Muscle Miracle - No More Sore Muscles - Must Read!!!

After reading this, you are probably going to think I’m crazy.  What if I told you that I have virtually eliminated the soreness and fatigue in my muscles, simply by relaxing in a very specific way for 5-10 minutes, immediately after my workout?  Well this is no myth, at least in my case, this works and it’s quite miraculous.  I recently saw an article talking about a new machine that various college and professional sports teams are starting to use.  The title of the article grabbed my attention when it said that this product works better than steroids for some.  Being one who doesn’t like to do things with too much outside help… and who is quite afraid of needles… and who enjoys at least one alcoholic beverage to wind me down in the evening, steroids aren’t for me.  A key benefit to steroids is that they reduce your recovery time substantially, allowing you to train more often and with more intensity.  This is the key benefit to using this machine as well.  I really wanted one, but I simply wasn’t going to put up the $3,000 that they are asking for it.  Not being one who gives up easily, my brain was locked on this concept for a few days.  At the gym last week, I had one of those eureka moments!  I believe that I have discovered the poor-man’s version of this machine.  The reason I am sharing this bit of knowledge is that I want your feedback.  I want to see if you experience the same results as I do; and if you do, by all means, please share this with others.

The concept behind the machine is quite simple.  It cools the palm of your hand, while applying a slight vacuum to the hand in order to increase blood flow to the surface of your hand.  You see, animals and humans alike have networks of veins that are localized in specific parts of the body and work as natural and highly efficient “radiators” for the body.  They cool your body very quickly through the circulatory system, and that’s why Stanford News Service calls them our “built-in radiators”.  These special veins are called arteriovenous anastomoses or AVAs.  In humans they are found on the bottom of our feet, our faces and especially in the palms of our hands.  In dogs, they are found in the tongue (hence the panting to cool down); in rabbits they are in the ears; bears in the pads of their feet and the tips of their noses (which allows the huge creatures to not overheat during hot summers with all of their fat and fur).  So what does this have to do with muscle soreness and fatigue?

By cooling these regions after a workout, you allow your muscle cells to cool back to a state where the enzymes they use to preform work are once again in an active state.  According to Stanford, this is “essentially resetting the muscle’s state of fatigue.”  The results are immediate.  Lately, I have had to think about which body parts I just worked on when reviewing my workouts.  The painful muscle fatigue that I was so used to, that I thought was necessary to grow, no longer exists just a few minutes after my workouts.  You can train more often and more intensely, similar to the effects one see when using steroids.  You can walk around with no pain after doing your heavy squats and deadlifts!  The results literally blow my mind.  In fact, the only time I have been sore over the last week was the day after I walked uphill for an hour, which made my calves a bit sore.  The 400 pound free-weight squats to failure?  No soreness at all.  The difference?  I didn’t use this technique after the uphill walk.  I would not believe this had I not experienced it.  Ok, so how am I doing this?

The concept is simple, increase blood flow to the surface of the skin, then cool the regions where you find the AVAs, but not so much that you constrict the veins and actually reduce circulation to these areas.  I do this by filling up a 32 oz. sports drink bottle with cold tap water (not ice water, just cold tap water!), then hopping into the sauna for 5-10 minutes.  While I’m in there, my palms are wrapped firmly around the smoothest section of the bottle to get as much direct contact between my palms and the cool bottle as possible.  I rest like this for 5-10 minutes, I get out, I go home… that’s it.  When you walk back to your car you will know if this worked for you.  You will feel different than you usually do after a workout, especially if you worked your lower body.  No more waddling back to the car, you can proudly and painlessly walk back to your car instead.  As I mentioned, I am sharing this with all of you as somewhat of an experiment.  I want to see if this works for others and if it does, I think we should all be doing this after our workouts.  Please leave your feedback below – thanks!

Addendum:

I have been trying a few new things and wanted to share them with you.  I started using a 64 oz. bottle that is smoother allowing the water to stay cooler longer and to keep more of the bottle’s surface area in contact with the palms of my hands.  I have tried using the refrigerated water fountains for water and I see similar results with them as well.  Last night, for the first time, I hopped in the sauna after an exhaustive set of shoulders (DC training style) and after a half completed chest set.  Before getting in, I did the Hammer Strength shoulder press and got the weight 7 times, then a rest-pause (basically a deep-breathing 15 second pause), 2 reps, rest-pause and 1 final rep.  I finished that off with one 30 second static rep.  Then I warmed up and did one set to exhaustion on the Hammer Strength bench press.  After that, I sat in the sauna holding my bottle for only about 3 minutes, because I didn’t want to sweat too much before getting back onto the equipment.  When I returned to the shoulder press, the same weight felt much lighter than I expected and I was able to press the weight 5 more times.  The problem is that I don’t know my baseline, because I am usually so exhausted after the initial DC training set that I would never even attempt another set.  I can honestly say that just because I had to muscle strength to even attempt the exercise (and be able to press it 5 times, when I can only press it 7 times fresh), I definitely noticed a difference.

