Really not that bad so far and I am almost halfway completed. Although today I had a serious headache in the morning, it was painful just to move. The previous couple of days were headache free and I thought that I was finally over the caffeine withdrawal. Of course I could be over it with the headaches being from something else but I like to think it is the caffeine since I have been there before a few times over the years and the symptoms are similar.
One of the supplements I am taking is fish oil which I was originally taking in liquid form till I noticed the citrus oil in it so I am now using capsules. For now I am taking 2 capsules, 2x/day but I have usually take around 10/day in the form of liquid oil.
Fish oil is one of the supplements I highly recommend for everyone. There has been lots of news on fish oil (often also referred to as Omega-3 fatty acids) in the lay press and in the research.
Here are some of the broad benefits or areas that fish oil (omega-3 fats) can have a positive impact:
improved heart health
fat loss (~65% of North Americans are obese)
Arthritis
brain function / memory
mental health (e.g. depression, ADD)
anti-inflammatory /joint health
Sounds pretty good to me, I will take improvement in all those areas.
When I look at all these broad benefits of fish oil, it is obviously (or at least to me) meant to be a part of a healthy diet just like eating your fruits and vegetables.
For the skeptics out, when you go to PubMed, which is a central registry for all notable research journals and use the following key words:
fish oil omega 3 fatty acids
You get back over 10 000 thousand research papers!
OBJECTIVE:
To examine evidence for the role of omega-3 fatty acids in
cardiovascular disease.
QUALITY OF EVIDENCE: PubMed was searched for
articles on the role of omega-3 fatty acids in cardiovascular disease.
Level I and II evidence indicates that omega-3 fatty acids are
beneficial in improving cardiovascular outcomes.
MAIN MESSAGE: Dietary
intake of omega-3 fatty acids has declined by 80% during the last 100
years, while intake of omega-6 fatty acids has greatly increased.
Omega-3 fatty acids are cardioprotective mainly due to beneficial
effects on arrhythmias, atherosclerosis, inflammation, and thrombosis.
There is also evidence that they improve endothelial function, lower
blood pressure, and significantly lower triglycerides.
CONCLUSION:
There is good evidence in the literature that increasing intake of
omega-3 fatty acids improves cardiac outcomes.Physicians need to
integrate dietary recommendations for consumption of omega-3 fatty
acids into their usual cardiovascular care.
Day 3 was good, still had caffeine withdrawal and fatigue but managed to get in a good mobility session and a Water Polo practice. For the team I play for, the Thursday night practice is more swimming then anything else and my swim conditioning is certainly something I am lacking.
One of the things I was working on in my mobility session was screwing the floor. It was quite fun working on something I can barely do and seeing progress in that one session. This drill requires good internal hip rotation, among other things, which I am greatly lacking so it is very challenging. At times it was painful which I need to be careful of because if you move into pain your body can negatively react and create more tension and decreased mobility (sometimes referred to as the startle reflex). Not what I am trying to accomplish with this drill.
In the video of the Russian instructor doing the screwing the floor, he does not show how you can regress the exercise. My friend Dennis Frisch, who is much better at this stuff then me showed me a very simple regression. The video of this regression will have to wait for another day (sorry).
Day 4
Wow, I feel quite good this morning, no head aches or fatigue. Maybe I am finished with my caffeine withdrawal symptoms although I should really call it coffee withdrawal since I am drinking green and black tea. My shoulders ache a bit from the previous nights swim training but otherwise I am doing really well.
Below are some notes on the first two days; mildly unpleasant would be one way of describing it.
Day 1
The hardest thing so far is being without coffee. Caffeine withdrawal for me comes with a pretty intense head ache and some serious brain fog. I couldn't do any work on the first day, I was completely brain dead. Any reserves I had was to care for my 1 year old son.
Its weird though, I allow my self green and black tea which has caffeine in it and I was still brain dead for most of the day. There must be something else in the coffee that I am also experiencing withdrawal from or it could just be the psychological phenomenon of not having it; I do enjoy the taste.
Day 2
BUSTED!!!
Bad news, I broke my diet (accidentally). It is not like I ate a dozen donuts with a liter of milk plus a pot of coffee, but I did eat a food that is on my DO NOT EAT LIST.
It was actually a very honest mistake; this is what happened.
I live in a foreign country (Denmark) where I do not speak or understand the language very well.
Yes, I blame it all on the Danes!
