Oh Conventional Wisdom- How I HATE YOU!
So I may have hinted at this before…but I LOVE a good diet and fitness debate. hehe
(And I’m apologizing upfront to any of my readers who are vegetarians…but I mean come on the comic is funny!) 🙂
For the first time this week I slept in (till 7 am!!! YAY!), and when I woke up Ryan had a nice article up on the computer for my post today – “The Paleo-Diet: Not the way to a healthy future.”
THANK YOU NPR!
First off, like many people you talk to, the author of this article Barbara King, got stuck on the fact that the Paleo diet is modeled on a hunter-gatherer diet. Most people get turned off of the diet because of this, which is why you hear people scoff at the idea of a “caveman” diet.
In this case Barbara King tries to prove that the Paleo diet DOESN’T in fact mimic the diet of paleolithic people. She even states that a true “paleo” diet may in fact be vegetarian:
Our ancestors began to eat meat in large quantities around 2 million years ago, when the first Homo forms began regular use of stone tool technology. Before that, the diet of australopithecines and their relatives was overwhelmingly plant-based, judging from clues in teeth and bones. I could argue that the more genuine “paleo” diet was vegetarian.
Ok that may be true…but then again we evolved into Homo form and those are probably the species more similar to our own so wouldn’t it make more sense to follow their diet than the one of a species that eventually EVOLVED into a hunter? Makes sense to me, but hey…
Next point…
Again she tries to prove that the Paleo diet isn’t a true paleolithic diet. She states:
First, ancient hunter-gatherer groups adapted to local environments that were regionally and seasonally variable — for instance, coastal or inland, game-saturated or grain-abundant (eating grains was not necessarily incompatible with hunter-gatherer living). Second, genes were not in control. People learned what worked in local context for survival and reproduction, and surely, just as in other primates, cultural traditions began to play a role in who ate what.
In short, there was no single hunter-gatherer foraging strategy, and genes no more “designed” our eating behavior than they designed our language or our ways of relating between the genders.
I think most Paleo and Primal followers agree that Paleolithic people ate what was regional and seasonal. AND many Paleo and Primal followers TRY to follow that. Of course since we do get produce from other places, we do make exceptions especially if it is organic. I also think people following the Paleo and Primal diets do adjust them to fit the region they are from just like our ancient ancestors did. Plus like any “diet,” the creators and main promoters of these diets have to promote a BASIC set of principles to follow. It is up to the “dieter” to adjust it to fit where they are from.
Just like vegetarians. Just because someone is a vegetarian doesn’t mean their diet is the exact same as another vegetarian yet both are following the same BASIC set of principles outline by the person (people) who started/promoted vegetarianism. Sooo….what’s your point Barbara?
Oh, and also, our genes may not “design” our eating behavior but they do react better when you eat a certain way. I think all of the testimonials you can find in Paleo and Primal books as well as on blogs do prove this point. I mean just check out marksdailyapple.com and read a few of the testimonials there! (I mean shoot, if you are reading this blog and agree send me your testimonial and I’ll post it here as proof! haha)
OK! Next point! And the one that made me laugh out loud!
Barbara states:
But the paleo-movement seems to doom (even if unintentionally) more animals to life and death in factory farms. A greater percentage of grain crops would also be diverted to rich countries’ animals and away from poor countries’ people.
Uhm has she done any actually reading about Paleo/Primal? Doesn’t sound like it! WE AVOID GRAIN FED ANIMALS!!! So uhm…the poor countries can have all the grains they want! haha
Most true followers of Paleo try to eat only grass-fed animals. We are trying to promote a Paleolithic lifestyle, remember Barbara. SOOOO we want animals that were raised in a way that mimics the way Paleolithic animals lived…aka roaming free and eating what they naturally ate (grass for cows, grubs for pigs and such!).
So actually the Paleo diet is trying to get rid of factory farms. We are actually promoting a diet that is more humane to animals (if you look at the “5” rating at Whole Foods those animals actually got to live out a very nice long life!).
So Barbara didn’t convince me. Anyone out there have something better? haha
Fear – Is it keeping you from the weight room floor?