 Core Cooling AVAcore

Proper Form for Proper Results

As I rounded the corner coming out of the locker room, I see a kid on the bench press.  He weighs about 160 pounds, but apparently he’s stronger than he looks; his bar is loaded with 275 pounds and he clearly has no need for a spotter.  He goes to work, gripping the bar nice and tight he thrusts the weight up a bit, locks his arms out, pauses for a couple of seconds, then drops the weight about 4 inches toward his chest, pushes the weight up with the fury and flailing of a trapped animal, then locks his arms again at the start position.  He is working out alone, but apparently still quite aware of his surroundings.  After 2 reps, he returns the weight to the rack, then sits up and looks around to see who noticed.  My initial reaction was to feel a bit of pity for the guy.  He struggles with the weight, looking fairly foolish, yet he’s clearly aware of his surroundings so he is probably embarrassed...  But then I see the look on his face, and the kid is pumped!  He was so proud of himself for moving that weight that he probably posted it on a social networking site or two.  You see, there is a certain pride with being able to lift the weight that the big guys lift.  I know the feeling; my father and older brother have been the big guys in the gym since I can remember.  They instilled something in me at a young age that has saved me much wasted time, embarrassment and prevented injuries.  They showed me that proper form is absolutely necessary when you work out.

What are You Talking About?

I can see the blank stares on some of your faces.  You have no idea what I’m talking about do you?  Well allow me to explain what I mean by proper form.  Every exercise in the gym was designed to work one or several muscles, even several muscle groups.  To get the most out of each set and each rep, you have to concentrate the movement on the muscles that the exercise was designed to work.  Let’s take everyone’s favorite, the bench press.  The bench press is a basic movement designed to work the chest (pectorals), shoulders (deltoids) and triceps.  Generally, you should grip the bar with hands about shoulder width, shoulder blades squeezed together to flatten the back, back relatively flat on the bench and the buttock flat on the bench.  The weight should be slowly lowered to the chest, stopped at the chest and then pushed back up in a controlled motion, only stopping momentarily at the top before the weight is returned to the chest.  But what you tend to see is arching backs, shaking arms and the weight only coming within about a foot of the chest.  The arching back is caused by the body trying to decrease the range of motion and to turn the exercise into a decline bench press, which tends to be easier for many people.  The arms are shaking because they are not able to control the weight that is being held.  The reason for the short range of motion is clear; there is less work that needs to be performed.  But if you can lift more weight by doing these things, isn’t that a good thing?  Simply put no, but allow me to explain.

The Time Factor

We work out with weights in order to make our muscles grow and/or get stronger.  If you are working with poor form, you are using peripheral muscles to do the work that was intended to work a very specific muscle or group of muscles.  So essentially, you are wasting your time if you use poor form because you are not maximizing the work performed by the intended muscles.  Back arching when you do the bench press, for instance, uses the core muscles to shorten the range of motion that the arms have to perform.  The problem is that the bench press is not a core exercise.  By shortening the range of motion, you also are not working the muscle fully, not allowing it to grow to its potential or causing it to grow unevenly.  Many of you have seen people in the gym who have biceps that are huge up closer to the shoulder, but flat down toward the elbow.  When the weight is being lowered after a rep, some tend to only let the weight drop down about half way before they curl it back up again.  This is not the full range of motion for the bicep; instead you are isolating the upper portion of the bicep, causing the upper bicep to grow faster than the lower portion.  When you work out with poor form, you will often draw the attention of other in the gym.

The Embarrassment

Whether you know it or not, people are watching you when you work out.  This shouldn’t make you nervous; it’s quite normal for people to glance around between sets.  And naturally, if one sees something interesting, it may catch and hold their attention for a few moments.  So when you are a fairly skinny guy, but you have as much weight on the bar as someone twice your size would, you’re going to draw some attention to yourself.  If you get on the bar dips machine and you do a reverse shoulder shrug, not bending the elbows at all, more attention.  When you slouch forward to start a bicep curl, only to throw your upper torso backward in an attempt to finish the curl, even more attention.  Unfortunately, it is often the same guy or gal who does all 3 of these things.  Because it is difficult to watch yourself work out, the only person in the gym who doesn’t notice your poor form is you. 

When you lift more weight than you can comfortably control, you are lifting too much weight.  The only people who are impressed by feats of strength accompanied by bad form are the other high school kids that you go to school with.  Experienced lifters are not impressed and they are probably a little irritated that you have commandeered all of the 45 pound plates in the general vicinity.  They are far more impressed by someone who has very strict form, regardless of the weight.  Very strict form can only happen if you are working with amounts of weight that you can control.  The big guys in the gym are not sitting around waiting to make fun of people with bad form; but many of them have learned why good form is necessary the hard and painful way.

