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Conclusion on Arms

2011-06-07T13:45:00.005-04:00

As I said before there are 8 different combinations. But there are also an infinite number of degrees to which each can be done. Here is a compilation of how each one effects running.

1. Timing - Leading with the arms speeds stride rate, causes the foot to land farther underneath the body and leave the ground faster.

Timing ahead of legs = fast stride rate
Timing with legs = neutral stride rate
Timing behind legs = slow stride rate

2. Arm length - A greater difference in arm length causes a greater bend in the torso which adds power and extends the stride length.

Arms longer moving backward = longer stride length
Arms same both directions = neutral stride length
Arms longer moving forward = shorter stride length

3. Arm angle - A greater inward angle in the arm swing towards the body's center line has a twisting impact on the torso when the timing leads the leg cycle, but it has no impact when it is in a neutral timing or lagging behind the leg cycle.

Arms swinging inward = no impact unless the armswing leads the leg cycle. If arms lead leg cycle, it adds power(force) but impeeds speed via range of motion. Great for up-hills or pulling a weighted sled.
Arms swinging straight = does not add power, but does not impeed speed either. Legs move freely. Great for down hill running, flat traeadmill running (no wind resistance), and running with a back-wind.

I believe if these three elements can be understood for what they do independently of one another, then the best combinations can be used for various running conditions. For example, to increase stride rate and stride length and transferring power through the legs from the torso, (1) lead with the arms (2) while lengthening the arm length on the back swing and (3) swinging the arms halfway between parallel to running direction and across the body. Stride rate comes from 1, stride length comes from 2, and the power to sustain that form at higher speeds comes from 3.

Alternative Arm Swing 2

2011-06-07T13:27:00.003-04:00

In the last two entries we've covered changing the timing of the armswing in relation to the legs, and changing the arm length in the backswing compared to the arm length on the front swing. This entry will cover the swing angle.

Most runners are told "Move your arms straight forward and backward parallel to the direction in which you are running." No explaination of why, or how this is beneficial, so in this final entry on arm swings, let's talk about my two favorite questions. "What does it do" and "When would I want that to happen?"

Go for a run and swing the arms straight forward and backward as recommended. Then begin to swing them inward toward the center line of your body. How is this changing your running form?
Try it while leading with your arms (like discussed in the first article on arms) and do it while changing arm length (like discussed in the second article on arms) and do it while both leading and changing the arm length. What does it do?

I've noticed that when I lead with the timing of my arms and begin to cross my body slightly with my armswing I experience a twisting motion in my torso along the transverse obliques. When I move my arms back to moving parallel to the direction I'm running (just straight forward and backward) this twisting goes away. So, when would I want to use this?

Apparently, according to my experience, leading with the timing of the arms while swinging the arms across the body and causing the torso to twist at the transverse obliques has a significant impact on uphill running. This includes stairs as well.

Go out an experiment with combinations of the three elements of the armswing.
1. Timing with the legs (leading, following, or at the same time)
2. Lengthening the arm on the backswing and shortening it on the front swing
3. Swinging them forward and backward or at an angle towards the center of the body.

This makes 8 different possible combinations of arm swings in relation to th legs and they all work best under slightly different circumstances.

Alternative Arm Swings

2011-06-07T13:16:00.002-04:00

We just talked about changing the timing of the armswing in relation to the leg cycle. But what about changing the arm length, or even the muscles used to initiate the arm cycle?

When a cheetah runs (granted, it's front legs touch the ground and ours do not), their front legs are straighter when they are moving backwards, and they are tucked under the body when they are moving forwards. So I tried this with my arms.

As one arm straightens out and moves backwards, the center of mass of that arm moves farther from my shoulder joint. At the same time, the opposite arm is shortening and moving forward which causes its center of mass to moce closer to my shoulder joint. What does this do?

First of all, I notice that my body is forced to bend laterally at the thoracic spine like a side crunch. It leans towards the side of my body with the shorter arm, and away from the side of my body with the longer arm. What does this side-crunch of my body do?

This side-crunch of my body has an impact on my legs. Basically, when I'm airborne, moving my upper body left and down causes my lower body (including my legs) to move left and up. Since it is the left leg that will be touching the ground next, this actually improves my air-time and slows down my stride rate. When would I want this to happen?

As mentioned in the last entry, improved air-time and a slowed stried rate is associated with downhill running.

