The Big Muscle Boss: April 2012

Friday, April 27, 2012

If You Can't Pronounce It, Dont Eat It!

Last fall when the weather was cool, I whipped up a batch of latkes. For those of you that aren't familiar with latkes, in short, they're potato pancakes: Grated potatoes, a little minced onion, some egg made into patties and fried (yes, fried) in hot oil. They're delicious and served with either sour cream and/or applesauce. Since I was frying I decided to go the applesauce route for less calories. I purchased a jar of Albertson's brand chunky applesauce and paired it with the latkes. It was quite good considering the zillion calories I had just consumed.

Have you ever lost anything in your refrigerator? Well, it's now April and that jar of applesauce from last November was lost deep in the back of the refrigerator. I was expecting a science experiment when I discovered it. No science experiment. No fuzzies. No strange colored culture growing on what was left of the applesauce in that jar. I thought this was strange that this jar had been in the there for almost 6 months and there was nothing wrong with it. Nothing wrong until I read the label: "Apples, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water ascorbic acid (vitamin C)." No wonder that jar of applesauce remained embalmed all these months. It was the all the corn syrups, high-fructose and otherwise.

Number one: Shame on me for buying this stuff. Number two: Shame on the grocer for putting this stuff on their shelves. Yes, they'll argue that it's wholesome but in light of all the bad press and negative side effects of high-fructose corn syrup, why would they choose to sell this stuff. Number three. Shame on me again for not reading the ingredient label. The grocery is in business to make money. It's my business to watch what I put in my mouth. Also, a good rule to follow: If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Are You a Quart Low?

The human body is approximately 60% water. That means that a 200 pound man is about 120 pounds of water, or about 15 gallons worth (water weights 8 lbs per gallon). The water content in muscle is even higher: about 80%. Do I really need to tell you that water is important for building muscle? No lecturing here but I will tell you why it's absolutely important: Well-hydrated muscle cells synthesize protein better than those that are not so well-hydrated. In other words, if you're low on water your body is using protein at a slower rate and that means that you're not growing muscle efficiently. What's the first thing you put in your mouth in the morning? Coffee? Diet Coke? Orange Juice? When you wake-up your body has lost water during the night through perspiration, respiration, and urination. Here's a simple test: Weigh yourself before you go to bed and again when you immediately wake up. There will be a difference on the scale. Was it one pound? Maybe two pounds? Lets just say the latter, two pounds. Two pounds of water is a whole quart, 32 ounces, or 4 cups of water! You need to put that back ASAP! And Gatorade and Crystal Lite don't count. During the past 25 years the first thing I've been drinking is 16 ounces of water every morning. That may be a lot for some folks but I'm a 200+ pound guy and it's not that hard. I recommend staring with at least 8 ounces to get your kidneys going. A common guideline is 8 glasses of water, about 64 ounces, through-out your day. Another good working guideline is to divide your weight by 2.2 and the result is now many ounces of water you should consume (Me: 200 lbs/2.2 = 90.9 ounces of water). These numbers aren't written in stone. During strenuous activity or if you're in a hot climate you'll probably need even more! Drink up and stay healthy!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Muscle for Muscle: Do Machines Stack Up?

When I initially began working out in the Eighties at the regional junior college in Cost, Utah, there were no machines in the health club. The weight-training area was a hodgepodge of dumb bells and barbells strewn all over the room with a couple rickety weight benches and a squat rack. The only mirror in the gym was one of those framed things you purchase for $7.99 and lean against a wall. You are able to imagine there was a ton of competition for that mirror. I was in heaven!

As I progressed from that little university health and fitness center to bigger fitness clubs I started to see more sophisticated machines. The most complicated hulks of metal I have certainly ever before experienced were the early 80's Nautilus circuits. At this specific health club I registered, members were not permitted to make use of these machines without an instructor since they required numerous modifications and settings to match up with your joint alignments. As the years passed, the engineers who produced these breasts made them even more user friendly allowing practically anybody to jump on and do a few sets all by themselves. To the club owners these machines clicked: The equipment stayed in one spot, the limited range of movement helped assure members were less likely to damage themselves, and the high-priced "furniture" offered the location a sense of authority.

Nowadays when you, stroll into a gym or health club, what you'll see are mostly machines. Rows and rows of them - and having a couple of free-weight racks thrown-in as an afterthought. However does that strength you obtain on a machine convert into something functional off of that machine? In other words, if you have the ability to leg press 720 pounds, could you squat an equivalent amount of weight? Probably not. Most individuals that train solely on machines are not fully functional outside of that atmosphere. Many assistive muscles that are called into play during free-weight training aren't called into play when using many machines. What reps they're able to complete on a particular piece of equipment does not translate into equal useable strength in daily functional movements.

I'm going to get off my soapbox now but intend on revisiting this subject. Would love to hear your reviews, pro and con, so leave a comment.