Bad Form = Bad Injury

When you lift above your means, you greatly increase your chances of being injured.  Large or small, injuries are no good.  Tearing a muscle can be a very painful experience, tearing a tendon can require surgery and several months of recovery time.  By lifting with poor form and lifting too heavy, you tend to work or even overwork muscles at unnatural angles.  At these angles muscles are very weak and they simply can’t support each other or the surrounding connective tissue during the motion.  The result can be a muscle or connective tissue tear, which can take weeks or even months to heal.  Strength enhancers (steroids or others) have been known to cause similar injuries because they cause the muscles to grow faster and stronger than the connective tissue.  When you lift more weight than your tendons can support, the results can be catastrophic injury.

Conclusion

If you lift with poor form, whether it’s because you try to lift too much weight or you just haven’t learned how to lift properly, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage.  You simply won’t grow as efficiently as you could, which will hold you back from being able to comfortably lift the big weights one day.  While you look like you think you rule the gym because you can improperly bench 315, you may have several people looking at you laughing inside.  Experienced lifters are well aware that the weight comes secondary to form and arching your back and kicking your legs as you bench press looks funny to spectators, even if you do get the weight up.  The worst thing about poor form is that you greatly increase your chances of being injured.  Suck up your pride and ask either a personal trainer or someone from your gym who has good form to show you how to do an exercise properly.  You may be pleasantly surprised at how willing people are to help; additionally, you will save yourself a lot of time, shame and pain.

The Mean Green Coffee Bean

Dr. Oz and his wildly popular show have recently promoted yet another miracle fat loss pill.  This one even has a now popular scientific study to back the effectiveness of the product.  In the study, over 22 weeks it was reported to have helped participants lose an average of 17 pounds or 10% of their body weight.  This royal fat burner has very common origins, the green (or unroasted) coffee bean.  I just picked some up, but before I did, I wanted to do some research.  When you hear the word miracle, you should instantly be skeptical, but with a bit of research you can evaluate the odds of the bet you are making with your money.  I set out to understand the mechanism that is believed to be responsible for the weight loss, see the consensus with the reviews found on various websites and then see if there are any reasons that I should avoid green coffee bean extract.

Whenever I take a new product that is supposed to have a specific effect on me, I like to do research to see how this supposed effect will take place in my body.  Doing this gives me the information that I need to determine if this is something that I want to subject my body to.  For instance, if a supplement accelerates your heart and leaves a waste product for your liver to process, the results that you see may not be worth the damage that is caused to your body.  So what about green coffee bean extract?  What is it, how does it work? 

When they take an extract from the green coffee beans, the main component that they want is called chlorogenic acid.  Most green coffee bean extracts are “standardized to 50% chlorogenic acid,” or half of the extract is made up of chlorogenic acid.  Chlorogenic acid has been known as an antioxidant for years, but recently it has been touted for its ability to slow the release of glucose into the bloodstream (blood sugar) after a meal.  What is happening is that it inhibits the action of an enzyme in the body that breaks glycogen into glucose, thereby reducing the amount of glucose available to release into the bloodstream.  When the blood is starved of glucose, so are the cells in your body and glucose is their primary source of energy.  Oh but the body was created magnificently and it has a way around times like this.  When the cells are starved of glucose, insulin levels drop and your body initiates a process called ketosis.  This process basically switches your body over from using carbohydrates as energy to using fatty acids and ketones (in the case of the heart and brain), which are broken down from your body fat.  The result is clear; you lose body fat by breaking it down and using it as energy instead of carbohydrates. 
So essentially, green coffee bean extract works to decrease the glycemic index of the foods that you consume.  Glycemic index diets guide you to eat low carb diets or foods with carbohydrates that release glucose slowly into the bloodstream, preventing a hyperglycemic spike (elevated blood sugar levels).  The theory that controlling blood sugar will help you control your weight is the basis for diets like the South Beach Diet, Nutrisystem, Zone, Sugar Busters and Atkins.  There is no question that these diets do help people lose weight, when used properly, so this adds promise to the effects of green coffee bean extract.  The studies on this product will continue to accelerate as the product grows in popularity, but in the mean time we do have this limited knowledge on the mechanisms that may make this product effective.  We also have customer reviews and testimonials; what are they saying and can they be trusted?

When you search through online ads, you really have to be careful.  Several of the reviews that you find out there are really just cheap advertisements either placed or commissioned by one of the companies that make money off of the product.  If it sounds a little more like a commercial than an amateur personal review, be wary of the motives of the review.  There is, of course, the other side of the spectrum; you will find reviews that sound like the reviewer has a personal vendetta against the product.  I don’t usually pay much attention to these reviews either because it can be hard to tell what the person is actually angry about.  Often you will realize that it was the customer service experience that is causing the person to slander the product that they purchased.  When I was looking for reviews on green coffee bean extract, I definitely came across examples of both of these, but after digging through the weeds, I was able to find some that seem trustworthy. 

