Runner's Common Injuries

Running injuries can become a nightmare for an avid runner but those who experience it the most are those who have little to no exercise history and suddenly try to go all out on a vigorous exercise regimen. This is true about starting up on any type of exercise program. Rule of thumb --> Think of gradual, organized and planned progressions in the form of Periodization!

How Important is Your Calcium Intake?

You probably heard that calcium is important for healthy bones. What else do you know about calcium? Some people know that it is important to regulate your heart rhythm and others have also heard that it helps with weight loss. 

You may have also heard that a diet poor in calcium can lead to frail weak brittle bones. We know that osteoporosis is a preventable dis-ease that we don't ever have to experience if we get enough calcium. It is important to realize that calcium plays critical roles for everyone but is extra important for women because of losses of calcium during the menstrual cycle. 

We are taught that in order to get enough calcium we need to drink milk and other dairy products on a daily basis. This is partially true, but not absolutely true. Did you know that 255g of Spinach will give you 345mg of Calcium. That is more calcium than the equivalent of 300mg of Calcium provided by 240g of Milk. There is a big question about how much sense this makes. Most people would argue that you need to get the absorbable Calcium from Milk. Have you ever seen a grown Gorilla drink milk? Have you ever seen any other species other than a human drink milk during their adult life? This may be shocking to think about but if all the science is true then why is it that all the other species whom do not drink milk at adulthood demonstrate the ability to maintain strong bones without having dairy in their diets? Real life situations seem to show a lack of evidence as shown in human studies. 

http://thevegetariancenter.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-are-calcium-rich-foods.html

Some dangers in consuming milk and other dairy products include the consumption of high levels of saturated fats and bad cholesterol. Also, you risk the chance of suffering uncomfortable symptoms like flatulence and loose bowel movements attributed to lactose intolerance. You probably also hear that cows are pumped with hormones and are given loads of antibiotics in their feed in order to prevent disease and encourage rapid milk production and growth. These same cows are fed corn which isn't a normal staple in their diet. The reason for feeding them corn is to get the cows to gain weight fast thus increasing the companies profits.

Calcium is important for several reasons. It plays a critical role in proper nerve impulses. Calcium is important in the creation of blood clots to prevent excessive bleeding. In order to have healthy bones and teeth it is important that you get adequate amounts of calcium since they compromise 99% of all calcium in the body. Heart health requires calcium as does the regulation of blood pressure. Their are times when physicians will prescribe calcium channel blockers in order to maintain normal blood pressure rhythm. Proper muscle contraction and regulation of enzyme activity also require calcium. A diet high in acid foods, use of pharmaceutical medications and other physical stressors may lead excessive loss of calcium in the bones since calcium plays an important role in maintaining a proper pH balance. 

To learn more about how much Calcium you should consume on a daily basis for your age and other useful information go to: Calcium needs. I hope you enjoyed this article. Feel free to add your comments and thoughts :D. 

Nutrition: It's Not That Complicated!

This weekend during our football game out in Bakersfield a group of Sports Medicine doctors and myself were discussing the challenges we find when discussing diet, nutrition and weight loss with our clients. I was not surprised to hear that we shared the same concern. We hear the same things from our clients so it's quite obvious that it not an isolated situation. 

Most people when thinking about weight loss, the first thing they think about is all the hype out there claiming that you need to take some miracle supplements or that latest fat burning pill and worst yet about the latest surgery to help them lose weight. The same media hype that was used to introduce toxic activities like smoking and drinking soda has been used to market a billion dollar industry out of nutritional supplements that contain more unknown ingredients than whole foods. Seriously, you can't grow or raise more than half the stuff they put in those supplements. Someone has to arrive to work and get started in the laboratory to extract and produce millions of ingredients to create a product rather than go to a garden and grow a food. 

It's equally challenging for a personal trainer or strength coach who wants to truly offer sound advise to their clients because every corner we turn these days their is someone trying to get us to help them sell their product rather than getting us to try and help them sell some whole foods. I have yet to meet an individual who accomplished a successful weight loss program that they couldn't have done by sticking to a strict whole foods diet, regular exercise program, great sleeping patterns and stress management. Don't give in to the hype. I've been a victim of it many times myself but I have decided to stick to my ground and not promote a single supplement out there. This great planet in which we live in provides us with all the nutrients we need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. You just have to be willing to consume whole foods rather than products. I challenge you to go 30 days straight without consuming a single product but rather consuming whole foods. If you take this challenge, please post your challenges and your thoughts on this blog so others can see how you over came the need to consume products. Thank You and I wish you great success.