Conclusion:
So, if changing the length of each arm causes my torso to bend side to side and is good for downhill running, might I conclude that the best strategy for uphill running is to do the opposite? To have both arms with a very similar bend in the elbows? And what about flat running? Perhaps an intermediate amount of lengthening and shortening with the back and front swing.
Try this and experiment. See how it works.

The Arm Swing

2011-06-07T13:08:00.005-04:00

So, if you've been reading my posts, I try not to say what is right and wrong when it comes to running. In fact, thats my whole philosophy on life. Instead, I ask questions like, "What does it do?" and "When would I want that to happen?" And the armswing on running is no different.

Most runners will time the arms and legs together. In other words, left leg goes back, right arm goes back. Left leg stops, right arm stops. Left leg begins moving forward, arm begins moving forward. They begin and end movement at the same time. So, what happens if you change that?

If the arm swing begins slightly before the front foot lands, instead of simultaneous with it as is popular, I've noticed two things. First of all, since the arm swing begins while my whole body is airborne, that small transfer of mass in my upper body actually affects my legs by bringing my landing foot more underneath my body, and my trail foot less behind my body. This actually gets me into the acceleration position as described in the entries on the legs previously. So when would I use this offset timing in the armswing?
1. When I'm running uphill
2. When I want to accelerate

After this finding, I tried the opposite by letting the timing of my armswing initiate a split second after my front foot lands. This backward offset timing caused my foot to land farther in front of my body with my trail leg staying farther behind, and had an overall slowing effect. But it had another effect too. It increased my hang time in the air. So, when would I use this reverse offset timing in the armswing?
1. When I'm running downhill and trying to maintain speed
2. When I want to decelerate after a race or an interval.

The next entry will include more information on different types of armswings.

The relationship between the two legs in running (Part 2 of 2)

2011-05-19T13:19:00.010-04:00

So what is the relationship between the legs in running?

To keep the body torso balanced - as when standing - the center of mass of one leg has to be an equal distance in front of the body's center of mass as the other is behind.

Take-Off phase

So the point at which the leg on the ground is at its farthest behind the body's center of mass (just before take-off), the other leg's center of mas has to be equally far foward to keep the torso balanced.

After the back leg leaves the ground, its center of mass continues back just a few more inches and the heel begins to rise. So the center of mass of the front leg should continue moving forward as well if our goal is to keep the torso vertical. This is easy to accomplish. While the back leg is getting read to leave the ground, the front leg should have its heel tucked. The knee is up and forward, but the heel is under the butt. So to get the center of mass of the front leg to move forward more, all that needs to happen is for the heel to drop and move under the knee. Notice that the lines under the yellow dots in the figure to the left are farther apart than the figura above, yet they are still equidistant from the line under the blue dot.

Flight and Foot Strike

In efficient running, the foot strikes the ground almost directly under the body's center of mass (actually slightly in front, but does not becoem fully weight bearing until it is directly underneath). This means that the front leg's center of mass will have to move backward during the flight phase towards the body's center of mass before making contact with the ground. Consequently, this means the trail leg will also have to move towards the body's center of mass while in flight.

I see recreational runners (heel-strikers mostly) with the trail leg way behind the body through the whole flight phase. For them, bringing the trail leg under the body's center of mass before landing will reduce breaking forces (including shin-splint inducing forces) and cause them to run faster and more fluently.

Foot Strike and Stance

In efficient running, again, the foot strikes the ground almost directly under the body's center of mass. In truth, it becomes fully weight bearing directly under the body's center of mass. So, when the front foot is about to touch the ground a portion of that leg will actually be in behind the imaginary plane (vertical from the body's center of mass) and a portion will still be in front of it. Therefore, the trail leg should have a portion of it in front of that imaginary plane before the foot strike occurs with only part of it remaining behind the center of mass. So the knee, the lower femur, and upper shin should be in front of the plane and the lower calf, foot, and upper femur and glutes should be behind.

This is the relationship between the legs in running at a CONSTANT speed: the center of mass of one leg should be exactly as far in front of the body's center of mass as the other leg is behind it at any given time during all phases of the running cycle.

During GRADUALLY ACCELERATING speed: the center of mass of one leg should be slightly MORE in front of the the body's center of mass as the other leg is behind it. OR, the center of mass of the trail leg should be slightly LESS behind the body's center of mass as the front leg is in front of it at any given time.

During GRADUALLY DECELERATING speed: the center of mass of one leg should be slightly LESS in front of the center of mass as the other leg is behind it. OR the center of mass of the trail leg should be slightly MORE behind the body's center of mass as the front eg is in front of it at any given time. This is why fatigued hip flexors and a tired core - which causes a delay in the initiation of the recovery of the trail leg - leads to a shorter stride and fatigued hamstrings.

The relationship between the two legs in running (Part 1 of 2)

2011-05-19T12:21:00.015-04:00

Demonstration/Experiment:
Stand up straight and disect your body down the side to divide the front half of your body from the back half. This imaginary division should run perpendicular to the ground (straight vertical) and travel through your body's actual center of mass. Exactly half of your body's mass is behind this plane, and the other half is in front.

In the figure to the left, the red dots are joints and the yellow dot is the flexible portion of the thoracic spine just under the rib cage. I've made the stomach and chest cavity a bit thicker than the arms and legs to represent the fact that they contain more mass relative to their length.

When you lift the knee (like the knee drive in running) your whole leg moves in front of that plane (figure left). When it does, the mass of that leg changes your whole body's center of mass (from the line under the blue dot, to the line under the yellow dot) so that you fall forward. If you don't want to fall forward, then you are forced move an equal amount of mass backwards to act as a counterweight. If you remain balanced above the same point over the foot, that mass has to come from your torso. The leg moved forward, part of the torso moved backward, and the balance point remained the same.

This is what happens when the body is balanced ABOVE a ground-based"anchor" (the body's source of stability). But when you are flying through space, as in running, there is no ground based anchor. The "anchor" becomes the body's center of mass and it is located just below the ribcage when standing straight.

So let's go through the above experiment again, but this time, instead of standing on the ground, anchor yourself near the center of mass just below the ribs. If you have a roman chair (for abdominal exercises) you can suspend yourself on the elbows while your feet dangle below.

In this model (figure left), the axis point is not the foot, but it is the center of the body. So when the knee is lifted and the mass of the leg moves forward, the whole body rotates forward. Everything below the axis of rotation moves backwards (hips, legs) while everything above the axis moves forward (chest, shoulders, arms, head). For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

From this position (one knee lifted and the other leg straight in line with the body while anchored by the body's center of mass), there is only one way to get the torso to be straight up and down again. That is to move the mass of the other leg an equal distance behind the torso as the first leg is in front.

In this last picture, the line under the blue dot is the center of mass for teh whole body while the lines under the yellow dots represent the center of mass of each leg (from the foot to the hip on each leg). Notice how the torso is vertical and the centers of mass of each leg are equidistant from the center of mass for the whole body. Since the figure is anchored at his body's center of mass (yellow dot under the elbow), the vertical position of the torso is completely dependent upon the centers of mass of each leg being equal distances from the vertical line under the blue dot.

Stay tuned to find out how this relationship applies to running.

Moving from "Proper" and "Right" to Understanding How the System Works

2011-05-19T11:45:00.004-04:00

So I was on the Runners World forums the other day and I posed a question just to see how it would go over. The question was essentially designed to see if anyone understood the principles of running movements. I don't want to post the whole question here, but I'll give three different questions that kind of summarize what I was trying to get across. Basically, "what does the leg NOT on the ground offer to the one that IS on the ground?" Or "How do they relate to one another?" Or "What goal is the leg touching the ground supposed to be achieving and how does the other leg (and the rest of the body) assist that purpose? No one who responded to my inquiry knew or had any idea.

The most common response I got was "You're overthinking it." But no one could actually answer the question with any understanding. One response included this: "Try to be efficient with your form and things should work themselves out."

I know there is credence to the idea that our bodies will become more efficient on their own, but really?

There seems to be a lack of foundation in the running community. Ask anyone about running form and they will tell you what you "should" do or what is "proper from." But ask them why it is proper and no one seems to know. If they did know, they would proceed to tell you the purpose of that movement, which is exactly what I'm trying to figure out.

In the next post I'll answer my own question. Stay tuned.

A Strong, Flexible Spine

2011-05-04T15:37:00.003-04:00

If a genuinely new technique is to be discovered in running it is going to be important to challenge conventional wisdom and widely accepted thought. For example, I have been studying cheetahs and, most of the experts agree, cheetahs are fast because fo their flexible spine which adds spring into each stride. But in speaking of people, they say we do not have a flexible spine. Or do we... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NckIdFl9Is
I found this video on youtube. Instead of saying we don't have a flexible spine, maybe it is more accurate to say we don't know how to utilize a flexible spine.
According to the following video (refer to minute 2:33), "runners need powerful leg muscles for long strides. The muscles bring the leg down hard launching the runner into the air."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-zcA_mOa94
Ouch! Can anyone say, "Shin-splints?"
Yet in the same video, Scott Edwards, Ph.D., a professor at Harvard, says that cheetahs don't, and can't, get their power in the same way. He says cheetah's legs are too light and fragile to do it that way. He goes on to say cheetahs carry 60% of their muscle mass on their spine. In other words, they have light legs with a freakishly strong core that mobilizes their flexible spine.
(refer to minute 2:55).
I say, if cheetahs are faster than we are, maybe we should be trying to lighten our legs and load up on our core strength in order to achieve a power output from the flexibility of the spine instead of by "bringing the leg down hard." If a centralized spring helps the cheetah achieve 75mph, maybe it can help us break 35 or 40.

Three Limits to the Fastest Mile

2011-04-23T12:15:00.004-04:00

Around the time of the summer Olympics, people turn their attention to athleticism and begin to ask questions like, "What is the fastest mile possible?" In the early 1950's doctors believed it to be physically impossible to run under a 4 minute mile without one's heart exploding. Yet, Roger Bannister accomplished this feat in 1954. Once news about his feat got to Europe, there were at least 3 others who also broke the 4 minute barrier within a few weeks of his historic run. Today the projected limit is based on a graph that plots the world record times over the last 100 years. The curve of the line suggests that mankind will max out his potential near 3:39, just 4 seconds faster than the current world record. Is it possible to go faster? And I mean significantly faster. Like under 3:30, or even under 3:20!

There are three main factors that limit a person's maximum speed for the mile. They are technique, conditioning, and body type - which consists of things such as height and leg length.

Since body type is genetic and unable to be changed intentionally, we'll disregard it for now. That leaves us with technique, and conditioning. For the most part, the technique runners have used over the last 100 years has remained the same. Use the core to stabilize, the hips and legs to mobilize, and the arms to counterbalance. So taking that out of the equation as well, we have only conditioning to consider. And this is where 99% of our effort has been focused as athletes, coaches, and trainers. The question nearly every strength and conditioning coach and researcher has asked, and the one that is taking millions of dollars in research every year at major universities as well as Olympic training facilities is in regards to conditioning is, "How can we train our bodies to become faster, stronger, and utilize oxygen better?"

But, with advances in technology and the greatest athletic minds coming together on this subject over the last few decades, I believe we are reaching the limit of physical conditioning as well as is indicated by the fact that we are so close to the projected fastest possible mile.

So here are the facts.

1.With Olympics being held every four years since 1896, we have attracted the greatest athletes and most genetically diverse athletes together to find the best the world has to offer. We are probably not going to find a better suited miler without going to another planet since we currently have access to all the nations of the world.

2. With the best technology for optimizing training and recovery, we're near the limit of human physical conditioning.

3. We have been using essentially the same running technique for the last 100 years.

It is my belief that if we are to achieve a world record mile that is significantly faster than what we project to be the limit of human potential, it will be by focusing our efforts to a running style that is fundamentally different than the current paradigm; legs to mobilize, core to stabilize, arms to counterbalance.

It is my intent to discover a better technique that is not just a refinement of an old one, but is actually brand new and essentially different than the formula we use now... Core to stabilize, Hips and legs to mobilize, Arms to counterbalance.

A New Focus for the Blog

2011-04-21T13:55:00.004-04:00

Hello, faithful followers!!! All... 3 of you.
It's been over 18 months since my last post. Since then I've moved to Texas, and changed my focus from health/fitiness to competitive running. It entered my heart last year to pick up my love for sports performance again, and found myself spending a considerable amount of time thinking about a better way to run. Not just a refinement of our current methods, but something brand new and unique to modern athletics. Below is a journal entry from last year when I really began to believe this was possible.

To complete a mile at a world record pace of 3:43, a runner must maintain an average speed of about 16.5 miles per hour or roughly 55.75 seconds per lap around a standard quarter mile track. To most of us this seems fast, but is this really such a great achievement?

In the book of 2^nd Samuel in the Bible there is a story of a young man named Asahel. The story says, “Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle. And Asahel pursued Abner…Then Abner looked behind him and said, ‘Is it you, Asahel?’ And he answered, ‘It is I.’ Abner said to him, ‘Turn aside from following me…’ But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died where he was.”

From a physiological standpoint, two things jump out at me in this story. First notice they were talking to each other. So they were not sprinting at maximum speed or they wouldn’t have been able to have a conversation. Second notice that Asahel died by the butt end of the spear, not the sharp end, and it went all the way through his back. Maybe it's just me, but from the story I get the impression that Abner simply stopped suddenly and let Asahel’s momentum carry him through a stationary spear. I’m not sure if many people realize just how strong abdominal muscle is (or any muscle for that matter) and just what kind of force is required to penetrate it even with a sharp object, let alone a blunt one. But, it is notable. In the narrative there is not enough information to calculate the speed at which they were both running, but even a conservative estimate is well over 20 mph (again, while holding a conversation).

Then the next questions are, if Abner was carrying a spear, what other armor or weights were they carrying as well? And how far had Abner run before Asahel caught up to him enough to be within ear-shot?

Besides other Biblical stories of great runners there are legends of ancient Greeks who would cover 140 miles in a day wearing armor, or stories of men who would run so fast at the coliseum their legs became translucent like the blades of a spinning fan. Ladas of Argos was famous for being so light footed that he didn't leave tracks in dirt. And his speed, as the incription on his statue says, "was demoniac, nor could it even be described." Today, we just dismiss these legends as exaggerations. After all, they were probably even unbelievable in their own day to eye-witnesses. But what if the stories are not exaggerations? What if there is simply no one in the public eye today that knows this lost art of running? And what would we think if we were to see it in our modern day?

MomentumBootcamp.com

2009-09-30T13:17:00.002-04:00

MomentumBootcamp.com

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The 24 Day Challenge

2009-07-30T20:23:00.005-04:00

The facts in the previous article would probably seem unbelieveable to many people. To think a person could lose 9 lbs of fat every month for 30 months, and others could lose over 100lbs in less than a year (and keep it off), is not something you usually hear unless it is accompanied by the words *Results Not Typical* in small print.
Well, understanding that human nature is to believe only what is within a normal range of what is commonly accepted, and to reject things that are outrageously better than what is normal, some Advocare advisors put together a program called "The 24 Day Challenge."

This challenge consists of a 10 day herbal cleanse (using the Advocare herbal cleanse, Omegaplex, and Spark energy drink), followed by another 14 days using a selection of their weight loss products (meal replacement drink, MNS Max3, and continuing to use Spark).
Amazing results have been pouring in from dozens of people who claim to have "more energy from the first day" and, "just felt like running up the stairs two at a time (and I'm 57) and wanted to do it again!" Many are losing up to 10 lbs or more during the first 10 days (not all fat, of course, since it is a "cleanse"), and at least 5 more the last 14 days. The challenge is designed entirely to prove one thing: The Products Work.

If you believe these claims are unfounded or unreasonable, they challenge you to invest 24 days into something that is guaranteed (or your money back) to change your life.
Give it a try. Go to http://www.the24daychallenge.com/ to find out more, then visit this site to get started.

A Good Source of Nutrition

2009-07-19T15:38:00.011-04:00

After reading the last few posts, you're probably thinking, "I wish I could get the nutrients I need to become a fat-burner."
Well, you are in luck. Dr. Robert Hackman and Dr. Carl Keen are professors at the University of California Davis (the number 1 nutritional institution in the world) and are on a panel with seven other highly accredited nutrition researchers, pharmacists, nephrologists, and so on that have developed the highest quality of nutritional supplements on the planet (see them here) . They know what your body needs, in what amounts, and in combination with which other nutrients to be the best absorbablity and useability. Once they developed the recipe, they searched for the highest quality of those ingredients known. The result is a line of nutritional supplements that is now officially in 32 out of 32 NFL locker rooms, spread through numerous division I university athletic programs, and is only really unknown to the general public. Research them for yourself at:
my advocare site
(click on the product line that interests you).

If you are looking for nutrients that can change the way your body metabolizes fat, check out the MNS (Metabolic-Nutrient-System), Slim, Meal Replacement Shakes, and Catalyst.

-MNS is formulated to help eliminate cravings for sweets, soft drinks, and high carb foods while increasing energy and metabolizing fat.

-Slim will balance you between meals and increase energy levels. It pushes fat into the mitochondria (how energy gets to muscles) to be used for long lasting energy.