I was buying frozen spinach the other day and bought one that was spinach with cream sauce. I meant to buy just plain frozen spinach. I didn't realize my mistake till after eating the first package with my chicken. Oops! Of course the entire package is in Danish but if I looked more closely I would of saw that the ingredients had more then just spinach on it and that would of raised a red flag for this product.
Another error I made in these two days was with my fish oil. I have been using liquid fish oil that is flavored with citrus oil. So, I will need to switch to capsules for the next three weeks.
I am also taking some other supplements that I will go into detail in a later post.
No, it's not the Danes fault, I only have my self to blame. It is my own personal responsibility to care for my own personal body, no one else. Anyway, mistakes are good, this is how you learn.
By the way my two mistakes came with somewhat processed foods. When on a restricted diet, the simplest way of avoiding these mishaps is to consume mostly whole foods. Actually every healthy diet should be focused on whole foods.
Whole foods are those that are unprocessed and unrefined, or
processed and refined as little as possible before being consumed. They
typically do not contain added ingredients, such as sugar, salt, or fat.
"Diets rich in whole and unrefined foods, like whole grains, dark green
and yellow/orange-fleshed vegetables and fruits, legumes, nuts and
seeds, contain high concentrations of antioxidant phenolics, fibers and
numerous other phytochemicals that may be protective against chronic
diseases."
B Bruce, G Spiller, L Klevay, S Gallagher. A Diet High in Whole and Unrefined Foods Favorably Alters Lipids, Antioxidant Defenses, and Colon Function.Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 19, No. 1, 61–67 (2000) http://www.jacn.org/cgi/reprint/19/1/61
I need to do something drastic and do it ASAP, no not "as soon..." but NOW!
What the heck am I talking about?
It's all about my health.
Ever since moving to Copenhagen, Denmark this past August (2009) I have been stricken with fatigue. Not all the time but more time then I would like. There have been times when I have had a low grade cold for 2 weeks before being able to shake it.
That is just nonsense.
So to get back on top of my health for the next 3 weeks starting Dec 1, 2009 (yes, that was yesterday) I will be on a very strict elimination diet. I believe many of my "problems" are gastrointestinal (GI) related and after all 70-80% of your immune system is located in your GI so if it is not functioning optimally then it is no wonder I have fatigue and illness.
Here is what I am eliminating from my diet, although some of the items have been out for a long time.
My Elimination Diet with some short notes
Gluten (bread, pasta, ...) - I have been avoiding this for several years now, no big deal.
Soy
All Dairy - I say all dairy because the only dairy I have been using regularly is butter which is now eliminated. By the way, I love butter!
Corn - non issue, don't eat it much anyway.
Citrus - I like it but can go with out.
Nightshade Vegetables (Onions, Peppers, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Beets) - I am taking these out because of their association with Arthritis and general joint pain. My elbow joints are constantly cracking and often lock up, my shoulders make crunching sounds all the time and I am incredibly stiff in the morning which kind of sucks because this would be a great time to train but I can barely move so I must wait for till at least late morning or later.
Pork - my family eats lots of pork; this will only be an issue of convenience since sausages is one of the only processed foods I eat regularly.
Eggs - Convenience, easy and quick to make is what I will miss about eggs.
Peanuts - I love peanut butter but will substitute with other nut butters like almond or cashew.
Coffee - probably the biggest challenge of all the foods. I have a serious caffeine addiction but i have gone off coffee before. I am allowing my self to drink green and black teas which is a small consolation.
My goal is to completely avoid all these foods for the next 3 weeks (Dec 1 - Dec 21, 2009). The dates actually work out perfectly because on Dec 21 my family and I are going to Hungary for holidays. When in Hungary, you eat pork, tomatoes and peppers (paprika) every day.
During this 3 week experiment, I am particularly interested in my bodies response to no nightshade vegetables and pork.
I will check back in every few days to give updates on how I am doing.
My 6-day long R-Phase course is now over and it is time to start digesting the information. My brain and body is a little bit saturated from all the information I received this past week through lecture and movement.
One of the things that came up early in the course was the plasticity of the human nervous system, which is one of the important concepts to understand with Z-Health. Plasticity simple means that the nervous system can be molded and remodeled through training, but basically what ever you do.
Below is a video demonstrating how plastic the nervous system really is.
In a previous post I mentioned the KISS Principle and strength coach Dan John. I have never actually known the origin of the principle until now.
