus training. Degrees and certifications aside, it seems ridiculous to me why people go to college to learn how to become Personal Trainers or Strength Coaches to begin with. The concept of learning from a professor, who isn’t in a gym or weight room producing results that inevitably you are going to want for your clients but instead reading out of a book is completely backwards. Don’t get me wrong, I fully embrace education, but from reputable sources. For example, if you wanted to be the best carpenter in the world, would you rather go to carpentry school or apprentice with the top carpenters in the world? Given you had a choice to hire one or the other to craft the woodwork in your new house, who do you hire? My money would be on the guy who learned from the best people in the industry, not from a book or an online certification.
When I was in college, the last week or so we were having a discussion about what we were grateful for and I remember one girl say she was “grateful that she wouldn’t have to read anymore.” The fuck?!? If you aren’t reading like they are burning libraries down, then you don’t deserve to be in this industry. I don’t care what school you went to, you don’t know enough to stop learning. But let me be honest, after I got my Personal Training certification, I thought I was Einstein. I knew every-fucking-thing and was happy to hand out unsolicited advice to any and all gym goers. However, once the basic advice I learned stopped working and came across someone who knew the game better than me, I quickly begin to tumble down the Dunning-Kruger curve into a realization that I really know nothing. It is a necessary and humbling experience that all great coaches have had.
Perhaps that is why, no matter what gym you step into it seems like it is a revolving door for Personal Trainers. Every 6 months or so you have a whole new crew, using the same basic level of knowledge as the last. The ones that left, probably did so because they were facing challenges that Instagram didn’t prepare them for and thus had to further educate themselves. I think turnover is so high because knowledge is so low. Not everyone wants to put in extra work, however those that deliberately put in the time for continuing education and additional research make the best coaches. To be successful in this industry you have to have a desire to want to improve yourself everyday.
Another reason turnover is so high is that the pay is so low due to the highly competitive nature of the Personal Training/Gym business. Companies want to undercut the gym across the street so they slight the trainers pay so much that you need 40 clients to pay the bills which takes up all the time you have training, and leaves none for education. Yes, every certification has its requirements of continuing education but it’s all sponsored bullshit from the certifying body and besides, if you think that only completing the minimum amount of education to retain your cert is enough, you don’t deserve to be in this industry. Humblebrag, I did 64 hours of continuing education and read 57 books last year on everything from business, to sleep, strength training, anatomy, brain health, hormone imbalance, biomechanics, nutrition, to Alzheimer’s, all in hopes of expanding my base of knowledge on how to improve the health and performance of my clients.
Unfortunately, companies do not value knowledgeable employees or good training, because they would have to pay them more, so again turnover is favorable. They devalue the profession by taking an obscene % of the training rate charged to the client. You are lucky to get half of what they charge the client for an hour of training. And some companies take as as much as 85% of the revenue coming from the sales of training, which is asinine. Once trainer’s build a client base and realize they can basically double their income by working for themselves, their out. Personally I think it behooves you — the corporation or the client — to pay more money so that I don’t have to run around all across the city to make money to eat. Instead, pay me what I’m worth, then I will have enough time on my hands to invest into learning more about how to help you optimally achieve your goal or, even better, how to improve myself as a coach. It makes more sense for me to charge $100 an hour and have 10 clients, with 30 hours to invest into education, than to charge $10 an hour and have 40 clients with no time to invest in education. Anyone who has studied the body substantially will tell you that there is a LOT going on in there (and no one is the same, just check out the book Biochemical Individuality). If you have 40 people, you can bet your ass that you will never be able to optimally impact the individual health or even handle a client base that high.
Speaking of not being stretched too thin, if you’re walking around with a cup of coffee or another stimulant drink in your hand during each session, what do you think that tells your client? Their workout bores you to sleep or that you aren’t fully prepared to give them your full attention. It gives off a terrible vibe. Maybe, if you went to sleep earlier or didn’t need to have 8 clients back-to-back to pay the bills, you wouldn’t need a stimulant and you’d have a free hand to actually write down the workout so that you can track the progress of your client, or better yet be awake enough to provide safe and sound training for your client.