First We Make Choices, Then They Make Us!

I have been reading this book I recently purchased on and placed on my Kindle books library titled

'The Compound Effect' Although this book is focused on business success it talks about many things that lead to success or failure in any aspect of life. This book was written by Darren Hardy who is the publisher of Success Magazine. Here is a powerful excerpt about how the choices you make on a daily basis regarding your nutrition intake can have a significantly powerful positive impact on your life and health or a tragic outcome to your life and health.

"the Compound Effect can.. work in a negative way and can create a ripple effect that impacts your entire life. (Here is the story): Bard makes some muffins from a recipe he learned from the Food Channel. He's proud and his family loves it, and it seems to add value all around. He loves his own cooking and eats more than his share- but not so much that anyone notices. However, the extra food makes Brad sluggish at night. He wakes up a little groggy, which makes him cranky. The crankiness and sleep-deprivation begin to impact his work performance. He’s less productive, and as a result, gets discouraging feedback from his boss. By the end of the day, he feel dissatisfied with his job and his energy level is way down. The commute home seems longer and more stressful than ever. All of this makes him reach for more comfort food—stress has a way of doing that. The overall lack of energy makes Brad less likely to take walks with his wife, like he used to. He just doesn’t feel like it. She misses their time together and takes his withdrawal personally. With fewer shared activities with his wife and an absence of fresh air and exercise, Brad’s not getting the endorphin release that had helped make him feel upbeat and enthusiastic. Because he’s not as happy, he starts finding fault with himself and others, and stops complimenting his wife. As his own body starts to feel flabby, he feels less self-confident, less attractive and becomes less romantic. Brad doesn’t realize how his lack of energy and affection toward his wife affects her. He just knows that he feels funky. He starts losing himself in late-night TV because it’s easy and distracting. Feeling his distance, Brad’s wife starts to complain, then becomes needy. When that doesn’t work, she emotionally withdraws to protect herself. She’s lonely. She pours her energy into her work and spends more time with her girlfriends to fulfill her need for companionship. Men start flirting with her, which makes her feel desirable again. She would never cheat on Brad, but he has a feeling something’s wrong. Instead of seeing that his poor choices and behaviors are at the root of their problems, he finds fault with his wife. Believing that the other person is wrong rather than looking inside and doing the work necessary to clean up your mess is basic Psychology 101 stuff. In Brad’s case, he doesn’t know to look inside—they don’t offer self-improvement or relationship advice on Top Chef or his favorite crime shows. However, the thought may have occurred to him that, if he had read the personal-development books his buddy Scott read, he might have learned about ways to change negative habits. Unfortunately for Brad, the small choices he made on a daily basis created a ripple that wreaked havoc on every area of his life.

So the moral of the story is obvious. Brad made some choices on a daily basis. He made the choices but those choices eventually made him. He became a person he was no longer proud of. It cost him his health, self-confidence, his work ethic, his feelings toward people and his whole life  in general. He fails to realize that the problem is not them but rather him. The key thing he also fails to do is take personal responsibility for his actions. It's so much easier to blame people and circumstance for the outcome of our life because it takes no effort and it's easier to blame others. It's harder to face our inner demons and confront our faults and flaws. When you make it a choice to take 100% responsibility for what happens in life, you prepare yourself to make choices which will improve all aspects of your life. Taking self-responsibility for your choices is not enough though. Once you realize this you have to initiate action and continue working on healthy choices to make a drastically positive impact on your overall life. Every small progressive step you take toward making things right and better has a compound effect that you won't regret. You will be able to look back and see all that you have accomplished and it will seem less of a chore to continue to take more actions over a period of time to create a compound outcome. You will use your time more wisely. Remember this. You can make more after you lose it, you can rebuild a home after it's come to the ground but you can never make more time or build more time. You can't borrow time. Time wasted is time lost forever. 