As the product’s reputation grows, so do the number of people who review the product, which gives you far more real reviews to look at.  There is a consensus on most websites that the product does work and most people see results fairly quickly.  There are some reviews from people that sounded perfectly honest, but the people did not lose any weight.  I believe that both of these reviews are valid.  The thing is that diet and exercise will have a huge effect on the results you see.  If you continue with a high calorie diet with processed foods, large amounts of alcohol and you never go to the gym, it really would be a miracle pill if it helps you lose weight under those circumstances.  It appears that in the vast majority of the more honest sounding testimonials, people did see some decrease in weight and an increase in energy.  After the short amount of time that I have been taking them, I can attest to an unquestionable increase in energy.  Another thing you will commonly see are reviews trying to drive you to very specific products.  Many say that Dr. Oz promoted PURE green coffee bean extract, with no other ingredients at all besides the capsule.  After doing some research, most of the other additional ingredients commonly found in green coffee bean extract don’t decrease the effectiveness of the extract.  Is there any reason one would want to avoid green coffee bean extract?

Though green coffee bean extract has not been studied on its own very thoroughly at this point, coffee has.  This is a natural extract from the coffee bean and there are no known side effects.  All of the research on green coffee bean extract and its major component, chlorogenic acid, show that you can safely take green coffee bean extract worry-free.  Seeing that there is no reason to not give it a try, if you are considering it, why not?

I wish I had invested in the green coffee bean extract market just before Dr. Oz put it on his show.  Since then, it is very difficult to find around town, sold out almost everywhere in Los Angeles.  But it looks like this stuff may be one of the more effective weight loss supplements to emerge recently.  People are spending on it and saying good things about it, which are two good signs.  Understanding how the product may work as far as weight loss shows promise as well.  It works to do what low glycemic diets do for the body and these diets have been time tested and do work for fat loss.  And with no side effects, I can’t see any reason to not give it a try!  If nothing else, it definitely gives you energy, but I will update this with my fat loss results soon.  Until then, if you have tried it, I would love to hear what you think.

Are Superfoods Really Super?

Walking through my friendly neighborhood warehouse megastore over the weekend, I saw or heard the word “superfood” at least 20 times.  On one aisle a guy was handing out samples of a juice blend that contained a superfood that was supposed to have twenty times the health benefits of the açaí berry.  From smoothies to diet formulas to various other sorts of concoctions, there was a seemingly endless number of products that boasted some sort of superfood contents (often if the superfood is a fruit, you will hear it called a “superfruit”).  As I’m taking it all in, I realized that I really couldn’t tell someone what the difference between a superfood and any other sort of fruit, other than the superfoods typically have a high concentration of some substance that seems to help the body.  Not being satisfied with this definition, I decided to do some research.  So just what is a superfood?  What are some of the more popular superfoods and why?

What is a “Superfoods”?

 The term has been in used for almost 100 years at least, to refer to a food that has an unusually high nutritional value or some other benefit, real or alleged, to the human body.  Nutritionist Elizabeth Somer adds that “every superfood is going to be a 'real' (unprocessed) food,” pointing out that “you don't find fortified potato chips in the superfood category."  The word ‘superfood’ is really just a term used in advertising, it is not scientific.  This means that you can use this word fairly loosely when promoting a product.  The problem is that this means that research is required before buying superfoods.  Products promoted with this mark tend to be expensive so you want to know that what you are buying will benefit you personally.

When I was in the warehouse store over the weekend, there were samples being given out of a new superfood juice blend.  The human billboard promoting the product was telling everyone who passed by that it had “twenty times the health benefits of the açaí berry.”  This statement needed explanation that the human billboard could not provide.  It turns out that he was referring to the ORAC value (Oxygen radical absorbance capacity, a scale for quantifying the amount of antioxidant a substance contains) of açaí versus that of the coffee cherry (the fruit that surrounds the coffee bean as it grows that is used in this beverage).  But açaí has several other benefits that the coffee cherry does not claim; point being that you usually can’t take promotional statements at face value, even if they are scientific claims (however if you are looking for a great antioxidant, coffee cherries are quite amazing).  Additionally, for every scientific claim that you see, you will probably find another study that discredits it.

The list of superfoods has recently greatly increased, now including several common foods that have long acknowledged health benefits.  When there is money to be made off of some new fad, people take advantage; and superfoods are no exception.  Foods promoted under the moniker now include various green vegetables, other brightly colored fruits and vegetables, teas, berries, nuts, legumes, dark chocolate, citrus fruits, some fish and whole grains, just to name a few categories.  Now we come to the million dollar question, which superfoods should you be eating?  Let’s talk about some of the more popular superfoods and why they gained popularity.

What are some of the More Popular Superfoods and Why?

There are several foods that are commonly referred to as superfoods, which you probably already eat.  But some of the more popular ones among the health food community are not so common to outsiders:

Açaí Berry – You will see this used as an ingredient in just about everything now days, but most commonly in health promoting beverages.  It serves as food for many Brazilians and is a staple to those who live in the Amazon jungle.  Very dense in nutrition, it can be referred to as a superfood for several reasons.  It contains good fatty acids, protein, vitamins and polyphenols.  The polyphenols are the most promoted property of the superfruit; you will often hear about the antioxidant properties of açaí provided by the polyphenols.  From personal experience, I can tell you that açaí helps digestion.  Concentrated açaí pills have settled my upset stomach several times.