Not too long ago, I was working out next to the Personal Training manager at a large gym chain who was “training” his client. He had this poor girl, who was obviously new to lifting, doing Split Squats at near maximal weight with poor technique. Needless to say it didn’t end well. She fell over and busted her ass and the trainer made it seem like it was her fault. Perhaps, if this guy wasn’t sitting on the nearest bench observing with a fucking Bang in his hand, he could have seen the faults in her execution and adjusted accordingly. The scary thing is this guy is a manager and suppose to set the example for the fleet of trainers he is in charge of.
Here’s another thing, if you’re in charge of a Personal Training department, I would expect you to look like you workout. I don’t think that is asking too much. You don’t need to be jacked or ripped or flawless, just look like you practice what you preach. I say all that to say this… I once worked with a guy who was a Metabolic Specialist. He ran a national program that sought to improve the efficiency of people’s fat-burning through a “specialized” heart-rate training. He was obese. I feel that this is akin to taking advice from a overweight dietician. The program obviously had some flaws!
Now, I’m not perfect, but I feel that physical appearance should play a part in being the face of a company wide program about weight-loss. Powerlifting and Strongman aside, your physique should have some semblance of what your clients desire because after all the majority of Personal Training clients are simply looking to lose weight to look better naked. This just speaks to the fact that people really don’t know what they are doing, whether it be metabolic assessments, nutrition or even lifting, which leads me into my next gripe...
Last time I checked, no one cares how much you can Lat Pull, but that didn’t stop this one trainer from trying to impress a potential client by attempting to pull the whole weight stack. Obviously, it was too heavy, but fortunately for him he lifts like he’s having an epileptic fit. Even with him swinging, rocking, slamming and bouncing the weight, he only gets a few half-reps but does manage to make a complete fool of himself. I don’t understand how, as a trainer who is supposed to teach proper movement, this is acceptable. behavior.
It’s shit like that that has made me jaded. Terrible training is everywhere and people refuse to listen to common sense or learn simple biomechanics. Case in point; I had a trainer tell me that the best way to “isolate the hamstring” (like it’s one fucking muscle) is by doing an undulating single-leg half squat with a weight in the contralateral hand placed in the midline of the body. Last time, I checked, the Hamstrings either a primary knee flexor or assist in hip extension. Now you can argue for the Hamstrings being worked with the aforementioned movement, but by no means are they working hard as if you were to use an exercise that mirrors knee flexion or hip extension — a Leg Curl or an RDL, respectively. The funny part is, the trainer had the client holding onto the Leg Curl machine for balance while she was “isolating the hamstring” with this ridiculous movement.
Speaking of Hamstrings, I knew a trainer who had a 4-year degree in Kinesiology, along with multiple certifications on top of an internship who couldn’t tell me the muscles that make up the Hamstrings. I’m not an anatomy wiz by any stretch of the imagination, but I know that medially to laterally the muscles consist of Semimembranosus, Semitendinosus, and the Biceps Femoris (Long head and Short head). And I know their actions. It is a major muscle group, so the lack of understanding is just baffling.
To go further, if you aren’t well versed in the basic anatomy of a major muscle group, what makes you think you have any business helping people break up scar tissue or “release” a tight muscle? Because you bought a Hypervolt?!? Scar tissue probably wasn’t even on your radar before you saw the advertisement. Without a fundamental understanding of anatomy, using a tool such as a Hypervolt or a Theragun, is at best a shotgun approach to a more complicated problem. Your power to use this tool has successfully educated you beyond your intellect. Your clients deserve a more informed approach and so does the industry.
Another thing plaguing the industry is professional athletes thinking they know how to train, when in fact they make the worst trainers. Due to their freakish genetics, pretty much anything they have been instructed to do in the weightroom, whether considered good or bad training, has worked for them. So when they retire from their sport or are forced out from injury, some of them revert to Personal Training because they are so “familiar” with the gym. I’ve worked with two NFL guys. One swore up and down that Speed Ladders were the key to his on-field success, which led me to write this: Ladder Drills DO NOT Increase Sport Performance. To my dismay, he refused to respond after I sent him the article. And as for the other guy, he had the bright idea to do Power Cleans… with chains on the bar. It wasn’t long before he realized why no one else was doing it when he smacked himself in the face. It may be surprising to hear but there are very few novel things in the world of strength training.
It’s not just the people within the industry, but the clients as well. The majority of people who hire Personal Trainers do not want to work hard. They just want to be babysat and talk. These are the worst clients because they not only get zero results but it’s your fault and their attitude toward training will drag you down with them. How can I, as a coach, improve my craft if all a client wants to do is sit and talk about the Bachelor? I got into this industry because I think the human body is fucking fascinating. I read and learn constantly so that I can get better at what I do. I am not a conversationalist, I am a coach. I haven’t watched TV in months, so I give zero shits about a reality show where you can vicariously live out your fantasies of being whisked away. You know what my fantasy is? Someone who wants to listen, work hard and get results. That is really the only way I am able to get better, but maybe I’m selfish.
I’ve gone on far too long so I want to finish by saying that I no longer consider myself a Personal Trainer. That is not what I am because I am better. I have seen too much fuckery in this industry to allow myself to be associated with the halfass attempts, low paying jobs, lack of effort, disrespect and ignorance. I am henceforth known as a Health and Performance Coach. I am facilitator, not a motivator. I didn’t get into this industry to tell you you can do it, I got into this industry to show you how. I’m not a cheerleader, nor do I desire to be one. I am a coach. It’s simple; do the work, get results.
The Globe or French artichoke is the most common variety as well as one of the most nutritious.
Artichokes are one of the highest antioxidant valued vegetables in the supermarket. You would have to eat 18 servings of corn or 30 servings of carrots to get the same benefits.
Due to their high respiration rate, it is important to buy the freshest artichokes you can find as both their flavor and health benefits decline with each passing day.
If you must store them, place them in the crisper drawer as soon as you get home and eat them within 1 or 2 days.
It’s not often that the inside of a vegetable is as nutritious as the outside but recent research has shown hat the artichoke heart is as nutritious as the leaves.
Steaming artichokes retains more nutrients than all other cooking methods.
Canned or jarred artichoke hearts are nutritious as well.
When selecting asparagus, choose the bunch with the straightest spears. When asparagus is stored in a dark warehouse for a week or more, the spears length and bend upward in search of light giving them a contorted appearance. Additionally, if tips are starting to separate, have a yellowish cast, or mushy consistency these asparagus have been stored far too long. Once you select healthy looking spears, flip the bunch over; the cut end of the stalk should be smooth and moist.
Green asparagus has 7x more antioxidant than the colorless white variety.
Asparagus has a high respiration rate, similar to broccoli or artichokes. It loses much of its flavor and nutritional value within a day or two of harvest.
Cooked asparagus is more nutritious for you than raw. If you steam asparagus it will increase the antioxidant value by 30%.
For storing asparagus for more than a day, it is best to place the bunch in a microperforated bag and keep them in the crisper drawer.
Beets are more nutritious after you steam, microwave or roast them.
If you cook them with the skin on and remove after they will retain more nutrients. The skin acts to keep water-soluble nutrients inside the beets.
Beet greens are more nutritious than the beets themselves, add them to salad or in a green smoothie.
To increase nutrient absorption use Extra Virgin Olive Oil as part of your cooking of vegetables or as a dressing for salads will increase the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
Whole heads of broccoli are more nutritious than the pretrimmed florets. Sectioning broccoli into florets doubles its respiration rate, using up much of its antioxidant reserve in response to the “injury” of being cut into pieces. This leaves little for you, so buy whole head and trim them yourself before cooking.
Eating broccoli raw will give you 20x more of the compound called sulforaphane than cooked broccoli. Sulforaphane has been shown to reduce inflammation, slow again and fight cancer.
Frozen broccoli is convenient but is less nutritious.
Cooking broccoli in boiling water will cause half the nutrients to leach out into the water. Microwaving isn’t a good idea either as you can destroy have the nutrients in two minutes.
The best cooking method to retain the most nutrients for broccoli is to steam it for about 4 minutes. Or sauté them in extra virgin olive oil, this way they don’t lose any water-soluble nutrients because they are in contact with oil, not water.