Source: Hardy, Darren (2011-11-01). The Compound Effect (pp. 14-15). Vanguard Press. Kindle Edition. 

19 Daily Rules to Looking Your Best & Feeling Your Best in 2014

Here is a summary of things you can do to look your best and feel your best by summer of 2014.
#1 Walk 10,000 Steps Daily.
#2 Eat whole foods and avoid animal based foods.
#3 Drink water and whole foods juices as your source of liquids to re-hydrate.
#4 Perform strength training at least 3 times per week.
#5 Stretch daily
#6 Focus on good posture when you find yourself sitting.
#7 Practice some form of stress management.
#8 Stay away from industrialized foods and products.
#9 Don't smoke & drink no more than one serving of alcohol if you drink.
#10 Develop a regular sleeping pattern and sleep between 7 - 8 hours daily.
#11 Always tell somebody you love them.
#12 Hug somebody everyday.
#13 Stop worrying and start doing something about your problems.
#14 Spend time with people who encourage you rather than discourage you.
#15 Let the things you see, think and speak reflect on gratitude and happiness.
#16 Smile everyday as often as you can, even when you wake up, as you fall asleep and when ever you meet people.
#17 Read books on personal development and growth.
#18 Spend time around people that inspire you so you too can inspire others.
#19 Spend intimate time with the love of your life.
If you follow these 19 rules you will discover how amazing life can be. Enjoy!

Take Our Challenge for a Real Life Experience of Fitness & Healthy Eating

It gets more an more difficult to stay on track with exercise and nutrition when you find thousands of publications on the latest diets, the latest news on fitness and the bulldozer marketing of the supplement and meal replacement industry. Believe me, I have fallen victim to this many times in the past and it took years to start stripping away at facts versus marketing. 

When I started to study Chinese Medicine I took a stealthy approach of throwing the pharmaceutical gorilla off my back. It was a bit easy to do this because I didn't ever buy into the idea that we need to fill our bellies with man made medicine to make me feel better when I was feeling sick or less enthusiastic than normal. 

The hardest battle I faced was getting away from supplements and meal replacements because they were so convenient. This is the same culprit that has led to the SAD (Standard American Diet) eating patterns of fast food which has contributed to the growing trend of childhood obesity and the obesity epidemic in Americans in general. 

It is for this reason that in 2014 I want to and will offer a FREE series of fitness and nutrition seminars. I hope to educate and reveal the dirty secrets that the supplement and food industry is using to get people hooked on their brands and start a movement that will start a viral health promoting movement. So I thought of this title for my free educational seminar, "The Phit Loser" Challenge? This is short for 'The Physically Fit Loser' meaning that you lose and give up something in order to improve your health. I would love to hear what you think of this idea? 

I will be launching the website soon which will be directly linked to www.irondogfitness.com. I hope to see you at one of the seminars and in a few days you will hear my announcement.

9 Tips to Eat Guilt-Free for the Holidays

#1 Add an extra 10 minutes of daily fitness. If you workout 6 days a week this will add up to an extra hour of exercise.

#2 Avoid all breads

#3 Avoid all liquid calories (*If you are juicing your veggies and fruits this does not apply)

#4 Try avoiding meat until Thanksgiving Day. This simple step will make a dramatic difference in your consumption of several forms of fats, most importantly the saturated fat you should already be avoiding. This step will also make a dramatic difference in the amount of calories you have reduced in your daily food intake.

#5 Make sure you get at least 7 hours of sleep. This will help you get adequate rest which will aide with recovery as well as helping the body perform optimally. 

#6 Enter the 5 Weeks to Holiday Madness Challenge. If anything it will make sure you got in all that extra and much needed activity. 

#7 Try parking further away from where you work, shop and visit. This step will help you get the recommended 10,000 daily steps.

#8 Avoid having dessert.

#9 Avoid dressings regardless of what the label says. Normal food spoils in less than two weeks. This should be a clue of what to avoid.

