What does exercise do for lipid profiles?

With America as whole largely (no pun intended) becoming more unhealthy, it is important for you as an individual to take charge of your own health.  And more importantly so, take action in terms of preventative medicine.  If you car about money you will care about this.  Preventative health care is a huge money saver and is even becoming popular in the insurance business.  Anyways back to the important stuff, lipid profiles.  Lipid profiles are basically the amount of fat that you carry in your blood.  So what, right?  Well increased fat in the blood, especially bad cholesterol is a huge risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD).

Keep the following notes in mind when reading the next few paragraphs.  The reason for using endurance athletes as the prime example for displaying the benefits of exercise on lipid profiles is to demonstrate that the benefits reaped from exercise for lipid profiles are almost exclusively related to AEROBIC exercise.  Also, it will be beneficial to mention the difference of LDL and HDL cholesterol so that you have a better understanding of why one is bad and why one is good.  LDL, the bad cholesterol, is responsible for delivering cholesterol to peripheral tissues that need it to synthesize steroid hormones.  However, the problem with LDL is that it is not very selective as to which tissue it takes this cholesterol to.  This is a problem because it can dump the cholesterol basically wherever it wants, that being the arteries or things like that.  HDL on the other hand, is the good cholesterol.  HDL is responsible for picking up cholesterol from the peripheral tissues and transport it back to the liver so the liver can get rid of it.

Endurance trained athletes have lower total cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) than the average person.  However, this is probably largely due to body composition (low body fat) and /or eating habits of these athletes rather than the actually exercise itself.  These athletes also have lower blood triglycerides (fat in the blood).  This is due to the fact that exercise is directly related to the increased enzymatic activity of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) which is responsible for the initiation steps of muscle cells to take up fatty acids.  It is important to note that when it comes to exercise and lipid profiles there are two types of people.  There are the responders and the non-responders. That being said, some people's lipid profiles show remarkable improvement with the implementation of a structured exercise regime, however, there are also those people, who no matter how much they exercise, their lipid profiles will remain unchanged.

The amount and type of exercise that is needed in attempts to change lipid profiles for the better is solely dependent on duration and volume as opposed to intensity.  To see improved lipid values, exercise should be performed for a minimum of 12 weeks with caloric expenditure due to exercise totals 1200-2200 kcals per week.  Triglyceride changes should be expected to be within the 5-38mg/dL range and the HDL changes should be expected to be within the 2-8mg/dL range.  The range for HDL changes seems rather low.  However, it is important to note that a 1mg/dL increase in HDL or a 1mg/dL increase in LDL can decrease or increase, respectively ones risk of CHD by 2-3%.  That being said, the range of 2-8mg/dL change in HDL that exercise offers, potentially allows oneself to decrease his/her risk of CHD by 4%-24% which is truly incredible!

While this blog was simple and short, I hope it gives you a little more insight into how exercise can help you to better your lipid profiles, and how bettering your lipid profiles can greatly decrease your risk of CHD!

Greek Yogurt Recipes

Do you like yogurt?  Well if the answer is yes, you need to be aware of what kinds of yogurt you are eating.  Most yogurts in the grocery store, all brands, contain a large amount of sugar and processed items within the yogurt.  Even the low calorie yogurts are guilty of this.  While you look at the fact that you are only eating 90 calories worth of yogurt, the quality of the calories are not so good. Ninety calories worth of sugar and 90 calories of protein are not created equal in the world of fat loss.  So, ideally we would want 90 calories worth of protein in our yogurt.   Well guess what, its already done for us.  Greek yogurt is a more protein dense yogurt than that of the typical other leading yogurts.  It is also important to look at the labels of the variety of  Greek yogurts these days, because they now include additions with fruit and processed fruits containing large amounts of sugar as well.  So am I asking you to eat plain, unflavored, greek yogurt?  Yes, I am.  However, I am going to give a variety of different ways to "spice" up your greek yogurt while keeping the additional sugar calories at bay.

Recipe #1 - Chocolate "Pudding" Greek Yogurt
Because greek yogurt is a little thicker than traditional yogurt, it has the consistency of more of a pudding rather than a yogurt.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 scoop protein powder (chocolate)
- 1 tbsp Cocoa powder
- 1-2 tbsp stevia
- 6oz greek yogurt (unflavored)

Mix al together in a serving bowl and enjoy.