If you keep broccoli for more than a day, place it is a resealable plastic bag, prick 10-20 small holes and then store in the crisper drawer for the best retention of nutrients and flavor.
When selecting Brussels Sprouts, look for bright green, tight heads. Browning shows their age and reduced nutrient value.
Brussels Sprouts respire rapidly so treat them as you would Broccoli. Purchase them as needed. Use them when you get them or store in the refrigerator for the next day.
Frozen Brussels Sprouts have been shown to only contain 20% of the beneficial compounds of fresh Brussels Sprouts.
The best cooking method for the preservation of nutrients is to steam them for 6-8 minutes. Brussels Sprouts become less sweet and more bitter the longer they cook.
Cabbage is lower in antioxidant than other crucifers, however still nutritious. The deeper the color the more nutritious.
Cabbage does not respire quickly and as such can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or two without losing many of its nutrients.
The longer the storage, the more compromise comes in flavor. In only a few days of refrigeration, 30% of its sugar will be gone along with the freshest flavor.
Prepare cabbage by cutting it and steaming it briefly to reduce odor and increase nutrient yield.
Deeper colored carrots are more nutritious than fairer varieties. Purple carrots have more antioxidant activity and potentially more health promoting benefits than the beta-carotene in orange carrots.
For the freshest, most nutritious and flavorful carrots, select those with their green tops still attached. Before refrigerating, cut the tops off to preserve the moisture in the carrot. Be weary, of purchasing carrots without the top as they are often several months old which will give them less flavor and nutritional content overall.
Baby carrots, while convenient, are just larger misshapen carrots that have their outer-skin whittled away. Like potatoes or Apples, the skin or outermost part of the vegetable or fruit is the most nutritious because it has to pump up the phytonutrient and antioxidant content in that regions to defend against UV rays, mold, insects, fungus and disease. When the outer most part of a carrot is whittled away, 1/3 of its phytonutrients go along with it.
Cooking carrots whole, then chopping them before plating will allow the carrots to hold onto more nutrients than if you chopped them beforehand.
Colorful varieties are higher in antioxidants than less colorful varieties. Purple cauliflower has been shown to have 2.5x more antioxidants, and Romanesca cauliflower has as much as 4x glucosinolates — the beneficial sulfur-containing compound that gives cruciferous vegetables their bitter taste and high nutrient density — than the standard white variety. However, white cauliflower has more cancer fighting compounds than either green or purple.
Frozen cauliflower, like most frozen vegetables has fewer nutrients than fresh varieties. The processing and freezing of cauliflower can destroy up to 40% of their phytonutrients.
Prepare cauliflower as you would broccoli, by steaming for 4 minutes or sautéing with a quality extra virgin olive oil.
Garlic chives have more antioxidants than the most potent of onions
Go for organic corn as it will have 50% more phytonutrients than conventionally raised corn.
Choose colorful varieties if possible; look for deep yellow, red, blue, black or purple as they are higher in phytonutrients than pale yellow or white corn. The same goes when searching for cornmeal.
Frozen corn has the same nutritional content as fresh yellow corn. It is better to steam frozen corn without thawing to retain more nutritional value.
Steam, grill or microwave corn but don’t boil it as nutrients will be lost in the water. Corn cooked in the husk will retain the most nutrients overall.
If you have no time for prep, canned corn can be as nutritious as fresh corn. The canning process reduces the vitamin C content, however it does not alter the phytonutrients with some even becoming more potent. Studies show that during the process of canning, the heat applied transforms certain phytonutrients into more active forms, making them easier to absorb. This may explain why canned corn has higher carotenoid content than fresh corn.
There has been no concerted effort to improve garlic for conventional farming and selling practices, therefore it contains most of its wild nutrients and anything you come across at the store is a great find. Look for garlic with plump, firm cloves with a tight outer wrapper.
Optimizing the nutrients of garlic is dependent on how you prepare it. To get the full benefit of garlic it is best to chop, crush or use a garlic press, then let the garlic rest for 5-10 minutes before use. Different enzymatic reactions occur when garlic is prepared this way allowing for the powerful compound called allicin to have it’s full effect.