Blueberry – These are one of the more common and revered superfoods out there.  Rich in many vitamins, minerals and fiber, while low in fat and relatively low in carbohydrates, they are a great food to eat on that basis alone, but there’s more.  The dark pigment of the blueberry contains a few different chemicals that are believed to potentially prevent some diseases, including cancer and reduce inflammation.  They also contain resveratrol in their skin (see my article on resveratrol), which is renowned as an anti-aging and fat loss supplement that may also prevent many diseases.

Pomegranate – These tasty fruits are becoming more and more popular as people are becoming more health conscious.  There are several benefits that the pomegranate may bestow upon the human body.  The fruit has been used in traditional Indian medicine for millennia for various purposes.  The juice has been used as a heart and throat tonic, and preliminary lab studies support the idea of a heart tonic.  These studies have shown that it reduces some of the major risk factors associated with heart disease.  It is currently being studied to combat various other diseases, including obesity, prostate cancer, kidney disease, the common cold and infant brain injury.  Additionally, they are rich in vitamins, mineral and antioxidant phenols.

Greens – No I’m not talking about collard greens specifically; I’m grouping various green superfoods into one category, because there are so many good ones.  I personally take a scoop of a green supplement every day, instead of eating the various members in this category by themselves.  If you choose to do the same, do your research and get a good one, I take Garden of Life Perfect Food. The green part of this superfood concoction contains young cereal grasses (wheat, barley, oats and alfalfa), spirulina, chlorella, kelp and other sea vegetables.  Broccoli, kale and collard greens are examples of greens that you can also try if you want the real thing (the darker green the better, generally).  These have been shown to give you energy, help you maintain a healthy weight, control appetite and possibly prevent some cancers, reduce inflammation and speeding up the healing of wounds.

Teas – For thousands of years human have consumed teas for their health benefits.  They are rich in antioxidant, flavanols, flavonoids, and polyphenols, all of which may reduce your risk for various diseases, including cancer.  It has also been tied to reduced risk of strokes and osteoporosis, improved immune system, lowered cholesterol and blood sugar, as well as many other health benefits.   A great alternative to coffee, you get the caffeine (typically in lower levels than coffee) along with a chemical called L-theanine, which has been known to have a calming effect and improve focus.

Sweet Potatoes – I grew up on sweet potatoes.  Having a mother from Mississippi, I have actually never tried pumpkin pie, but sweet potatoes, in various forms, were a staple desert from mom’s kitchen.  The sweet potato is high in vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, calcium, iron and potassium.  In fact, the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared the nutritional value of various vegetables. Because of the fiber, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals the sweet potato ranked highest in nutritional value among all vegetables tested.  It ranked more than twice as nutritious as the second place winner in this study (the common potato).

Yogurt – An excellent source of protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamins B6, B12 and potassium, this tasty snack has been consumed by humans for thousands of years.  In addition to the standard benefits of dairy, yogurt is often also enriched with various probiotics, which give you a healthy balance of bacteria in your gut, critical for digestion.  It can also be consumed by people who are lactose intolerant because the yogurt culture, which makes yogurt thick, also feeds on the lactose and converts it into other sugars.  For most of us, it is best to stick to the low fat or fat free version of yogurt for obvious reasons.  If you are carb conscious, you can get plain yogurt and add your own fruit, if desired.

Nuts – Like greens, I will group this into a category instead of speaking about a specific nut.  They are dense packs of nutrition, the sort of food that you want when you are doing any sort of strenuous activity.  Though high in fat, much of the fat is good for you and includes essential fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6.  It also contains high amounts of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals and antioxidants, rounding off the nutrition found in nuts nicely.  They have been shown to promote weight loss and lower LDL cholesterol, when small amounts are consumed.  They are very filling, so not a lot is needed to satisfy your cravings.  They also have a low glycemic index, making them great for people with high blood sugar and type-2 diabetes.  A simple yet effective addition to any diet and there are several varieties to choose from.

Conclusion

There are many great superfoods out there to choose from to add to your diet.  Do your research before buying a superfood that you aren’t familiar with, you may save a lot of money if you do so.  There seems to be one or more superfoods to assist with just about every sort of common problem that we face with our bodies.  Antioxidants seem to be the most promoted property of various superfoods, and though research into the effects of antioxidants on the body is still new, the preliminary data show promising results in disease prevention.  The best thing about many of the superfoods that you will try is that many of them are quite tasty!  This is just another of the many benefits that you will find in the world of superfoods.

Gym Etiquette Violators

Fit is in. Society has put increasing pressure on people to look better, especially as we age. The increasing divorce rate, for instance, has caused people who have never worked out a day in their lives to hit the gym. Men and women alike, who have recently been divorced, suddenly find themselves competing with people much younger and fitter than themselves in the dating market. This causes far more people who were never into working out to come to the local gym. It’s really wonderful to get into physical fitness at any age, but there can be a problem. Age isn’t the factor; it breaks down to experience. Many inexperienced gym goers are completely unfamiliar with gym etiquette. You may ask, what is gym etiquette?! Some may think this sounds oxymoronic! But this is not a fantasy of mine; this is something that people who frequent the gym take very seriously. So, I will briefly explain what it is, why it’s important to have and list out some of my least favorite gym etiquette violations that you will see at the gym.  