-Meal Replacement Shakes boost metabolism by 30% if used as a breakfast replacement.

-Catalyst is a mixture of Amino Acids that preserve muscle mass as you burn fat and lose weight.

People who use these supplements often lose close to 9 lbs of fat per month (up to 15) until they are done. One person has done that for 2 and a half years (30 months) and is down 283 lbs. Numerous others are down 100 lbs or more after less than a year. Best of all, the products are guaranteed. If you don't like them, or if they don't work (they'll work), send them back for a full refund.Go shopping at www.advocare.com/09071209.

Fat Suluable Vitamins

2009-07-19T14:45:00.004-04:00

Have you ever been told that LDL cholesterol is bad cholesterol and HDL is good cholesterol? According to Jack Challem, author of "Syndrome X" and "The Inflammation Syndrome," both are good. That's right, LDL cholesterol is also good cholesterol. In fact, LDL plays a vital role by absorbing fat soluable vitamins like vitamin E and transporting it into fat cells.
You might be objecting in your mind saying, "If LDL is good, why do people with high LDL get heart attacks?" That's a valid question, and the answer is because the LDL cholesterol has become oxidized. Oxidized LDL is very bad. Your body doesn't recognize it and begins attacking it with your white blood cells in order to destroy it. This causes inflammation and ultmiately turns both the oxidized LDL and the white blood cells into "waste" that needs to be flushed from your body. It is this waste, mostly comprised of oxidized LDL cholesterol, that gets stuck to arteries and causes heart attacks, not good healthy un-oxidized LDL. LDL cholesterol is good, and it is vital to transporting fat soluable vitamins into fat cells for storage.

Fat cells are like balloons that contain vital nutrients. When you burn fat, the balloon gets popped and releases those nutrients that are stored within.

So, think about this for a moment. If you are a sugar-burner then only a very small amount of your daily energy production comes from fat. If you are using almost no fat for energy and most of the energy that goes into physical activity comes from sugar, how are you supposed to use the fat soluable vitamins that are being stored inside fat cells? You don't.

Vitamin A, D, E, and K are fat soluable vitamins. People who burn sugar and not fat as their primary fuel source might not actually be deficient in these vitamins, yet may be experiencing the symptoms of minor deficiencies [like cracked and dry skin (A,E), poor night vision(A), drowsiness in the daytime (A,D), leaching minerals from bones (D), nose bleeds (K)] simply because the abundance of these vitamins in the body are inaccesible. Nothing major like Rickets (a vitamin D deficiency) but still annoying.
Becoming a fat burner will help you to release these nutrients into your body and you will suddenly not be experiencing symptoms of such deficiencies. Particularly, you will feel much less drowsy and fatigued during the daytime. Also, these higher energy levels, along with being well nourished from all those vitamins, will lead to a decrease in appetite as your body is no longer telling you to deal with a deficiency.

Stored Energy vs. Useable Energy continued...

2009-07-19T14:36:00.003-04:00

As mentioned in the previous article, the human body is designed for both prosperous times and times of famine. In times of famine, the main fuel source is sugar, and in times of prosperity the main fuel source is fat. The way your body determines whether it is a time of prosperity or famine is not by how much you have in your refrigerator, unfortunately. It is not even based on how many or how few calories you take in as some teach. It is actually based on the abundance (or lack) of building blocks (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, amino acids, etc.) that are present in your body. If you can load your body up with the nutrients that you lack, it will change from famine-mode to prosperity-mode and begin using fat as its primary fuel source.

Far too many people have only been told that vitamins are important and have not been educated on botanicals, phytochemicals, or amino acids. Vitamins will help you to not get sick in most cases (if the vitamins consumed are absorbable. Lab produced vitamins have about a 2% absorption rate.) But the other building blocks, especially amino acids and botanicals will transform you from a sugar-burner to a fat-burner.

Besides gaining fat, and being unable to lose it, there are other unfortunate problems associated with being a sugar burner which we'll talk about next...