Allicin has been found to have health promoting effects on atherosclerosis, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Kale is one of the few vegetables that exceed the nutritional values of some wild greens.
Red-leaved varieties have a higher antioxidant value than green-leaves.
For those who are prone to kidneys or gallstones, the variety known as “Dino Kale” or Lacinato Kale are lower in oxalates.
The most nutritious lettuce greens aren’t green, but red, purple, or reddish brown and then dark green — the deeper the hue the higher the phytonutrient content.
The arrangement of leaves on a lettuce plant plays a role in the phytonutrient content. Tightly wrapped plants like iceberg lettuce have less phytonutrient content than plants with loose or open leaves like romaine or red lettuce. If given a chose seek out the looseleaf varieties
As soon as you get home, separate the individual leaves, rinse and then soak them for about 10 minutes in very cold water. In addition to increasing the internal moisture of the greens which allows them to remain crisp longer, the cold water will reduce their temperature, slowing the aging process. Next, it is important to dry them, with a dry paper towel or salad spinner, as any moisture left on the surface will hasten their decay. Store in a plastic bag with 10-20 tiny prick holes, then place in the crisper drawer.
If you tear your greens into bite-sized pieces it will increase the antioxidant content, however if you do this make sure to eat it within a day or two.
Whole heads of greens are always fresher than bagged greens, this goes for all varieties. The longer the leaves stay in a bag the greater the reduction in antioxidants. If you do buy greens in a bag, look for mixtures that contain both red and dark green varieties. Be sure to check the “use-by” date and reject anything that has yellow, brown or withered leaves.
The more strongly flavored the onion, the better for your health.
Red and Yellow onions pack more nutrients than White onions
Small onions have more nutrients per pound than their larger siblings
The most colorful potatoes with the darkest skin and flesh — blue, purple, and red — will give you more antioxidants than yellow potatoes.
The Purple Peruvian potato has 28x more bionutrients than the Russet Burbank and 166x more than the Kennebec white potato
However, the Russet Burbank potato is still a good choice as it is higher in phytonutrients than most white potatoes.
Another good option is the Purple Majesty. It has been said that this potato has twice the anthocyanin amount of any other fruit or vegetable
Don’t peel your potatoes, if you do you’ll lose 50% of the antioxidant value
Store your potatoes in a cool dark place with plenty of ventilation. New potatoes can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or two but after than find a cool dark storage area with a temperature between 45-50° to prolong nutritional life of the potato.
Scallions are more like wild onions than any other variety, as such they are more nutritious than most other allumins
The long green leaves have a greater concentration of nutrients than the small white bulbs
Ounce for ounce shallots have six times more phytonutrients than the typical onion.
Bunches are fresher than bagged leaves. Spinach that’s been in a bag for only one week has just half the antioxidant benefits of freshly harvested.
Mid-sized leaves have more phytonutrients than baby spinach or large spinach leaves.
Compared to Spinach, Dandelion Greens have eight times more antioxidants, twice the calcium, three times the vitamin A and five times more vitamin K and E. Try mixing in Dandelion Greens to your next salad, just be careful as adding too much can make the salad a little too bitter for some. If this is the case add come acid from balsamic vinegar or fresh squeezed lemon.
As soon as you get home, separate the individual leaves, rinse and then soak them for about 10 minutes in very cold water. In addition to increasing the internal moisture of the greens which allows them to remain crisp longer, the cold water will reduce their temperature, slowing the aging process. Next, it is important to dry them, with a dry paper towel or salad spinner, as any moisture left on the surface will hasten their decay. Store in a plastic bag with 10-20 tiny prick holes, then place in the crisper drawer.
Sweet potatoes are higher in antioxidants than regular potatoes.
The most nutritious varieties have purple and dark orange flesh, but remember you still need to consume the skin for the full benefits.
Avoid storing sweet potatoes in the refrigerator as they can develop a distinctly “off” flavor. Like normal potatoes, store sweet potatoes in a cool dark location.
Choose tomatoes that are deep red in color, they will have more antioxidants than yellow, gold or green tomatoes.