What is Gym Etiquette?

I believe the answer to this is kind of obvious. Simply put, etiquette is a set of rules and conventions that govern what is expected, acceptable and polite behavior within society. This changes based on where we are, of course. At home we are expected and allowed to act differently than we do at work, at school, or even the gym.

Why Should One have Gym Etiquette?

 I’m glad you asked! For starters, you won’t irritate me when I’m raging through a high impact workout! That was a joke… but seriously. I go to the UFC Gym in Torrance, CA and at any given time, you will notice about a third of the people in the gym are legitimate fighters. Some big, some small, some male, some female, but all could kick a gym newbie’s butt. That being said, these aren’t the sort of people whose workout you want to ruin. When I am going through a well-planned workout, I have specific muscle groups that I will work on that day. When a machine that I want to use is being used, I will often just move on to the next exercise and come back to the machine when it frees up, because my time is limited. Sometime I will finish one, then two, then three exercises waiting for the machine to free up, but for that entire 20 minute period the same girl has been sitting on the machine with the same goofball guy hitting on her. This is a very frustrating situation for me. I don’t want to interrupt a guy possibly meeting his soul mate at the gym. But this is a blatant desecration of basic gym etiquette. The fact is that their conversation, which could have happened anywhere else in the gym, has now ruined my workout. My body is cooling down as I’m waiting, I’m getting tired and now I may have to have a slightly uncomfortable conversation with a couple of people who should probably be at a bar and not the gym. But this is just one of several examples of bad gym etiquette, let’s talk about a few more problematic nuisances that you find in the gym.

My Least Favorite Gym Etiquette Violations 

Though these are in no particular order, I have already listed my very least favorite gym etiquette violation – Violator: The distracted equipment hog. They can be distracted by the person who is hitting on them, by getting caught up in a conversation on the cell phone, a text message war with a couple of friends, talking with a workout partner about how much better they looked than their ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend last night or even stretching in front of a machine with their towel laying on it for several minutes (in gym etiquette, putting a towel on a piece of equipment reserves that machine for you, even if you go get a drink and leave the machine unattended), and the list goes on. Proper Etiquette: If you become distracted with any of these situations and you realize that there is no end in sight, get off the machine and continue what you were doing in some of prime real estate over near the cardio equipment (or any other place you won’t be in the way). Additionally, it is always a good idea to look around when you’re at the gym. You will notice that people who are waiting on the machine you are using will often be standing near you and even trying to make eye contact with you to let you know they’re waiting. Don’t forget that the water fountain is an essential piece of equipment in the gym. Conversations are a no no there too. And that brings me to my next gym etiquette violator.

Violator: The water fountain abuser. These people often fill a large bottle with the higher of the two fountains. Sometimes they take a minute long head shower in the water fountain. Or some drink, then gasp for a few second, drink and gasp and continue this process for what feels like 10 minutes as a line accumulates behind them. And I already mentioned those that have conversations or stretch in front of the water fountain. Proper Etiquette: Water fountains are to be used to take a drink, not for showering. You can fill a bottle at the water fountain; some fountains have a nozzle specifically for that. However, you should either use the nozzle or the lower of the two fountains, if there are two, because most people go for the higher of the fountains. And if there is someone behind you panting and desperate for a drink and there is only one fountain, let them get a quick drink and then proceed with filling your bottle. While we’re talking about water, did you know that your body secretes water when it gets hot? Of course you did, we all sweat.

Violator: The self-righteous sweater. These people often feel that they don’t need a towel, even though every gym I have ever been to requires that you use a towel and most even sell them at the check-in desk. Other people seem to not know how to use their towels, wearing it in their pocket like a janitor instead of protecting their head from whatever is on the equipment. Both of these groups have many members who simply refuse to use the disinfectant spray and paper towels offered at most gyms. Your sweat can carry many infections away from your skin, to be passed on to the next person who uses the equipment. Proper Etiquette: Always bring your own clean towel to the gym. If possible, bring a towel that is different on each side and always try to put the same side against the headrest, keeping your head as clean as possible. Always use your towel, don’t bring it if you’re not going to use it. It protects you and other as well. Then look at the machine when you finish with it. If your sweat is glistening on the machine, at very least wipe it with a dry section of your towel; but really you should get a piece of paper towel and the disinfectant spray and clean the area where your sweat is, especially if these are parts that every person who uses the equipment will come into skin contact with. There is another group of gym pests who operate with a similar carelessness.

