“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.”
-Josiah Charles Stamp
Saturday 31 July 2010
Energy drinks
People in Britain are becoming ever more reliant on energy drinks. The market for energy drinks has grown massively in the last few years. If you look on shelves now you can find examples such as Red bull, Rock star, Lucozade with caffeine and many supermarket branded versions. Unfortunately Diabetes is also growing at a massive rate throught the country.
The main ingredient of these energy drinks is caffeine and sugar. The problem with using these for energy is that they only give you a temporary boost followed by a energy crash as your blood sugar levels drop. This leads to cravings of having more sugary drinks or food to raise your blood sugar levels. The excess sugar contained in these drinks leads to body fat gain. It also plays havoc on your pancreas; the organ that is responsible for the production and release of Insulin to control blood sugar.
Here is the sugar content of some of the popular branded energy drinks-
Red bull 8.3 oz (250 ml) Can - 27g's of sugar (equvilent to 5 1/2 teaspoons of sugar)
Rock star 16oz (473ml) can of Rockstar there are 62g's of sugar (12.4 teaspoons of sugar)
Lucozade - 380 ml bottle - There is 52.4 grams of sugar (10.5 teaspoons of sugar)
Excess sugar in the diet has been linked to a host of health problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol, glycation of tissues and metabolic syndrome.
Having too much caffeine in your diet has also been shown to raise cortosil; the stress hormone. When levels of cortisol are high the body will store fat around the midsection and belly area.
If you are relying on 'energy drinks' or even carbonated beverages such as Coca-Cola or Pepsi for energy then there is some serious work to do done with your eating. A good eating regime should provide you with all the energy you need with out the addition of sugary 'energy' drinks.
Take action today before the damage is done.
The main ingredient of these energy drinks is caffeine and sugar. The problem with using these for energy is that they only give you a temporary boost followed by a energy crash as your blood sugar levels drop. This leads to cravings of having more sugary drinks or food to raise your blood sugar levels. The excess sugar contained in these drinks leads to body fat gain. It also plays havoc on your pancreas; the organ that is responsible for the production and release of Insulin to control blood sugar.
Here is the sugar content of some of the popular branded energy drinks-
Red bull 8.3 oz (250 ml) Can - 27g's of sugar (equvilent to 5 1/2 teaspoons of sugar)
Rock star 16oz (473ml) can of Rockstar there are 62g's of sugar (12.4 teaspoons of sugar)
Lucozade - 380 ml bottle - There is 52.4 grams of sugar (10.5 teaspoons of sugar)
Excess sugar in the diet has been linked to a host of health problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol, glycation of tissues and metabolic syndrome.
Having too much caffeine in your diet has also been shown to raise cortosil; the stress hormone. When levels of cortisol are high the body will store fat around the midsection and belly area.
If you are relying on 'energy drinks' or even carbonated beverages such as Coca-Cola or Pepsi for energy then there is some serious work to do done with your eating. A good eating regime should provide you with all the energy you need with out the addition of sugary 'energy' drinks.
Take action today before the damage is done.
"health" Advice from your "Doctor"
“Why so serious!” If you don’t have a sense of humor or can’t tell the difference between what is a joke and what is serious PLEASE don’t read any further. (I borrowed this from another blog, thanks Jon)
Advice from your doctor:
Q: Doctor, I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that’s it… don’t waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that’s like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.
Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.
Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. So have a cup now and then!
Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.
Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can’t think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain…Good!
Q: Aren’t fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU’RE NOT LISTENING!!! ….. Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they’re permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?
Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.
Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans ! Another vegetable!!! It’s the best feel-good food around!
Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.
Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! ‘Round’ is a shape!
Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.
Please remember:
‘Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways – Chardonnay in one hand – chocolate in the other – body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming ‘WOO HOO, What a Ride’!
AND…..
For those of you who watch what you eat, here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It’s a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.
1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans or Australians.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans or Australians.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans or Australians.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans or Australians.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans or Australians.
CONCLUSION
Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.
Advice from your doctor:
Q: Doctor, I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that’s it… don’t waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that’s like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.
Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.
Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. So have a cup now and then!
Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.
Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can’t think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain…Good!
Q: Aren’t fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU’RE NOT LISTENING!!! ….. Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they’re permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?
Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.
Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans ! Another vegetable!!! It’s the best feel-good food around!
Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.
Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! ‘Round’ is a shape!
Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.
Please remember:
‘Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways – Chardonnay in one hand – chocolate in the other – body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming ‘WOO HOO, What a Ride’!
AND…..
For those of you who watch what you eat, here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It’s a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.
1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans or Australians.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans or Australians.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans or Australians.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans or Australians.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans or Australians.
CONCLUSION
Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.
Wednesday 28 July 2010
Quote of the day 28/7
"The willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life is the source from which self-respect springs."
- Joan Didion
- Joan Didion
You have no one to blame but yourself
It shocks me how people so easily shirk personal responsibility when it comes to their own health.