Size is equally as important as color, when selecting tomatoes. Small, dark red tomatoes are sweeter and more flavorful as well as having the most lycopene — the phytonutrient that gives tomatoes their red color and has been show to have benefical effect on the heart, blood pressure, osteoporosis and skin — per ounce. The red-colored cherry, grape and currant varieties are the most flavorful and carry the highest amount of lycopene. Additionally, smaller tomatoes will have more vitamin C than their heftier relatives.
Storing tomatoes in the refrigerator is not a good idea because when the internal temperature drops below 50°, it stops producing and exacerbates the loss of flavor and aromatic compounds. The longer the duration of refrigeration will make the tomatoes increasing less sweet and more bitter. Store at room temperature to preserve taste.
The longer you cook tomatoes the more health benefits you get. The heat breaks down cell walls and transforming nutrient compounds making them more available and easier to absorb. Just 30 minutes of cooking can double the lycopene content.
As such, canned tomatoes are the most nutritious sources of lycopene, due to the heat required in the canning process. Canned tomatoes are also more flavorful than what you would find in the produce section because they are picked when ripe and then processed immediately. Therefore, no flavor is lost along the way.
Tomato paste is the most concentrated source of lycopene you can find, with up to 10x more than a raw tomato.
Not all collagen is considered equal. Supplementation sources can vary from porcine, bovine or marine — all variations in quality and molecular weight can affect absorption and efficacy.
Collagen is broken down in the digestive tract, whereafter it enters the bloodstream and accumulates in various tissues depending on it's molecular weight. For superior absorption, a collagen supplement with low molecular weight is key.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, making it the most prevalent structural material in the human body after water. This is important when we understand that collagen is a necessary component for building beautiful skin. As much as 75% of the extracellular matrix is comprised of collagen.
In a recent research review the efficacy of collagen supplementation was tested for dermatological applications. The researchers looked at 8 studies using collagen hydrolysate (which has a low molecular weight) at doses ranging from 2.5-10 grams per day for a period of 6-24 weeks. These studies found a reduction of wrinkle volume, improved skin elasticity, increased skin moisture and a significant reduction in the degree of cellulite.
Additionally, The use of collagen has also expanded into treating such dermatological conditions as atopic and allergic contact dermatitis. The aforementioned review also looked at one 12-week study that sought to examine the effect of collagen supplementation with atopic dermatitis with a dose of 3.9 grams a day. Those who supplemented with collagen saw a significant decrease in immune response and inflammation after 12 weeks. Severity of skin eruption areas, skin hydration and itchiness were all reduced with collagen supplementation.
Collagen is effective in supporting various dermatological conditions such as wound healing, skin elasticity, and suppleness. Other applications for collagen supplementation include osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, improving blood pressure and insulin resistance. As with all things, quality is important. It is necessary to use a high-quality collagen supplement that is supported by clinical research and is of a low molecular weight in order to optimize absorption and intended results.
Source: Choi FD, Sung CT, et al. Oral Collagen Supplementation: A Systemic Review of Dermatological Applications. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019 Jan 1;18(1):9-16.
Cardio is easy, that is why it is everyone’s go to. However, your body doesn’t care how easily you can jog away from something. Ease of use is not a priority for the body’s growth or energy expenditure. If you move easy, your body will take it easy and progress will be slow. The body is built through adaptation and stress applied from external sources, as such it prioritizes what it needs. If you jog, it sees no need to use energy to build muscle and thus your lack of effort and hyper caloric intake leads you to gain fat instead of burn fat. The body priorities what it needs. If you do easy workouts it will not grow and you will not lose weight. Instead, prioritize higher intensity bouts of cardio like sprint intervals (e.g., 10 seconds all out followed by 50 seconds recovery pace). Not only will you get better results and body composition, but you will do it in a fraction of the time. For even better results, combined your sprint intervals with moderately-heavy weight training sessions with only 30-60 seconds rest in between sets.