Stored Energy vs. Useable Energy

2009-07-16T11:40:00.005-04:00

Imagine a car. The gas tank is full of fuel which is in an un-useable state. And thank God, otherwise you would turn the key, the spark plug would spark, and you would be toast! Attached to the gas tank there is a hose that takes small amounts of fuel to the engine. We'll call this an energy pathway. That hose turns stored energy into useable energy.
In your body, the same model applies. Fat is energy. Even very skinny individuals contain at least 8 to 10 pounds of fat on their bodies. This 8 to 10 pounds is enough energy to fuel a runner for about 30 hours. Imagine how long a person could run on 80 to 100lbs of fat! About 300 hours! (of course other factors apply such as muscular endurance and electrolyte replacement, but even those factors outlast sugar stores on a temperate day).
Compare this to using sugar as energy. Surely you see marathoners drinking gatorade and other sugary energy drinks during their race to keep them going. Even well trained athletes can only contain about 1 pound of sugar within all their muscles. That's enough for about an hour and 30 minutes of continuous, high intensity running.
But if so much energy exists in the form of fat, why do people run out of juice during something as short as a marathon? Or even just a half marathon? Or a day at the office? Because your body has told the energy pathway that takes stored energy and converts it into useable energy to close off mostly and only converts a very small amount of fat into useable energy. Why did this happen?
The human body is designed for both prosperous times and times of famine. In times of famine, the main fuel source is sugar. This is a much less efficient source of energy and will keep a person less motivated to use energy and more motivated to store energy. The result is that you desire to exercise less, you desire to eat more, and in this way your body increases its stored energy to preserves itself in the famine.
The problem is, there's no famine!

With small changes and additions to the things you eat (that's right, additions, not subtractions. Diet's only add to the problem), you can change your body from being a sugar burner to being a fat burner. The result is a constant supply of energy all day, every day. Imagine actually feeling like you want to move around and exercise. Imagine your body being fueled with more energy, more clarity of thinking, and no food cravings on even less food than you normally eat. You won't eat less to lose weight, you'll eat less because you're being nourished by long lasting energy stores.

Weight loss won't slow down over time because you won't be burning muscle as with caloric restrictive diets. It's all fat. Typical results are 6 to 10 pounds per month, every month until you're done.

Later I will try to include some details about how this is done. Feel free to contact me if you would like to start right away, or would like to learn more.

Progressive Weight Loss

2009-06-11T19:30:00.006-04:00

Recently I have found myself traveling north out of Indy on US 31 N. About half way to Kokomo there is a billboard that is green and white and has a picture of a woman wearing the doctor's garb. The billboard says, "How much weight can I lose in 6 weeks?" Everytime I pass it I just think to myself, "Quite a bit, but the better question is, how many times will I have to lose that same weight in the next 6 years?"

Everyone has a little storage tank inside of them labeled "Will-Power." The energy from that tank can be drawn upon as often as needed for about six weeks until it is bone dry. Of course, outside motivation can extend the life-span of that storage tank by slowing down the rate of consumption, but for the most part, it is very short term.

What are your weight loss goals? You can probably lose quite a bit of weight in only 6 weeks, but can you get all the way to your goals in that amount of time? Doubtful. So here's a question: What do you do 6 weeks down the road when you've lost 15 lbs (optimistically) and your "will-power stores" are depleted? The answer: Whatever the heck your body tells you it wants you to do. Binge, go for the cookies, lie on the couch, skip your personal training session, don't go to the gym, stay home from the pool, park close to the door at the grocery, etc. Probably what you were doing before you decided you needed to make some changes, but this time in greater excess. And what's worse, you feel guilty about it this time. It's like fighting against a tether that is anchored somewhere you don't want to be. The harder you pull, and the farther from that anchor you get, the harder it is to maintain.

Rather than going down that road, let me suggest something that is safe, natural, highly effective, scientifically backed, and money-back guaranteed to help you reach your goals. In fact, I have so much confidence in it that if it doesn't work for you, you can return the empty box(es) for a full refund. Let JMYB help you with a nutrition plan that includes products from the Advocare Trim Line that will actually change the things your body wants by giving it what it lacks. Instead of stretching your bungee and increasing the stress you feel as you grow farther from where your body wants you to be, how about a proven, guaranteed, east-to-follow fat loss regimine that will move that anchor closer to where you want it to be. That way, even if you "fail" and slip back into old habits (which is rare with these products), you will fall to a higher valley that is not nearly as unhealthy or unbalanced as the old one. From there it will be even easier to do it again and make even more progress.

How many diets have you done in your life? Two? Five? Ten or more? And how many times have you failed? All but one if your on a diet now. What if every one of those "diet-fail" cycles took you closer to health and not farther from it? After two to five years you would be the picture of health! You work hard on your body. But there's an easier solution. Give your body what it needs and it will stop craving what you do not want to give it.