The principle has nothing to do with this KISS but in many ways the band uses the "KISS principle" to influence their music. I remember once hearing an interview with Gene Simmons, the bass player, and he talked about the importance of him playing extremely simple in order to make the music work. There are many other examples like this from the music world and please do not confuse simple with easy.
Many musicians if not all will tell you that sometimes the most difficult pieces of music to play are actually theoretically very simple. One example would be 12 bar blues; theoretically very simple to play and easily understood and is usually something a beginner learns in the first few months of picking up an instrument but ...
... there is a big difference between a well seasoned pro and a beginner, even if they are playing the same music. Most people, including non-musicians will be able to tell the difference between the two even though they may not be able to explain why.
While popular usage translates is as 'Keep it simple, stupid', Mr.
Johnson translated it as 'Keep it simple and stupid'. There was no
implicit meaning that an engineer was stupid; just the opposite.
The principle is best exemplified by the story of Mr. Johnson
handing a team of design engineers a handful of tools, with the
challenge that the jet aircraft they were designing must be repairable
by an average mechanic in the field under combat conditions with only
these tools. Hence, the 'stupid' refers to the relationship between the
way things break and the sophistication available to fix them.
The principle most likely finds its origins in similar concepts, such as Occam's razor, and Albert Einstein's maxim that "everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler".[3]Leonardo Da Vinci's "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication", or Antoine de Saint Exupéry's "It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away".
I am off to R-Phase this week which is a 6 day long course offered by Z-Health. I am expecting it to be a very intense learning experience.
What is R-Phase? The short and simple explanation of R-Phase is that it is a series of fairly isolated joint mobility exercises to improve your health and performance.
It is actually much more then this and I will write about my experience with this course another time.
This is from the Z-Health website describing R-Phase.
"With R-Phase, we focus on the basics: precise, dynamic joint mobility
training through a neurologic lens. Additionally, we introduce and
study functional anatomy, kinesiology, and fundamental neuroscience —
to lay the foundation for the "whys" of the system. R-Phase, as the
foundational Z-Health certification, often brings dramatic changes in
people, and provides trainers with a set of assessment tools and
protocols to bring immediate results to their clients."
For a quick review, here are the main exercises that I covered in that training session.
- Split Squats
- Squats
- Single Leg Box Squats
- Single Leg Deadlift
- Sliding Leg Curls
The training program is simple (remember the KISS principle) but can be very effective.
There are two parts; a warm up program and a strength program.
The program is designed for the Hørsholm 79ers Women's Basketball team and after consulting with the head coach we have decided a 20 minute long program would be suitable for these athletes. Please remember that these athletes are already training multiple times/week plus games; resources at this time of the year are already taxed to a large degree hence a rather short program.
The program is also extremely knee and low back friendly.
The training program should be completed 3x/week and can be done before or after Basketball practice or as a separate training session.
If you are going to do the program before or after practice please read this first: When to Strength Train?
Of course you will do the entire program barefoot; no shoes, no socks!
WARM UP
- spend 5-8 minutes going through all the drills demonstrated in the below video.
- Perform 1-3 sets of 5-10 reps of each drill with short rests (~20-30s).
- 2 exercises will be used: Single Leg Box Squats (SLBSQ) & Sliding Leg Curls (SLC).
- Program length is no longer then 12 minutes.
- Perform the program 3x/week on non-consecutive days (e.g. M, W, F).
- Depending on your game schedule, sometimes only 2x/week will be realistic but this also depends on how many minutes you play. If you are a junior who rarely even gets in the game then I would recommend you do this program 3x/week regardless of game schedule. Conversely, if you are the "star" player and getting 30+ minutes then you may only be able to do 2x/week. When in doubt consult with your coach.
- There are 3 different programs to follow: Testing Day; Program A; Program B.
- Perform the "Testing Day" as your first training session and then every 4-5 weeks perform it again after having 3-4 days rest from strength training.
- The rest of the week you will alternate between Program A & B.
Testing Day
During this training session you test your max reps with the Single Leg Box Squat (SLBSq) and the Sliding Leg Curls (SLC).
For the SLBSq, set up a bench, chair or sturdy box that places your thighs at least parallel or slight lower to the ground. A standard weightlifting bench will probably be to high for many of you. The test is very simple, perform as many reps as you can with one leg then rest for 2-3 minutes and do the other leg. You want to use extremely strict form and not fall or bounce off of the box. If you can do 15+ reps then use a lower box or add load.
SLC you will do the same thing with both legs. Very important to keep your hips up at all times and do not let your hips flex. If you can do 20+ reps then do Single Leg SLC.