Recipe #2:  "French Toast" Yogurt
Ingredients:
- 6 -10 Capella Drops, French Toast flavor
- 1/2 cup of Wheat Bran
- cinnamon
- 2 tbsp milled flax seed
- 6 oz greek yogurt
- stevia

Recipe #3: "Almond Crunch" Yogurt
Ingredients:
- stevia
- cinnamon
- 28g blended almonds
- 6 oz greek yogurt

Recipe #4 French Vanilla Yogurt
Ingredients:
- Capella drops - French vanilla flavor
- 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
- cinnamon
- 6 oz greek yogurt

4th of July HIIT

No Mercy

1.  Lap around the gym
2. 90 seconds jump rope
3. Lap around the gym
4. 20 Jump Squats using step
5. Lap around the gym
6. 15 Burpees
7. Lap Around the gym
24 Skiers
7. 30 Russian Twists with Ball

Repeat 3 times...

It looks simple, fun and easy but after round one you will be second guessing the fun and easy part!

Hot sauce, mustard, and other low/no calorie condiments...

Hot sauce, mustard, and other low/no calorie condiments...

I don't think people truly understand how many calories they are actually consuming in their condiments alone.  And by condiments I mean mayo, ketchup, honey mustard, barbeque sauce, steak sauce, glazes, jellies, syrups, salad dressings and things like that.  The problem with giving a list like that is that most people can find one of two things not on it and then justify the use of those items because they aren't on the list.  If in doubt, throw it out.  That's what I always say.  If there is a questionable food item, whether you are unsure of its nutritional value or health value, or even if you are unsure if it has spoiled or not, just err on the side of caution and throw it away.

Now, back to our discussion about condiments.  There was recently an episode of Freaky Eaters on Discovery Fit and Health television about a man who ate maple syrup.  Yes, he only ate maple syrup.  The therapists gradually introduced him to being able to put maple syrup on more nutritional foods and then made the jump for him to try other things to put on foods such as sauces and dips.  In this case, the alternative for him, other dips and sauces, was much more nutritional than his usual choice of maple syrup.  While it may be hard for you to fathom that someone only ate maple syrup, just think about what you are putting into your body when you use all of the condiments and additions to your food.  Now that is something that I cannot fathom.  All of the ingredients in those condiments and food additives are absolutely disgusting and repulsive.  They have a wide variety of ingredients that are positively unhealthy and the other variety of ingredients I have no idea what they are.  Why would you eat something that you don't know what it is?!  Not to mention the ungodly amounts of sugar they all contain.  Some additives are more sugary and some are more fattening, however, neither one is better than the other.

I write this short blog and rant about condiments because I realized I had posted some pictures and alternatives to the traditional condiments but I didn't really write anything about why I posted the pictures. Basically, I just can't believe what people are putting in their bodies'.  More importantly, I just can't believe how much they are putting in their bodies'.  Years ago people used the same horrible ingredients but not as many people were morbidly obese.  Why is that?  Well, people began to have an aversion to the healthy foods by way of going for the tastier, cheaper and more unhealthy processed foods.  They then began to eat these foods in abundance thus resulting in increased obesity and morbidly obese individuals.  Not to scare anyone, but I really hope you will reconsider your condiment choices.

Quadzilla

Here is a random leg workout for all to enjoy.  

Random Leg Workout (QuadFocus)

Warm up with 5 – 10 minutes light cardiovascular exercise.

1.     Barbell squats or smith machine squats: 20, 15, 12, 10, 10, 10

2.     Barbell lunges: 30 (15 per leg) x 4

3.     Leg Press: pyramid set (start with a light to moderate weight, perform 10 reps, go up in weight, perform another 10 reps, go up in weight one last time, and then back down to the second increase for ten reps, then back down to the starting weight for ten reps and that is one set) x 3

4.     Leg extensions: pyramid set like the one described above x 3

5.     Leg curls: heavy weight 10 reps x 8

6.     Leg press (close v-stance): to failure x 2

Captain America

So recently at school, we were required to design a workout program for a specific athlete or super-hero of choice.  I chose Captain America to design a short workout program for.  The following is an snippet of the project that I would like to share and a workout that I believe you all will enjoy!  The workout is rather difficult, however, its over arching goals are general.  That being said it is designed for an all around athlete with developmental characteristics than an athlete would need.  Hope you all enjoy this workout!  Give me feed back if you end up trying it out.

Week 1 (Upper Body Emphasis)

Monday

-       Begin with a warm-up of jump rope for 5 – 10 minutes

-       Circuit 1 (repeated 3-5 times)

o   Plyo box jump to pull up (20 reps)

o   Clean and Press (20 reps)

o   Jumping Jacks (50 reps)

-       Circuit 2 (repeated 3-5 times)

o   Superman push ups (20 reps)

o   Body weight rows on TRX trainer (20 reps)

o   Monkey bars (2 minutes)

-       Circuit 3 (repeated 3 -5 times)

o   Walking pushups (20 reps)

o   Pull ups (20 reps)

o   Russian Twist (2 minutes)