Violator: The chronic un-racker. These people use the equipment, often loading the equipment up with more weight than they can actually control, then after a few poorly executed reps, they get up and leave the weights on the equipment. The worst is when I see a small person who wants to use the machine next have to rack all of the 45 pound plates themself before they are able to use it. It’s kind of sad, and when I’m not in the middle of a set, I always try to help. But that could have been avoided. Proper Etiquette: For starters, stop trying to impress your friends; if you weigh 150 pounds and you have more weight on the equipment than the muscular 200 plus pound guys use, you’re over doing it. Only lift as much weight as you can control, jerking until the weight moves a bit doesn’t count. But regardless, you have to rack the weights you use at least to a reasonable degree. If you leave one 45 pound plate on each side of the leg press, that’s excusable. It often is the same ones who leave the weight on the machines who will violate again in the next category.

Violator: The set interrupter. This is the guy who just can’t wait to ask, “how many more you got?” The question is not a violation in itself; it’s the timing that makes this a violation. Never ever interrupt someone during their set unless they are in imminent danger. You annoy or even infuriate the person you are interrupting. People who are serious about their workouts have monk-like focus during a set, trying to push and control as hard as they can to get the most out of each set. Disturbing this process can even be dangerous for the lifter and ultimately for the interrupter. Proper Etiquette: Wait! Always wait for someone to finish their set and take a few breaths. Once they have finished, you are free to ask anything you would like. But be careful there too, you may end up seeing the guy in the locker room later, but hopefully not like the next peeves.  

Violator: The locker room nudist. I hear that the problem is just as prominent in the women’s locker room as it is in the men’s. The creepiest looking people you come across in the locker room like to bear it all – and not as they are quickly getting in and out of their clothes, no. These people like to walk out of the shower, dry off in the midst of the locker room and then seem to want to air-dry for a good 15 minutes before ever thinking about putting on their clothes. Proper Etiquette: Wear clothes as often as possible around strange people. If you must get naked to change quickly, no big deal; but please don’t put on a show that no one cares to see!

Conclusion 

Etiquette is important in all social situations. The gym is no exception. Please practice good gym etiquette. It’s good for you and it’s good for the other members of the gym also. I’m sure this list will continue to grow as more and more people start to come to the gym. I will continue to update the list as I see more poor etiquette in the gym. Please feel free to add you least favorite gym etiquette violations below so that we can educate others to allow everyone to have the best experience at the gym possible.

Raspberry Ketone - The Miracle Fat Burner?

Raspberry ketone has recently exploded onto the scene as the latest “miracle fat burner,” ever since it appeared on The Dr. Oz Show.  I tend to be skeptical anytime I hear about any ‘miracle’ supplement, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t substances that can have miraculous effects on our bodies.  So what is raspberry ketone?  How does is it supposed to reduce body fat?  And does it work?  Let’s talk about it.

What is Raspberry Ketone?

Chemically speaking, raspberry ketone is a naturally occurring phenol; you may have heard the term ‘polyphenols’ used in a health food store from time to time.  Phenols are often found in berries, teas, olive oil, chocolate, coffee and various other fruits, vegetables, nut, herbs and spices.  They are commonly used as a selling point for many of these to consumers.  They have been found to have antioxidant properties in some studies, but when consumed in food, the vast majority of the antioxidant is not absorbed in the body.  In controlled studies, they have been found to have antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory effects, but when consumed by humans, these effects are not so clear.  Phenols have been shown to have cancer preventing properties, while also having the opposite in controlled studies.  When actually consumed by humans they do not appear to cause cancer, but they have been shown to prevent it.

Raspberry ketone is the key chemical that makes raspberries smell like raspberries.  It is used in perfumes and as a food additive for this reason.  It takes something like 50-200 pounds of raspberries to get you one 100mg dose of the substance, so clearly the stuff you buy for $20 or so per bottle is not made from raspberries.  The artificially produced raspberry ketone has been deemed safe by the FDA and there are no known side effects.  However, people with diabetes, heart conditions or other pre-existing health problems should consult their physician before taking this as a supplement.

How does Raspberry Ketone Reduce Body Fat?

Raspberry ketone appears to have a few different effects on the body that may reduce body fat.  Raspberry ketone has been shown to prevent increases in body weight by helping metabolize fats by increasing the breakdown of lipids within fat cells through norepinephrine.  This can increase thermogenesis, increasing body temperature resulting in increased fat burning.  It has also been shown to reduce the body’s production of pancreatic lipase.  This is a digestive enzyme needed to break down fats in our foods preventing the body from absorbing fats altogether.  Furthermore, raspberry ketone is believe to help control your bodies use of adiponectin, a protein hormone that in turn regulates various metabolic processes such as glucose regulation and fatty acid breakdown.  This should allow your body to breakdown the fat within the fat cells more efficiently; resulting increased fat burning (this is the effect discussed on The Dr. Oz Show).

Does Raspberry Ketone Work?