For both tests, record your results in the log provided (see the PDF download at the bottom of the page).
Program A
- This is an interval based program of 40s on/20s off so you will need a timer or stop watch of some kind. A free online timer is available and can be downloaded so you can use it offline (http://www.speedbagforum.com/timer.html)
- The program is very simple; do as many GOOD reps as you in the 40s of work. The reps do not have to be continuous and always record each set in the log provided.
- At the end of the session add up your total reps for each exercises. The next time you do this program, you want to try to beat that number by a few reps.
- Don't worry about going all out on the first set, it is actually best to pace yourself especially the 1st time through the program, come to a comfortable stop with each set. Then each time you perform this program beat your number.
The program will be performed in a circuit where you will do one set (i.e. 40s of work) of each exercises then repeat for a total of 4 cycles (12 minutes).
1. SLBSQ (L)
2. SLBSQ (R)
3. SLC
Program B
- This program you will do the same exercises but with a slightly different scheme. This different scheme is very slow eccentric phase with an extremely fast concentric phase. You will also perform straight sets x reps.
- Eccentric phase is the lowering portion of the exercise (SLBSQ is when you are going down to the bench; SLC is when you are straightening out your legs) while concentric is the opposite.
- Very slow down (5-10s) & very fast up (less then 1s).
- Perform 2 x 3-6 reps/exercise. Rest a good 60s between sets.
- Perform all the sets of SLBSQ first, then finishing off the session with 2 sets of SLC.
- You should be able to be complete this within 12 minutes.
You can download a PDF of this entire program below:
This is a quick recap of what I did with the team for the 45 minutes I had with them.
But first, please let me try to explain the a bit of the thought process that I go through when doing something like this. What I mean by "this" is that I am only going out for one 45 minute session; I am the guest coach for the day.
Now, "this" may turn into a regular training session with this team but for now it is only a one time thing.
One of the things I have learned as a coach is to keep it simple. I have seen to many high level professional athletes fail miserably at what many would call basic or simple exercises.
Strength Coach Dan John from Utah, USA calls this the KISS principle (keep it simple stupid).
I have learned this lesson the hard way many times, but maybe just maybe I have it figured out now. The KISS principle ends up being the driving force behind this session. It is also important to keep it simple when not knowing anything about these players other then they play Basketball in the highest division in Denmark.
Here is a summary of the training session I did with the Hørsholm 79ers with some other bits of my thought process about coaching this kind of training session.
- I start by giving the girls a bit of a shocker as I tell them "no shoes, no socks". They all kind of give me a weird look but comply with my instructions. If you are wondering why no shoes, then you can read some of my earlier posts:
- Brief introduction of myself and some of the things we will be doing. After talking to the coach a few days before, we decided that I should focus on body weight exercises with a focus on the trunk and lower body. Considering these are basketball players, where the knee is one of the most injured joints this is certainly not a bad idea. Learning some proper movement mechanics of the lower body is always good and is usually lacking in many athletes.
- During the introduction I give them my 1st rule; "if hurts you must stop and let me know". I have no idea what the current medical history is of any of these players. The last thing I want to do is hurt someone by pushing them into a drill or exercise that is not appropriate for that individual at this time.
- With introduction over we get down on the floor on our stomachs, resting on our forearms for a minute or so then go directly into side-lying rotations which is thoracic spine mobility drill.
- Z-Health drills from R-Phase; lateral & medial ankle tilts, closed chain knee circles and hip pendulums.
- Split Squats (2 x 5 reps/side) & Body Weight Squats (3 x 5 reps) emphasizing movement quality.
- Now since I have had a chance to observe them move a bit we go into what I believe may very well be one of the best exercises, when performed properly, for knee health ... the single leg squat.
- I decided to teach them the Single Leg Box Squat, which is going up and down from a chair, box or bench.
- This is a much harder exercises then you think but these girls really pulled it off quite nicely.
- Next I coached them through 2 exercises that really focus on the back side, mainly Hamstrings & Glutes.
- Research has shown that in people with knee pain, the Hamstrings are relatively much weaker then the quadriceps (muscles on the front of the thigh). So, to prevent knee pain and also aid in performance doing lots of work on the back side is very important.
- The 2 exercises I taught were the Single Leg Deadlift and Sliding Leg Curls on the floor.
- At this point I was out of time and we had to stop. I didn't get a chance to really talk about programming so I will include a sample program in my next post.
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