I’ve never been afraid of looking stupid while working out at the gym (it’s probably partly because I look like a goofball no matter where I am but…). I’ll try any exercise even if it looks like I’m humping a bench (of course I’ve also had no desire to do crunchy frogs EVER again).
But some people are afraid of looking stupid while they’re at the gym. They are afraid of being judged. I’ve found that this fear of being judged is actually the main reason most women won’t step foot on the weight room floor.
Women see the weight room as dominated by men and they think that those men will judge them if they lift. They think that men will be watching everything they do.
Trust me…they won’t be watching you. That is of course unless you have a very low-cut shirt on or are only wearing a sports bra or something that is sexy. Then yes…they will be looking at you, but then again they were probably already staring at you on the treadmill.
Anyway, men really aren’t watching women lift unless of course they are lifting a ton of weight like the Man Bicep Sisters! 😉
Most men are watching other men or themselves in the mirror. They are comparing themselves to other men. They want to bench or squat more than that other guy.
Sorry to break it to you gals, but most guys really aren’t paying much attention to you.
If knowing this doesn’t help you get over your fear of the weight room floor, maybe working out with a friend or trainer will. That definitely helped Candy! I mean just look at her biceps now! 😉
I think it has also helped a lot of my clients feel comfortable in the weight room. I’m positive I’ve cured a few of them of ever being afraid of being embarrassed by making them do inchworms across the gym.
Crawling around a gym and sticking your butt up in the air…can’t really get more embarrassing than that…except for maybe making them do crunchy frogs (but these are so embarrassing in fact that I can’t find a picture of them!).
Once you’ve done an embarrassing exercise, you really seem to get over your fear of people judging you in the gym. AND it definitely helps to have a trainer or friend laughing with you as you do the funny looking exercise!
Fear can keep you from accomplishing a lot. And I know there are lots of other fears surrounding lifting – such as a fear of failure – but those are topics for another day.
Today just get over your fear of lifting! Don’t worry about looking silly. I mean let’s face it…at some point we all do!
SO HIT THE WEIGHT ROOM FLOOR AND START PUMPING SOME IRON!
A Big Push Up Fairwell for Vesi!
Vesi you were one of the first Man Bicepers and we will miss you! You must come back and visit often!
Keep lifting and show your girls what being a strong, fit woman really is all about!
A very nice weighted push up! 😉
Oh Heavy Lifting – You are my drug
Uhm why yes...I DO!
There is something addicting about heavy lifting. I think it’s the thrill of lifting something that weighs more than you.
But it is also an addiction to the adrenaline rush that follows a successful heavy lift (I’m so addicted that it even keeps me coming back after several failures).
And Candy and Brian have the bug too. We all can’t help it.
We can’t resist lifting heavy even if we don’t like the lift! Candy hates heavy back squats and Brian just hates doing legs in general (I happen to LOVE leg day..but then again I’m not so fond of bench) BUT we all still pushed ourselves to lift our max yesterday.
Candy got so close to a new PR of 190 and Brian lifted so much the bar was bending (which makes me nervous to spot him!). While I didn’t hit a new PR, I did manage to squat 200lbs! 🙂
We just can’t resist pushing ourselves to lift more even if we aren’t feeling it that day!
On top of the heavy squat sets, Candy and I did the workout below. Brian did his own but he did suffer through balance lunges (preacher squats, Bulgarian squats…whatever you want to call them) just for me (he absolutely HATES THEM) haha 😉
Candy and my bubble butt workout from yesterday:
Heavy squats with max out
Balance lunges with 35lbs in each hand (We love our green kettlebells)
supersetted with
Kettlebell Swings 60lbs
Cocktail lunges with 35lbs in each hand (Lunge forward and back for one rep)
supersetted with
Romanian Deadlifts 70lbs
Step Ups with 24lbs in each hand
supersetted with
Sumo Squats 50lbs
Side Band walks (A little abductor and glute work)
supersetted with
Adduction on sliders (This exercise looks very very odd. You kneel on the sliders, do small splits and then pull your knees back together.)
Yea lots of stuff..my butt and hamstrings are happy today! 🙂
Conventional Wisdom – BS about Breakfast
Oh Conventional Wisdom…I HATE YOU.
People believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day…my question is why is it so important?
The common answers are:
- If you skip breakfast you are more likely to become obese because you will overeat later.
- Breakfast kick starts your energy level after fasting all night which can help prevent you from overeating later in the day.
- Breakfast is also supposed to kick-start your metabolism and increase your metabolic rate, which will help prevent weight gain.
So what I’ve deduced from all of this is that breakfast is important because it is supposed to prevent obesity and help you control your weight.
But seriously, how is it supposed to do this? Consuming calories at a certain point in your day is really going to help you lose weight and fight obesity?
I DON’T THINK SO!
I mean just look at our breakfast eating society…seems like breakfast is really helping with our obesity problem!
Maybe breakfast isn’t really the key to preventing obesity. Maybe overeating is. Maybe weight gain has more to do with ingesting the wrong foods than it does with eating at certain times of the day!
I believe you should eat when you are hungry. If you want breakfast, eat it. BUT if you aren’t hungry in the morning, don’t eat. What benefit can eating when you aren’t hungry have?
If you only eat when you are hungry, you WON’T overeat later! For more information about how breakfast isn’t the most important meal of the day check out the two links below.
To Eat Breakfast, Or Not – Mark’s Daily Apple
Interview with Mark – Underground Wellness
It’s Monday…
So today was a bench day. BLEH! haha. I almost got 125 which would have been 5lbs over my bodyweight. I blame the fact that I didn’t on the fact that it is Monday.
Candy, however, did hit a new PR of 135! Ten more pounds and she be benching herself! It was so cool though that she got to put on the big boy girl plates! I’m jealous! 😉
It was a killer workout though. Heavy bench, incline bench, incline flyes, close grip bench, dips, push ups, front and side raises, tricep pushdowns and a BAZILLION bicep curls. Brian wanted to grow his beach muscles! 😉
Anyway, I was motivated today. I was excited to workout this week partly because of the video below about Annie Thorisdottir.
Talk about motivational! If this doesn’t make you want to start Crossfit and heavy lifting then nothing will! Annie Thorisdottir you are amazing!!!!
Anyway, here’s a little picture to make you smile on a Monday…
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!
Poor Burger King. Their sign got graffitied! HA!
Top 6 Motivational Women – Soon to be Top 10!
Yesterday while I was standing in the check out line at Whole Foods with an array of delicious food in front of me (pork shoulder, pork belly, macadamia nuts, salami) I gave in to an impulse buy – Oxygen Magazine.
I can rarely ever resist buying Oxygen Magazine or Fitness Rx or Muscle and Fitness HERS for that matter. There is something about those beautiful muscular women on the cover that I just can’t resist even though most of the time I’m disappointed with the nutritional information that the magazines provide.
BUT the articles don’t bother me. I didn’t buy them for their nutrition or fitness tips.
I bought them for the motivation those awesome fitness models provide. They are beautiful, muscled and strong. They are everything I work everyday to be!
I know this sounds strange…most of the women I know hate looking at pictures of models because those perfect women make them feel inferior. But the pictures have the opposite effect on me. Seeing those beautiful women means that my goals are possible. They motivate me to keep working hard so that I can be as fit as them!
I’ve even hung pictures of fitness models on my refrigerator to remind me of my goals (Jamie Eason specifically!!!). Of course I’ve stopped doing this since I’ve realized that house guests find it a little strange….
Two years ago one of Ryan’s roommates from college came to visit Boston and stayed with us. He saw the pictures of skimpily clad fitness models up on the refrigerator and asked Ryan if he put those up there. He had seemed confused by the pictures of half-naked girls.
Ryan said no that I had put them up. I almost think that confused Ryan’s old roommate more…
Anyway, I loved seeing those girls every time I went to the refrigerator…They definitely kept me from grabbing bad food out of the fridge! 😉
But anyway, I haven’t put them back up since. BUT here is a list of the Top 6 Women that motivate me to lift heavy and eat clean!!! (They aren’t in any particular order) 🙂
1. Jamie Eason – She was the first fitness model that really motivated me to get super involved in heavy lifting and I have a huge girl crush on her (sorry Ryan). She is strong and beautiful.
2. Annie Thorisdottir – She is the fittest woman on the planet at the moment. DUH she’s motivational!
3. Angie Pye – She looks amazing and she’s one of the fittest women on the planet. What isn’t motivating about that!?!
4. Lindsey Smith – She’s a top crossfit competitor and a super sexy mother. Another bad-ass, motivational woman! (AND Candy’s favorite!)