It’s always something or someone else’s fault that they can't get the body and health they desire-
“The boss made me drink 10 pints”
“I just couldn't resist my wives home baked cookies.”
WAKE UP PEOPLE!
You are completely in control of the fuel you put into your body and how you treat it.
If you tried to run your car on sunflower oil do you think it would run for very long? The same applies for feeding your own body with the wrong fuels.
Also if you decided one day that you could no longer be bothered to walk your dog how long do you think it would take before the dog would lose condition and develop various behavioural disorders linked to inactivity. The human body is designed to move and without this activity the mental state of the body can also break down.
If you have people in your life who you would class as a bad influence then you need to do something about it. Someone who truly loves you does not consciously poison you and jeopardise your health. If they are ignorant to what they are doing then you need to educate them, open up their eyes to reality.
If you yourself are ignorant to what you are doing wrong; i.e. you cannot understand why you can't loose weight, sleep well, have no energy, or always get injuries then you yourself need to get educated.
It’s always something or someone else’s fault that they can't get the body and health they desire-
“The boss made me drink 10 pints”
“I just couldn't resist my wives home baked cookies.”
WAKE UP PEOPLE!
You are completely in control of the fuel you put into your body and how you treat it.
If you tried to run your car on sunflower oil do you think it would run for very long? The same applies for feeding your own body with the wrong fuels.
Also if you decided one day that you could no longer be bothered to walk your dog how long do you think it would take before the dog would lose condition and develop various behavioural disorders linked to inactivity. The human body is designed to move and without this activity the mental state of the body can also break down.
If you have people in your life who you would class as a bad influence then you need to do something about it. Someone who truly loves you does not consciously poison you and jeopardise your health. If they are ignorant to what they are doing then you need to educate them, open up their eyes to reality.
If you yourself are ignorant to what you are doing wrong; i.e. you cannot understand why you can't loose weight, sleep well, have no energy, or always get injuries then you yourself need to get educated.
Tuesday 27 July 2010
Breakfast cereals
In 1960 researchers at Ann Arbor University performed an interesting experiment on laboratory rats. Eighteen rats were divided into three groups. One group received cornflakes and water; a second group was given the cardboard box that the cornflakes came in and water; and the control group received rat chow and water.
The rats in the control group remained in good health throughout the experiment. The rats receiving the box became lethargic and eventually died of malnutrition. But the rats receiving the cornflakes and water died before the rats who were given the box - the last cornflake rat died the day the first box rat died.
Before death the cornflake rats developed schizophrenic behavior, threw fits, bit each other, and finally went into convulsions. Autopsy revealed dysfunction of the pancreas, liver and kidneys and degeneration of the nerves in the spine- all signs of
"insulin shock".
The startling conclusion of this study is that there is more nourishment in the box that cold breakfast cereals come in that in the cereals themselves. Loren Zanier, designer of the experiment, actually proposed the protocol as a joke. But the results are far from funny.
They were never published and similar studies have not been repeated. If consumers knew the truth about breakfast cereals, vast fortunes would be jeopardized.
Another study
Another stufy was described by Paul Stitt who wrote about an experiment conducted by a cereal company in which four sets of rats were given special diets. One group received plain whole wheat, water and synthetic vitamins and minerals. A second group received puffed wheat (an extruded cereal), water and the same nutrient solution. A third set was given only water. A fourth set was given nothing but water and chemical nutrients.
The rats that received the whole wheat lived over a year on this diet. The rats that got nothing but water and vitamins lived about two months. The animals on water alone lived about a month. But the company’s own laboratory study showed that the rats given the vitamins, water and all the puffed wheat they wanted died within two weeks—they died before the rats that got no food at all. It wasn’t a matter of the rats dying of malnutrition. Autopsy revealed dysfunction of the pancreas, liver and kidneys and degeneration of the nerves of the spine, all signs of insulin shock.
Results like these suggested that there was something actually very toxic in the puffed wheat itself! Proteins are very similar to certain toxins in molecular structure, and the pressure of the puffing process may produce chemical changes, which turn a nutritious grain into a poisonous substance.
Think about this the next time you are feeding breakfast cereals to your kids or eating them yourself.
The rats in the control group remained in good health throughout the experiment. The rats receiving the box became lethargic and eventually died of malnutrition. But the rats receiving the cornflakes and water died before the rats who were given the box - the last cornflake rat died the day the first box rat died.
Before death the cornflake rats developed schizophrenic behavior, threw fits, bit each other, and finally went into convulsions. Autopsy revealed dysfunction of the pancreas, liver and kidneys and degeneration of the nerves in the spine- all signs of
"insulin shock".
The startling conclusion of this study is that there is more nourishment in the box that cold breakfast cereals come in that in the cereals themselves. Loren Zanier, designer of the experiment, actually proposed the protocol as a joke. But the results are far from funny.
They were never published and similar studies have not been repeated. If consumers knew the truth about breakfast cereals, vast fortunes would be jeopardized.