What I do offer is similar to rock climbing with a rope. Climbing without a rope leaves you lower than your starting place when you fall and plant yourself in the rocks below. But with a safety rope you can only fall to higher stages. Eventually you'll reach the top. Each time you "fail" you'll be elated to realize that now, "This is the worst it gets, ever again!" And it's so much better than you were before.

So, how much weight can you lose in 6 weeks? Let me ask a better question. Are you willing to try something new to prevent you from having to lose that weight again and again over the next 6 years or more?

Dopamine: the Feel-Good Neurotransmitter

2009-06-09T22:00:00.003-04:00

I just finished a short study on dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps you to feel good. Imagine coming home from a very long day of work. Do you usually feel exhausted and want to do anything but think or move? Or do you want to go for a run and do some yard work? If you are in the first category, you are probably low in dopamine.

Dopamine is produced from four major substances; two amino acids called tyrosine and phenylalanine, a B3 vitamin, and it's active coenzyme counterpart, NADH. Without going into the details of how it all works out (study the Krebs cycle if you like), take this simple advice.

1. Don't neglect meat. Vitamin B3 is high in almost any kind of meat you can think of from fish, to poultry to cattle.

2. Get some nuts, leafy greens, and dairy.

3. Eat much less bread. Only about a 1 to 1 ratio between bread and beans & legumes.

Try making a new food pyramid for yourself with the bottom categories being beans, legumes, and vegetables, the middle categories being meat, poultry and dairy, the top categories being fruit and grains, and the cap being anything packaged, processed, man-made, refined or tampered with.

More info is available if needed. Let me know.

Symptoms vs. Actual Causes

2009-06-01T20:30:00.001-04:00

Look around. What do you see? The world is growing larger around the mid-section, heart attacks are occurring in younger and younger individuals, hospitals are growing into multi-million dollar facilities in a multi-billion dollar industry. Where are they getting all their money? Could it be, perhaps, that the medical industry is not designed to look for cures to health problems but only ways to keep people healthy enough that they can come back year after year?

Look at drug commercials. Aside from all the disclaimers about how you may die from this drug, the bottom of the screen will say something about how it treats symptoms. A symptom is something that happens as a result of a disease. If, for example, something called a "Poisonous fruit-bush" existed, we would say the fruit it bears is a symptom of the fact that the tree is alive and is being fed by the soil and sunlight. The existence of this bush is proven by the fact that it produces poisonous fruit. Rather than treating the symptom by trying to pluck the fruit off of it every spring before it ripens, a better way to make sure fruit never comes back is to cut the bush down. Yet, drugs are being sold to treat cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, and other prominent symptoms so that the underlying cause can keep you coming back time and time again.

My name is Jeff, and I am a Wellness Consultant. While I am not a doctor and do not have a license to practice medicine, I can spot a symptom when I see one. Two of the biggest symptoms I see on a daily basis, and the two I want to help you to overcome, are food cravings and fatigue. I want to help people lose weight, get in shape, and become healthy and happy individuals. But to do that, I have to help you to eliminate the cause of your weight, not the symptoms.

Some of you have, no doubt, been to the doctor for your weight problems. What did he say? "Eat less, drink more fluids, and exercise." Yet, not too long after you begin taking his advice your body starts saying to you, "EAT MORE!" and "EXERCISE LESS!" Your desire to eat more and exercise less is NOT due to a lack of will-power or because you are lazy! Your body's cry for food is a SYMPTOM of a greater problem. It cries out for food because it knows the answer to its problem is going to come from food. The problem is, which foods contain what your body is looking for? In an effort to get what it needs, it causes you to crave food, and does not stop craving until your stomach is full, or until it has what it needs. If you continue to resist the cravings, your body will cry louder and louder until it wins and you binge.

JMYB Fitness wants to help you with a nutrition plan that will make your body cry out "EXERCISE MORE! I LOVE IT!!!" and "I'M DONE EATING NOW! I HAVE WHAT I NEED!"

When you want to work out, you will. When you want to rest, you will. When you want to eat, you will, and when you want to stop eating, you will. Will-power or self discipline is only powerful enough to help you in the short term. But if you want long term results that will be with you in 10, 20, and 30 years, you need to find out what is causing your body to say, "EAT" and "REST," and deal with that issue. If your body WANTS to do the healthy thing, you will increase your success rate from "near impossible to succeed" to "near impossible to fail."