Benefits or Regular Daily Exercise

Words like exercise, physical activity, exertion and strength training often become mental barriers to people because these words mean stepping out of a comfort zone. Most people prefer the term 'comfort' because it means that you don't have to do anything more than what you are already doing. Comfort to most means sitting back and watching a movie, taking a power nap or eating (in most cases fast foods and processed foods) just to name a few. Comfort doesn't require any extra effort. Laying down on the couch is an effortless activity which has no benefit unless you are trying to recover from a serious workout or illness in which case you need that type of rest. Exercise requires 'Action' just like anything positive which you are trying to accomplish. If you want a degree, you have to go to school for many years and put it countless hours of studying. If you want to get better at your career you still have to put in countless hours of learning, successes and failures and a continuous effort to grow. A lot of people actually put more effort into their careers while neglecting their health not realizing that there are benefits to exercise, a good diet and proper rest that can help improve their careers at a much faster and efficient rate. Here are just some of the great reasons you should be exercising and how they will not just improve your health but also help you grow in your career:

• Increases HDL
• Decreases LDL
• Lowers Cholesterol
• Strengthens Your Bones
• Helps prevent Osteoporosis
• Improves sleep
• Combats depression and anxiety
• Improved memory
• Increases size of brain structure involved in memory
• Boost Immunity
• Increase rate of recovery from illness and serious injury
• Prevents Stroke
• Prevents Heart Disease
• Weight Control
• Prevents HBP
• Boosts Self-Image & Self-Confidence
• Strengthens Your Bones, Ligaments & Tendons
• Prevents and Reduces Injury severity 
• Improved performance of Activities of Daily Living (ADL's)
• Increased work capacity
• Improved flexibility
• Decreased body fat stores
• Increased mobilization and utilization of fat
• Reduced glucose-stimulated insulin sensitivity
• Prevention of Type II Diabetes
• Decreased Resting Heart Rate
• Sports Performance enhancement
• Decreased incidence of some cancers
• Increased Total Blood Volume
• Keeps the spark and improve sexual performance
• Increased Energy (so you don't need to waste money on energy drinks or supplements)

These bullet point benefits are only a fraction of the positive reasons to exercise which are listed. Now that you have this information, you have a compiled list of various reasons to make the decision to exercise. Believe me! When you stick to it, you will be more than rewarded for stepping out the comfort zone.

Technology to Track Your Fitness

In today's world of technology you can find almost anything and everything online. You can also even download applications for your phone which will help you share life events like on Facebook and pin your favorite pictures on Pinterest to share with anyone and everyone. We use technology to do many things but rarely do we use it to help us stay healthy. I thought I would share some applications you can download on your phone to help you stay focused on your fitness goals as well as have a way to track your progress.

In today's world of technology you can find almost anything and everything online. You can also even download applications for your phone which will help you share life events like on Facebook and pin your favorite pictures on Pinterest to share with anyone and everyone. We use technology to do many things but rarely do we use it to help us stay healthy. I thought I would share some applications you can download on your phone to help you stay focused on your fitness goals as well as have a way to track your progress. 

If you are a Samsung or Droid phone user, odds are you have an application called SHealth already on you phone known. SHealth can help you track your daily steps like those fancy pedometers you see some people using. Walking '10,000 Steps' was first started in Japan to protect for the purpose of staying healthy and losing weight. Did you know that it takes about 2000 - 2500 steps to walk just 1 mile and you will burn somewhere between 250 - 600 calories? I mile is equivalent to 4 laps around a typical Track lane. To get 10,000 steps you will have to walk about 5 miles in one day which means 20 laps around the track. So to burn a typical cookie or donut you may have to walk at least a mile. If you had more than one you will probably need to walk 2 miles and that is not counting excess calories in other meals. If you had a Frappuccino later that day you will have to walk another mile or two. So is it worth it? Other great things you can do with SHealth: You can track your weight, exercise and food intake. You could also keep records of your blood sugar and blood pressure which will help you see how you are improving in these areas. If you decide to buy available accessories you will be able to track you heart rate and even your sleeping patterns. 

How about the iPhone? You can download MapMyWalk or MapMyRun may be the best free app you can use on your phone to help your health. What you can do with it: Map and track your walking routes, share and find routes others are using, track your food log and share your progress via Facebook and other social media to use it as a tool to ask your family or friends to hold you accountable for your goals to live a health life and maybe even lose some weight. 