This is the million dollar question.  There is a high level of confidence that this is a healthy supplement with no side-effects, but should we spend the cash on it as a “miracle fat burner”?  The answer is unclear from a clinical standpoint because there are no clinical studies on humans that I can find.  But testimonies have come from far and wide saying that there are noticeable effects on body fat when the supplement is taken, along with a healthy diet and exercise.  For those of you looking to lazily lose your belly, simply by taking a new pill, this product probably isn’t for you.  But if you are already living a healthy lifestyle and don’t have any pre-existing medical conditions, I can’t think of any reason not to add this to your routine.  Many people swear by the stuff and that usually doesn’t happen for most “miracle fat burners.”  Most are shown to either be unhealthy for various reasons or they simply don’t work.  You can find the supplement for a very reasonable cost online and at local health food stores.  I’m buying some today and I will update this article soon with my personal results and thoughts.

Why Women Need to Work Out with Weights

A pet peeve of mine is when I hear ladies say that they don’t want to work out with weights because they don’t want to look like a bodybuilder.  My brother has been bodybuilding for many years now and he now trains bodybuilders, fitness models, figure models, etc.  at his studio.  When he hears this he cringes, then usually tells the person that they don’t have the genetics, tenacity or knowledge to ever look like a bodybuilder, which is usually true for the ones who say this.  With the exception of a few genetic freaks, most people who have tried to put noticeable amounts of muscle on their frame know just how hard the process is.  Let’s discuss a bit more in depth why women tend to avoid working out with weights, why they need to work out with weights.

Why Women Avoid the Weights

I always point out that if you look at the ladies with the best bodies at your local gym, with few exceptions, they all use weights.  Given, after the first few weeks of weight training (the point at which most people give up and stop working out with weights), you may notice your muscles grow a bit because your body is recruiting and activating muscle fiber that have been sedentary for most or all of your life.  And if you are already overweight and you haven’t lost much fat yet, you may get a little more “bulky” at first.  The major misconception is thinking that this will continue as you keep working out.  Or some women, who are naturally blessed with nice bodies, believe that they will end up looking like a body builder if they train with weights, citing a few women at the gym who they see lifting heavy weights.  The fact is that women who do bodybuild or powerlift diet and train in very specific ways and usually also have the genetics of a bodybuilder.  They train in ways that would probably be counterintuitive to most people, often lifting weights less often than many of the women who lift weights in the gym.

Why Women Need to Work Out with Weights

Muscle is more dense than fat is by far.  This being the case, at the same body weight if you have a higher muscle to fat ratio you will look slimmer.  More so than just looking slimmer, you will develop a shape and tone to your body that absolutely can’t get from the treadmill or elliptical.  I see women in the gym all the time who do cardio only and they tend to be slender, but they look soft and not in shape.  Often, they even look unhealthy because they are starving their bodies with ridiculous diets and burning additional calories during the cardio, ultimately catabolizing their muscle tissue.  Your body will actually burn muscle in addition to fat for energy when it needs it and this also causes another issue.  Your metabolic rate is higher if you have more muscle.  So burning muscle will cause your loss in fat to be less sustainable because your metabolic rate slows.  That is why many people will lose fat with a strict diet and cardio, but soon after they get too busy to work out as frequently as they were, they quickly put the fat back on.  That is also why you will see rail thin ladies trying their hardest to burn that last bit of fat off doing cardio, but they can’t do it.

People who were overweight most of their lives tend to look the worst after this sort of behavior because they often naturally have larger frames and more skin.  When you burn most of the fat and muscle off of such a frame, you’re left with very little other than this frame, which now shows through more than ever.   With no muscle to fill in the gaps and give your body a healthy looking structure, this can look awkward.  You will see the hip bones, but no glutes; a thinner core and legs, but they have no muscle tone.  If you have small shoulders, arms and chest, this will exaggerates the “pear-shaped” look as well.  If weight training and a healthy, high-protein diet are incorporated into the workout, this can be avoided.

What about women who naturally have nice bodies?  Some women have nice bodies by nature, but weight training still will significantly improve posture and increase the tone of any body.  For example, I see women all the time who have large breasts, but because of a lack of back strength, they slump forward, which is not attractive and can lead to more serious problems later in life.  Joints and bones also get tougher with weight training, which can decrease likelihood of injuries and even increase bone density, even preventing osteoporosis, which is a common problem as people, especially women, age.

If this isn’t enough reason to train with weights, how about a healthy sex-drive?  Weight training increases the amount of testosterone produced by the body (in both men and women), which will increase your sex drive and overall vitality.  Who wouldn’t want that?  If you have been married for a while, this benefit can have significant positive effects on your marital happiness!

Conclusion

Everyone who works out should incorporate some weight training into their workouts.  I’m not recommending any specific workout to you, but I am stressing the need to work out with weights.  To sustain the increased work load, you can eat less salad and more of the high protein foods that you actually enjoy.  You will not look like a bodybuilder or get bulky if you train with weights unless you really know what you’re doing.  As I mentioned earlier, it is much harder to bulk up than people think.  After a few months of weight training and a healthy diet, your frame will tighten up and look more toned and attractive than it ever has.  The increase in muscle mass, joint and bone health will have long lasting benefits, preventing injury and even osteoporosis.  And a healthy sex life is important, especially for married couples, and energy and vitality are important for everyone in this fast paced world.  Give it a try!  What do you have to lose but your gut and a lack of self-esteem?