5. Margaret Diubaldo – A fitness competitor who has been on like a bazillion fitness magazine covers. Obviously muscular and beautiful!
Plus I love the short haircut! 🙂
6. Natasha Peay – A fitness competitor and boxer, she is one super sexy strong woman who isn’t afraid to kick a little ass!
These 6 women don’t include the most motivational woman of all – the Man Bicep Mom. She inspired me to lift heavy and has always supported me (not to mention she is one super sexy muscular woman herself!!!)
What women motivate you?
The Tortise and the Hare
When I was little I was never really a fan of the Tortise and the Hare story, but lately I’ve realized just how applicable that story is to fitness and weight loss goals.
Today more than ever, people want instant results. We want the quick fix. We want to lose 30lbs in 30 days. We want speedy results – we want things to move like the Hare not like the Tortise!
So to get speed results we choose a crash diet. We drop weight quickly and it doesn’t take long to see the finish line. But once we start getting the great results, we can’t maintain them…We can’t keep up that pace or we get complacent knowing that we quickly got so close to our goal. Plus, we don’t really have the tools to keep the weight off because the crash diet we did isn’t something realistic that we can keep up for any extended period of time.
BUT if we had chosen a healthy diet that didn’t promise quick results but instead promised life-long health, we would eventually see the results we wanted. With this type of diet, we won’t see quick results, but if we are consistent and patient will we reach our goal. And the best part is…we will be able to maintain our results!!!
So while a crash diet may get you there quickly, you won’t be able to maintain the results for long, which will just lead to a cycle of crash dieting. If you are instead consistent and patient and allow the results to occur slowly, you will reach your goal and be able to maintain it. Slow and steady does in fact win the race!!!!
Being patient and giving yourself time to reach your diet and fitness goals isn’t easy. I’m right there with you in terms of wanting quick results.
I’ve tried crash diets. I’ve done a low-fat, low-carb diet and lost a ton of weight very quickly, BUT the diet wasn’t something I could maintain. It was just about the blandest food you could eat. So eventually I couldn’t control my cravings and ate terrible, horrible no good, very bad food and gained the weight back.
Once I’d gained the weight back, I knew I had to do something different the next time. I didn’t want to keep up the crash diet cycle. That is when Ryan and I started Primal.
Mark Sisson and his Primal diet don’t promise you quick weight loss or six-pack abs. They do promise you that you will quickly feel better and more energetic. And if you follow his guidelines for weight loss, you will slowly but steadily lose weight! His diet also makes it easy to lose fat WHILE gaining muscle, which I found was near impossible on a low-fat, low-carb diet.
I’ve been following some variation of the Primal diet now since January 2010. And I’ve seen results…slowly. BUT I also enjoy eating primally. I don’t dread meals or constantly dream about pizza. And I feel healthier and more energetic than I have on any other diet. I used to ride the carb wave and have energy spikes and dips, but since starting Primal I only suffer those spikes on cheat days.
And the same slow and steady approach that you need to have with your diet plan, you need to apply to your fitness program. Don’t think that you can just go from 0-60 and get great results that you can maintain. I’ve seen people try. And usually they get great results and then get injured. Bye Bye great results.
So be patient. It isn’t easy, I know. But if you really want great results…Slow and steady wins the race!! 🙂
Pushing Past a Stick Point
A “stick point” is a weak point in a lift where you have a tendency to stall when the weight gets heavy. Like when you get stuck three inches from your chest on a heavy bench press.
Hitting a stick point always frustrates me because I know that if I could just somehow force the weight over that point it would go up the rest of the way fairly easily.
Most people recognize these physical sticking points and work on them. They do exercises to strengthen their weak points like starting their bench from their stick point and locking out.
But very few people ever recognize their mental “stick points.” Most people never try to push themselves beyond that first muscle burn or fatigue because they believe that they are truly and utterly at their limit. They never test that limit or try to move beyond that mental stick point by performing one more rep or using just a little bit more weight.
I believe that with most people the mind will fail before the body does. We feel fatigued and our brain will start telling us we are too tired to continue. BUT our body still has the capacity to perform a few more reps.