Another study
Another stufy was described by Paul Stitt who wrote about an experiment conducted by a cereal company in which four sets of rats were given special diets. One group received plain whole wheat, water and synthetic vitamins and minerals. A second group received puffed wheat (an extruded cereal), water and the same nutrient solution. A third set was given only water. A fourth set was given nothing but water and chemical nutrients.
The rats that received the whole wheat lived over a year on this diet. The rats that got nothing but water and vitamins lived about two months. The animals on water alone lived about a month. But the company’s own laboratory study showed that the rats given the vitamins, water and all the puffed wheat they wanted died within two weeks—they died before the rats that got no food at all. It wasn’t a matter of the rats dying of malnutrition. Autopsy revealed dysfunction of the pancreas, liver and kidneys and degeneration of the nerves of the spine, all signs of insulin shock.
Results like these suggested that there was something actually very toxic in the puffed wheat itself! Proteins are very similar to certain toxins in molecular structure, and the pressure of the puffing process may produce chemical changes, which turn a nutritious grain into a poisonous substance.
Think about this the next time you are feeding breakfast cereals to your kids or eating them yourself.
Lifting Explosively
Here’s a little tip that might help spark new growth in your muscles.
The next time you perform a workout try to focus on lifting the weight as fast as possible.
Now if you are using a heavy weight the bar or dumbbell might not move very fast but just the intension of trying to move the weight faster has been shown to activate more muscle fibres, specifically the fast twitch muscle fibres which have the most potential for growth.
Don't confuse explosive with sloppy. Its important to keep your form/technique perfect otherwise you are risking injury, don't try to lift weights explosively that are too heavy for you to handle. Also remember my previous tip of lowering the weight slowly, taking advantage of the eccentric contraction.
Get in the gym and give it a try!
The next time you perform a workout try to focus on lifting the weight as fast as possible.
Now if you are using a heavy weight the bar or dumbbell might not move very fast but just the intension of trying to move the weight faster has been shown to activate more muscle fibres, specifically the fast twitch muscle fibres which have the most potential for growth.
Don't confuse explosive with sloppy. Its important to keep your form/technique perfect otherwise you are risking injury, don't try to lift weights explosively that are too heavy for you to handle. Also remember my previous tip of lowering the weight slowly, taking advantage of the eccentric contraction.
Get in the gym and give it a try!
Sunday 25 July 2010
Back in the saddle
I have returned after 2 weeks of sunny holiday in Tenerife. I managed to continue to train out there 3 x per week with limited equipment and weight.
The break has given my body a good rest and I now feel fully recovered from my long contest preperation. I am eager to get back to hard and heavy training again!
Here is a quote i rather like-
"The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen."
- Frank Lloyd Wright, 1869-1959
The break has given my body a good rest and I now feel fully recovered from my long contest preperation. I am eager to get back to hard and heavy training again!
Here is a quote i rather like-
"The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen."
- Frank Lloyd Wright, 1869-1959
Thursday 8 July 2010
Quote of the day 8/7
"Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get."
- Dale Carnegie
- Dale Carnegie
In Celebration of 'National Chest and Biceps Day'
It seems that in almost any gym I step into the weights room on a Monday becomes a ‘National Chest and Biceps day’. It’s possible to see a tumbleweed passing by the squat rack and chin-up bar on this day.
Try something bold and switch the days you are training body parts. Make Monday your back day, helping fix those rounded Neanderthal shoulders.
Or be even more brave and train legs HARD on Monday; this means using DEEP squats, lunges and deadlift variations. Using a few sets of leg extensions, leg curls and a few leg presses does not count as a hard leg session.
Changing the days you train body parts will help kick start new growth in your muscles and also leg you address that common chest to back imbalance that is so common in gyms these days!
Wonder why your shoulders hurt? Well if you can lift 1 ½-2 times the weight on your chest that you can on your back then you have a serious structural imbalance problem. Start training smarter today. If you are benching more than you can squat that would also indicate a problem!
In Celebration of 'National Chest and Biceps Day'
Try something bold and switch the days you are training body parts. Make Monday your back day, helping fix those rounded Neanderthal shoulders.
Or be even more brave and train legs HARD on Monday; this means using DEEP squats, lunges and deadlift variations. Using a few sets of leg extensions, leg curls and a few leg presses does not count as a hard leg session.
Changing the days you train body parts will help kick start new growth in your muscles and also leg you address that common chest to back imbalance that is so common in gyms these days!
Wonder why your shoulders hurt? Well if you can lift 1 ½-2 times the weight on your chest that you can on your back then you have a serious structural imbalance problem. Start training smarter today. If you are benching more than you can squat that would also indicate a problem!
In Celebration of 'National Chest and Biceps Day'
Tuesday 6 July 2010
Quote of the day 6/7
"Self-disciplined begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don't control what you think, you can't control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward."
-Napolean Hill
-Napolean Hill
Friday 2 July 2010
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