-       Circuit 4 (repeat 3 times)

o   Running Pull-up

o   Hindu Push up

o   Tabata bodyweight squats (20 seconds as fast as possible, 10 seconds rest, repeated 8 times for a total of 4 minutes)

Wednesday

-     Begin with a 5 – 10 minute jog

-       Circuit 1 (repeated 6 times)

o   100 meter sprints with parachute

o   20 walking lunges

o   1 min plank

-       Circuit 2 (repeated 5 times)

o   Tabata body weight squats

o   Stationary lunges with DB

o   KB swings

-       Circuit 3 (repeat 5 -6 times)

o   5 hill runs

o   20 walking lunges

o   Bear crawl 50 yards

-       Circuit 4 (repeat 2 -3 times)

o   Jump rope 5 min

o   15 burpees

o   Hanging leg raises

o   Try no to vomit (repeat as needed)

Friday

-       Begin with 5 – 10 min shadow boxing warm-up

-       ** Each circuit repeat 3 – 5 times

-       Circuit 1

o   Clean and press (20 reps)

o   Bosu ball push ups

o    Wide grip pull up

-       Circuit 2

o   Under hand close grip pull up (20 reps)

o   Clapping push ups (20 reps)

o   Hanging leg raises (20 reps)

-       Circuit 3

o   Step ups (upper body) – (20 reps)

o   Halos (15 R/L)

o   Burpees (10 reps)

o   Mountain climber (1 minute)

-       Circuit 4

o   Wall ball (2 minutes)

o   Russian twist

o   Hyper extensions

o   TRX body weight row

Week 2 (lower Body emphasis)

Monday

-       Begin with jump rope warm up

**All circuits for this day are to be repeated 4-5 times.

-       Circuit 1

o   Box jumps

o   Step ups

o   Plank hold (1 minute)

-       Circuit 2

o   Tabata body weight squats

o   Duck walk

o   Shadow boxing (2 minute)

-       Circuit 3

o   Stair run (3 flights)

o   Wall sit

o   Back down stairs

o   Russian Twist

-       Circuit 4

o   100 meter sprints (with a parachute or resistance) with 30 sec rests

Wednesday

-       Being with shadow boxing warm-up (5 – 10 Minutes)

-       Circuit 1 (repeat 3-5 times)

o   Machine rower 100 meters

o   Close stance push ups (20)

o   V-ups (30 – 50 reps)

-       Circuit 2 (repeat 3 -5 times)

o   Walking push ups

o   TRX bodyweight row

o   Hanging leg raises

-       Circuit 3 (repeat 3 -5 times)

o   Overhead barbell Press

o   Machine rower (2 minutes)

o   Mountain climber (1 minute)

-       Circuit 4

o   Push ups to failure

o   Pull ups to failure

Friday

-       warm up with 5 minute of jump rope

-       Circuit 1 (repeat 3 – 5 times)

o   Deadlift (20 reps)

o   Hindu squat

o   Incline crunches (30 reps)

-       Circuit 2 (repeat 3 – 5 times)

o   Running against resistance bands (20 reps)

o   Weighted squats (20 reps)

o   Russian twist (50 twists)

-       Circuit 3 (Repeat 3 – 5 times)

o   Pistol squats 12 each leg

o   Bear crawl (100 feet)

o   Duck walk (100 feet)

-       Circuit 4 (repeat 2 times)

o   Hill run

o   Tabata bodyweight squats

-       Finish the workout with a parachute run to failure 

FRESHMAN FIFTEEN!

Now that I am coming up on the of my undergraduate career I thought it would be a good time to look back on these three years and assess a few things. At the beginning of college I was frantic about gaining the infamous freshman 15 or even now I think it's the freshman 20! That is gaining relatively a large amount of weight in college! However, I would like to present to you my experience with the freshman 15. I weighed in at 108 pounds at 14.3% body fat the dat before I started my freshman year. Keep in mind I had no idea I was going to be into bodybuilding and I didn't even know what figure competitions were! Today 3 years later I weigh in at 138 pounds and 17.3 % body fat. For those of you who don't know the specifics, let me break those number down for you. That is about a 21.5 pound gain of lean muscle mass and an 8 pound gain of fat mass over a 3 year period. That's about 7 lbs of lean muscle gain per year! Wow! Yes, I did gain some fat; however, the fat gain was necessary for my joints and bodily functioning due to the heavier lifting that I was engaging in.

So for all of you people who are terrified of the freshman 15, don't be so scared after all. However, it is important to know that I didn't gain that lean mass by sitting around or sleeping til noon. It takes hard work, dedication and most importantly consistency! But it can be done and I know I'm not the only one who has done this! I would just like to able to empower others to work hard and achieve their goals whether it be muscle gain, fat loss or increase in over all fitness levels! Take charge of your life and achieve the goals that you desire!