The question is…which do you listen to? Do you listen to your brain telling you that you are tired or do you push your body until you can’t lift that weight one more time and your muscles are shaking?
I’ve found that most of my clients stop when their brain tells them they are tired and their muscles first start to burn.
I’ll watch them as they do bicep curls to press. The weights will still be moving fluidly through the motion with no muscle shake or even a slowing of pace. BUT they will be telling me they can’t possibly do one more. They will try to stop or take a break before the set is over. I push them to finish. I can tell their muscles still have more reps left in them while their brain is screaming out to them that they are tired.
And most like to be pushed like this (especially when they realize that they will get great results from pushing themselves!).
It was nice to have a client realize that she hadn’t been pushing herself to her limit. The other day she told me that she would never have done more than 10 repetitions with 10 pounds if I hadn’t forced her to use 15lbs and do 20 repetitions.
She was amazed at the fact that, while she struggled to perform the last few reps, she could in fact do that much weight for that many repetitions. I pushed her to move beyond the fatigue that she thought meant she had pushed herself hard. I helped her do the extra reps and weight that pushed her beyond her mental stick point.
So next time you think you couldn’t possibly do one more rep or use a little more weight, try it! Don’t go crazy with this of course…you don’t want to be unsafe and drop a weight on your head or cause yourself to barf (unless you are into that), but do CHALLENGE yourself.
If you challenge yourself, the worst thing that will happen is your body will fail. You won’t be able to do that one extra push up or lift those two extra pounds. BUT that failure will move you closer to success the next time!
So work on those mental stick points. They may be holding you back from getting the exact results you want! Just remember…your brain will give up before you body has to!!
Learning Binges
Yesterday I went on a learning binge. By learning binge I mean:
- I spent hours searching all my favorite blogs for new sources of information. I perused some great new fitness blogs such as myathleticlife.com and beheavy.wordpress.com.
- And I googled the heck out of women’s fitness, lifting, powerlifting and strong is the new skinny (which by the way…I LOVE THIS “MOVEMENT!”).
And during this learning binge I found so many topics that I want to discuss. But this morning (sore, grumpy with two hours of spin ahead of me), the only thing I wanted to talk about was the learning binge itself.
Yesterday just reminded me of how important it is to constantly seek out new information – how important it is to always be open to learning.
We can never know everything so to really be knowledgable about any subject, we must always be seeking out new knowledge. We must be in a perpetual state of learning.
So sometimes we must go on learning binges. I usually check out the same few websites, but every couple of months I’ll spend an extra few hours searching everything in sight (which can include picking the brain of any human around me!). When I do this I’m looking for any new studies or developments that have come out about fitness or nutrition. I’m also looking for new exercises and new trends in women’s fitness.
I’m looking for information and not just information that reinforces what I already believe (actually most of the time I’m searching for information that argues against what I believe in just so that I can tell them how wrong they are! :-P).
I don’t like to follow anything blindly, even lifestyles I agree with and/or follow. There is always someone out there with a slightly different perspective on things. AND that new perspective that you find may help you adjust your lifestyle to make it work even better for you.
I always inform my clients of new things that I’m trying or topics that I’ve found. I want them to start exploring fitness and health by themselves. I want them on a constant quest for knowledge or at least to every once in a while go on a learning binge!
Of course a constant quest for knowledge isn’t just about finding new information it is also about trying it out!
Self-experimentation is an integral part of learning. I mean how do you really know if something works unless you try it out!?!
If you find a new workout routine, try it out! A new diet, try it out! But when you “test” something, make sure you first follow the plan EXACTLY. If you cheat on what is prescribed, than you aren’t giving it a fair shot. You can’t really honestly report back on how that workout or diet works.
But once you’ve found something that you like, edit it! Learn more about the diet through research and experimentation and then make changes to the diet or workout plan so that it works perfectly for you. Once you’ve done the research and run an experiment on yourself (sounds sort of creepy but it isn’t!), tailor it to fit your specific needs!
By constantly trying to learn, you will find a diet and fitness plan that works perfectly for you (a.k.a. it keeps you satisfied while helping you look AMAZING and reach your fitness goals!) 🙂
Man Bicep 