The conventional advice given to those trying to lose weight is to simply limit calories. Initially, this will produce desirable weight-loss, however progress will quickly stall because during calorie restricted diet a significant percentage of the weight lost comes form muscle mass. Muscle is important to hold onto as it is metabolically expensive, requiring as much as 40% of your body’s resting metabolism. Blindly restricting all calories will only serve to hinder further weight-loss progress. To combat the negative effect of losing muscle mass, it is important to increase you caloric intake from protein to maintain a greater amount of muscle mass. To optimize weight-loss by preserving muscle mass just remember there is an inverse relationship between calories and protein, whereby decreasing calories will result in an increase need for protein. Aim for .08 to 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
For more information, check out the article: Eat Less & Move More is Bad Advice
Working out comes with a host of negative consequences — higher blood pressure, muscular weakness due to muscle fiber breakdown, a compromised hormonal profile, fatigue, etc. It’s the recovery phase in between the workouts where your body adapts, heals and as a result allows you to become leaner and stronger. Prioritizing rest and recovery is a key to optimizing progress, regardless of your goal. Remember, it is not what you can do in the gym, but what you can recover from. One thing to keep in mind, is that the more fit you get the longer it takes to recover due to you being able to push yourself further and harder than before.
Good thing you are not what you eat because if you’re like most people you’d be fast, cheap and easy! Seriously though, the health of the gut determines what nutrients are absorbed and it is directly linked to the health of the total organism. It is often said that we are what we eat, but it is more accurate to say we are what we absorb. A strong gut barrier, diverse microbiome and sufficient levels of stomach acid is necessary to breakdown food, assimilate their nutrients and keep bad things from entering the body. When either of these things go awry, problems other than micronutrient (vitamins and minerals) deficiencies can arise. For example, if the integrity of the gut is compromised it can lead to joint pain and inflammation throughout the body, a microbial imbalance can lead to mood disorders or cause intense cravings, and insufficient stomach acid production can lead to heartburn or unwanted bacteria entering our body.
To help the processes of the gut heal:
Try an Elimination Diet. Remove suspect foods from your diet for a period of 2-3 weeks to see if symptoms subside.
Take a Digestive Enzyme with meals to improve the digestive fire and assist with the breakdown of food.
Supplement with L-Glutamine (20-30 grams, taken in 5-10 gram doses throughout the day) to mend the intestinal lining.
Improve your microbiome with a Multi-Strain Probiotic.
For more on joint inflammation check out: Correlation between Food and Joint Pain
What comes out of your mouth is as important as what you decide to put in it. Choose your words as carefully as your food. Both can have negative consequences.
It is no secret that large agricultural companies spray their crops and add a host of chemicals so that they will be able to increase their product yield. What is less known is the damage a lifetime intake of pesticide laden food can have. In addition to possible endocrine disruption, nerve disorders, reproductive issues, and birth defects it can cause us to gain unsightly fat! This is largely due to the overall toxic load we are up against. If the toxic burden is too much for our body to get rid of or exposure becomes chronic our body simply stores toxins in fat cells to be dealt with later. An easy way to reduce your exposure to pesticides is to utilize the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Dirty Dozen list when selecting produce. Each year the EWG selects the most sprayed foods and compile them for you. If you pick all organic versions of the following fruits and vegetables you can reduce your exposure to chemicals and pesticides by as much as 74%.
Strawberries
Spinach
Nectarines
Apples
Grapes
Peaches
Cherries
Pears
Tomatoes
Celery
Potatoes
Bell Peppers
For more information check out: Will Eating Organic for 2 Weeks Make a Difference?
The way we see the world shapes our personality which develops our personal reality. A personal reality cultivated by an unconscious process of negativity can never lead to a positive life because thinking the same negative thoughts lead to making the same choices. Making the same choices leads to practicing the same behaviors. Practicing the same behaviors lead to creating the same experiences. Creating the same experiences lead to producing the same emotions that lead to the same negative thoughts. Nothing can change unless you break the cycle. If you exist in the same negative mindset, think the same negative thoughts, experience the same negative emotions, how can you expect to positively change your life? As long as you view the world the same way, you are bound to create the same life. To truly change, you have to shift the way you view the world and believe you are destined for a better life.
The default in nature is health, so why are you fat, sick and broken? Probably because you wear your constant stress, long hours in the office, sleep deprivation and ability to eat like a garbage disposal as a badge of honor! If this is you, you need this book! It contains 21 tips for you to improve your life for the better. Become healthier, leaner and stronger today!