The key here is it doesn't really matter walk type of exercise you do to stay health. What does matter is that you stay consistent and find a convenient and useful way to help track your progress. When you see results you are more likely to stay motivated and continue to do what seems to be working. Technology has made it easy for us to do many things so why not use it to stay healthy and track your fitness goals? Enjoy!

Have questions? If you have any questions you can reach me by e-mail at: damien@irondogfitness.com 

Women and Running

Exercise can help anyone and everyone if they set their minds to getting past the 'sedentary zone'. There are so many reasons why it doesn't make sense to remain sedentary but I will list a few: Heart Disease, Stroke and unnecessary muscle injury from lack of movement. There is also the commonly known but much neglected personal circumstances to consider when beginning an exercise program. Things you need to consider is posture, exercise history, exercise experience and past as well as present injuries. 

Understanding proper running mechanics is important but just like enough calcium consumption is more important in women then it is for men, it is also equally more important to understand basic body mechanic considerations in women. It is funny that I ran into this article about women and running mechanics because my newest client has knee issues and the doctor had told her the same thing I told without ever speaking to him. Here is what I told her. Your hip width plays a factor in how you run, your excess weight also places a crucial factor in the level of stress impact received by the knee and ankle joints and based on your current lifestyle, the odds are high that you have tight hamstrings and weak hips. Bam, that was exactly what the doctor had told her. So I immediately started implementing some simple exercises that can be done with no equipment but rather using her own body weight. These simple exercises along with the new ones I will be adding will help address both her weight goals and her joint pain concerns. Here are a few things to consider if you are a woman and plan on running. I will keep it in simple english to avoid confusion. Women's hips tend to be wider so there is an increased risk that the knees will collapse inward. If your toes are pointed out and your knees are pointing inward, you are going to have some serious knee and possibly ankle issues. It is important to keep you shoulders slightly retracted, especially in women with larger breasts. Run tall, maintaining an upright posture with a very slight forward tilt of the entire body. There should be an obvious feeling of being aligned straight from head to tows without bending forward at the hips. If you haven't been running you may want to start a walk, fast walk, jog and then a running plan after a few weeks of the first three mentioned. If you are overweight, stick to walking and indoor cycling to avoid undue stress on the knee and ankle joints. 

You need a strong core to allow proper natural twisting and rotation of the pelvis without excessive twisting which could have negative consequences on speed as well as conservation of energy. Over twisting can be prevented by insuring that your arms are swinging from the shoulder joint rather than from the elbow joint. Think of the old fashion wild west movies when the two opponents are in a prepared stance to reach for their guns. The elbows are flexed at or close to 90 degree angles, hands relaxed and when they reach for their gun they will have to swing the elbow back to reach their hand to the handle of the gun in the holster. This action occurs from the shoulder. When the grab the gun from the holster they will once again swing the arm forward from the should causing the elbow to first swing back and then forward. They will not allow the torso to over-rotate nor will they allow the hands to over cross the midsection. This will make sure there aim is directed directly toward the opponent whom they intend to shoot before they get shot. The same is true about running in which it is important to pump the swing of the arms at the shoulders and not the elbows to avoid a hammering type appearance. 

There are also considerations to be looked at during the stance phase and the swing phase of running. I will say that the most important part to watch for is over-striding which is seen during the swing to stance phase of the legs in which your foot lands to far ahead of your body. When this occurs you are hitting the breaks and slowing down your running so try and prevent over reaching during running. Your focus should be in such a way that your body is directly over your foot as you land to push off from the ground. If your foot is to far ahead you will find yourself pulling the ground rather than pushing the ground. This is dangerous because this can easily lead to a pulled hamstring. There is a whole science to proper running but I hope that these hints will be helpful in making you a better runner. :D

Keep in mind that the worse your form is the more likely you are to develop injuries and increase the magnitude of the injury as well. Also, your running form will either help you conserve energy or it will begin to deplete your resources at a faster rate. Knowledge is power when it is applied. Have a great running experience. :D

For more information you can go to: http://tworiverstreads.com/natural-running-form/

Look at magazines such as Runner's World and books like Running Anatomy, The Non-Marathon Trainer and Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide.