The Most Ridiculous Things I've Seen In The Gym

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So I thought this would be a fun little blurb rather than the usual mumbo jumbo I write where half the time I wonder if the things I say are even right.

I think it's time to make a list of the dumbest things I've seen go on in a gym.. in no particular order.

Prepare for atrocity.

1) One guy telling his friend 'form is key' then proceeding to demonstrate to fellow gym buddy the most abysmal way to perform a squat that I've ever seen.

2) Aformentioned fellow gym buddy is watching his friend exercise telling him 'good form'. Please. Why. How. Where did he even get the idea he was ready to give out advice after just being taught the wrong way to do something!

3) One guy in a Parasuco t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up and his bling hanging out (like anyone cares), hair gelled doing 18 variations of bicep curls, then going to the mirror in between sets to check on his lip ring.

4) Someone squatting in jeans. That made my brain hurt.

5) This guy was FULLY dancing in front of the mirror between sets. He has his iPod on and looked like he was right in the middle of a 'So You Think You Can Dance' audition. He had absolutely no shame. None. Actually this might have been the worst, I couldn't stop staring. I watched him complete an entire dance in disbelief.

6) Girls that have ramped up the treadmill to practically an 85 degree angle and are holding on for dear life while attempting to finish their 12 hour cardio session.

7) This one guy was working out in flip-flops. Let us pray for him.

8) Instead of gloves, one guy was using kitchen sponges to hold the weights.. you know, just incase he spontaneously had an urge to start cleaning afterwards. (Thanks to Robby for this one)

Feel free to add to this list of atrocities in the comments section.

Is a Calorie a Calorie?

This is a debate that's been going on for ages, and while I do believe a calorie is a calorie, I don't take someone's healthy weight level as an indicator of health. What I mean is that just because someone dropped weight down to what's considered healthy for their height, age, etc., the way they do it is ultimately what matters. I wouldn't advise someone to starve themselves to lose weight if it comes at the expense of their health.

Fad diets are extremely common these days. Almost every magazine you see will have some sort of claim on the front cover about some new way to lose 800 pounds in 5 minutes or something absurd like that. While these diets do tend to work for what they are in the end, they all play around the laws of thermodynamics. Not to mention that they will more than likely cause a rebound in weight gain.

If they tell you that you can eat what you want and still lose weight, it's true, but only because you're eating them in smaller portions without realizing. Or if they tell you to have a small breakfast then pig out at dinner (and magically lose weight), it's because you're at a net caloric deficit by the end of the day since you didn't overdo it at breakfast (again, without realizing). That's just an example of the idea behind them all. The average consumer doesn't understand (or know) the energy equation, so to them these diets all seem revolutionary once they start to see the weight come off.

In this article a professor of nutrition went on a mainly Twinkie diet and lost 27 pounds. Bottom line, putting health aside he proved his point. From a calorie perspective, weight loss only requires that you be in a deficit of calories. This really only goes so far and eventually things like hormones, hunger, mood swings etc will start to kick in and can determine how far someone's willing to take their diet.

Here's the article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/professor-loses-27-lbs-on-twinkie-diet/article1791760/

I'm in no way qualified to make any sort of argument here, mostly becuase I just don't know enough, but I'll offer my input regardless. Basically what he did worked. A pound of fat is roughly 3500 calories, so if you do the math that means to lose 1 pound of body mass a week you should eat 500 less calories a day than your body requires. Real life is much more messy than that, but this gives you an idea of how to work with numbers if you count calories. It's not hard to cut out 500 calories a day from your diet if your goal is slow and steady weight loss. That's roughly 2 slices of bread or 2 cups of pasta or a few tablespoons of olive oil. Remember that fats carry 9 calories per gram (more than carbs or protein), but fats themselves have lots of health benefits, so if you're trying to cut calories then dropping fats slightly will help, but not at the expense of protein. I would replace processed carbs for fats and keep fruits, veggies and protein high.

Omega 3

http://emed.com.au/extras/2665/fish-oil-456.jpg

I've wanted to write about Omega 3 fatty acids for a long time, but I always get overwhelmed by the amount of information there is out there to the point where I don't know how to begin.

I came across this article in the news yesterday and thought it would be a good starting point for my blurb on Omega 3. The researchers in this study were looking at the effects of DHA (I'll explain later) on Alzheimer's disease. Long story short, they concluded that DHA, and Omega 3 for that matter, doesn't do anything to reverse Alzheimer's. REALLY?! (Someone has to come up with a sarcasm font).

Here's the article:

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/11/02/alzheimer-fish-oil-dha-supplements.html

Whoever thought that Omega 3 does anything close to reversing such serious conditions?! I was shocked that this study even took place. Here's the full study:

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/304/17/1903

This is why I hate mainstream media. They didn't test with fish or fish oil, and they go and conclude that a fatty acid found in fish oil doesn't reverse Alzheimer's. They used DHA-rich algae instead.

Here's what the participants were given:
The study drug was an algal-derived DHA (Martek Biosciences, Columbia, Maryland) administered as capsules, dosed as 1 g twice per day for a total daily dose of 2 g. Algal DHA contains approximately 45% to 55% of DHA by weight and does not contain eicosapentaenoic acid.

The sad thing is that people that buy into this study are now more inclined not to invest in Omega 3 supplements, or even eat more fish for that matter. Oh well, more for me! Noms noms.

So now that my rant is over, let me introduce you to some Omega 3 background and hopefully make you realize why you need to be supplementing with it. Omega 3s are polyunstaurated fatty acids, basically giving reference to the number of hydrogen bonds on the carbon chain. Unlike margarine and lard which are saturated fatty acids and solid at room temperature, polyunsaturated ones are liquid, which is why Omega 3 supps are either capsulated or in liquid form. There's a lot of research that shows that our modern diet has shifted from a Omega6:Omega3 ratio of approx 1:1, to 10:1 - 20-25:1. That's an insane increase towards a more Omega 6 rich diet which is associated with many of the most common sicknesses. Man evolved and their genetic patterns are much closer to a diet that reflects a 1:1 ratio.

Omega 3s health benefits are mainly attributed to three main fatty acids, ALA (Alpha-linolenic acid, EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (Docosahexanoic acid). ALA is found in mainly dark green veggies, soybeans, flaxseed and some others, but the downfall is that the body isn't very efficient at converting it to EPA and DHA, which are mainly responsible for the health benefits. EPA and DHA sources are primarily cold water fish.

Here's a list of some health benefits associated with Omega 3:

- Reduction in inflammation in your body
- prevention of cancer cell growth
- Help prevent cardiovascular diseases
- Increase energy levels
- Improve sleep
- Help to improve concentration
- Reduce high blood pressure
- Can help with symptoms of depression
- Inhibit thickening of arteries
- Reduce the amount of lipids and cholesterol in the blood
- Maintain the fluidity of cell membranes

If you're wondering at this point how much Omega 3 you should be getting in your diet, I don't really have an answer for you. I've read about and experimented with many different doses and can only share with you what has worked for me. I've been the most consistent with about 4g combined EPA/DHA a day and have felt the most benefits from that amount. Let me explain something really quick. All Omega 3 tablets are made a standard 1g size. The actual content of EPA/DHA in each individual pill itself varies though. So when I say I take 4g I don't mean 4 pills, I mean I add the amount of EPA/DHA in each pill so that the number of pills I'm taking has a combined EPA/DHA content of 4g.

I took them for about 7 or 8 months before I started 'feeling' any sort of effect. Note that most of the benefits of Omega 3 are not really anything you can 'feel'. Given that our brain is mostly comprised of DHA fats, it's not surprising when I tell you that after about 7 or 8 months I started feeling like my memory improved phenomenally. I used to have trouble remembering very basic things and now I surprise myself at the detail I can remember, just in general. Not only that but I'm way more alert and when I'm working on something that requires lots of attention I can focus much much more. I'm in no way absolutely attributing all this to Omega 3, I'm sure since I fixed my diet way back all these little things play a part in the bigger picture.

It's also recommended you store your Omega 3 supps in the fridge or freezer since they can oxidize and go rancid if left out. I'll post a couple of studies that support the claim that higher doses than those recommended on the labels actually are more beneficial for your health.


http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=84

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/54/3/438