MichaelReid.ca

2010 Volvo Cup - Water Polo

The past 3 days the Canadian Men's Water Polo team have been back in action during the Volvo Cup in Hungary.

They have done very well for themselves and I have written a brief snap shot of what they did below.

Canada wins big - Volvo Cup 2010

Canada plays close to Hungary - Volvo Cup  2010

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

Train Your Eyes

Last weekend I was taking I-Phase which is the level II Z-Health course.

Very fascinating information, we learned so much over the course of 4 days. One of the things that was emphasized during the course was the hierarchy of the nervous system which is:

i) visual (eyes)     ii) vestibular (balance center)     iii) proprioceptive (movement)

The basics is that the if the body is getting mixed signals from any of these systems it will "believe" or act on the one of the higher order. So basically your eyes are at the top of the totem pole and will influence what happens in the other two systems.

Many of us have heard about the importance of posture on your health and function but did you realize that if your eyes are "screwed up" that your posture can change to compensate for this dysfunction. This is often at the expense of your muscular-skeletal health.

So, maybe that painful shoulder, low back or neck is not a result of poor muscle strength/endurance or flexibility but an issue that is being driven by your eyes.

Here is a simple drill that be used to train your eyes. This drill only takes ~30s to complete and can be performed as part of your warm up routine.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAPE3hJ2GBE

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

PS This past fall I took level I, which is called R-Phase, I wrote about it here.

Kettlebells are Best for Fat Loss

This research article came out this past week and has been whipping around my community of colleagues like ______________ (insert something crazy).

It concludes that Kettlebells burn ~20 Kcal/minute which is a HUGE number. This is 2-4x greater when compared to other popular forms of exercise (e.g. swimming, walking, jogging, weight training).

download the article for FREE: http://www.acefitness.org/getfit/studies/Kettlebells012010.pdf

The lead researcher from the study says:

“We estimated oxygen consumption and how many calories they were burning aerobically, and it was 13.6 calories per minute. But we also measured the blood lactate, so anaerobically they were burning another 6.6 calories per minute,” explains Porcari. “So they were burning at least 20.2 calories per minute, which is off the charts. That’s equivalent to running a 6-minute mile pace. The only other thing I could find that burns that many calories is cross-country skiing up hill at a fast pace.”

The exercise used was the Kettlebell Snatch which is an intermediate Kettlebell drill, but beginners can get similar benefits from performing Kettlebell Swings.

Kettlebell Swing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyunpidlFnQ

Fredrik, the athlete in the video has been training for some time; 60kg is not the recommended weight to start with.

Generally, females will start with 8-12kg while most men will start with 16kg.

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

Naked Get Up

This is an exercise that is a prerequisite for the Turkish Get Up.

The Turkish/Naked Get Up is a great exercise for improving the durability, strength and flexibility of the entire body, not to mention building bullet proof and resilient shoulders in the process.

When you can do the Naked Get Up with very good technique then try it using a very light Kettlebell (8-12kg).

SUMMARY

• Start with just just a shoe or sandal.

• The implement you use doesn't really matter but it should not be heavy and if it falls off your fist it should in no way harm the athlete or anyone around them (i.e. it must be light).

• Work up to performing 5 x 1 reps/side, alternating each side with each rep.

• This will typically take anywhere from 5-15 minutes to complete.

• Even though it is just a “shoe”, the Naked Get Up is much harder then it looks and can be very taxing. Build up volume and frequency gradually. Ultimately you could do the Naked GU almost everyday of the week.

• When first learning the exercise, breaking it up into smaller segments is a very good idea. See the reference below titled: “Kettlebells from the Ground Up ...” for more information on how to exactly do this.

• Be patient and practice, practice and practice some more. If you are a coach, please learn the Naked Get Up yourself before you implement it into your athletes program. You will be surprised by what you find out about your own body.

• Finally, enjoy the process of moving your body in ways that you may have never done before. It's a wonderful journey and you are NEVER to old to start.

Enjoy and be well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

Fish Oil Explanation by Dr. Berardi

More information on why you want to take fish oil and the amount to take.

Dr. Berardi, a nutritionist and researcher recommends starting with 6g/day which is about 6 capsules.

Note that on most packages it might only say to take 1-3 capsules/day. There should be very little to no concern with taking a higher dose then what is on the package. Remember, 6g/day is just a starting point.

Video Link:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid17217221001?bctid=48793573001

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

Johnny Rabb ... a drummer with a message

Johnny Rabb is one funny dude and an amazing musician. He gets kind of "serious" in the below video but delivers a great message.

Don't worry, you do not need to be a musician to understand the message, it applies to everyone.

The basic message is "keep your sticks", but you must watch the video to truly appreciate what he means.

I think I have it figured out????? Please let me know if you do.

Here is the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRVVm47dxlI

(normally I would embed videos but this one has the embedding function disabled)

Oh yeah, he also gives big props to Canada via high praise of Neil Peart, drummer of Canadian rock band Rush (some of you may have heard of them before).

 

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

Rush playing their song "YYZ"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GniHrn6ikmg

 

My Diet is Over ... for now

My 3 week elimination diet is over; which was actually 19 days, so just shy of 3 weeks. The last week was really good with definite improvements with my gastrointestinal issues. What this may mean is that I am allergic or sensitive to at least one (or more) of the foods that I have eliminated.

The next step would be to add one of the eliminated foods back into my diet for a short period and see how my body reacts. If the food I add back is really a problem I should then see/feel a difference in 1-3 days. If there is no negative reaction then I can add another food, but if there is a negative reaction  I will have to remove that food again till I am back to where I was at the end of the initial elimination diet.

Then I would try another one of the eliminated foods and continue this process.

As you can see, this may take several months to get through.

Of course, I am not doing this.

But, I think I have noticed one food which may be a problem and unfortunately that is eggs. During the evening of the 19th day of the diet, I consumed a lot of homemade gluten free cookies which had eggs in them but no dairy.

The next few days were not good, inte bra (Swedish), nem jo (Hungarian).

Of course it could be one or more of the gluten free flours used but I don't think so.

I went straight back to pre-elimination diet eating right after the 3 weeks period largely because I am on holidays for 10 days in Hungary and I am staying with the in-laws.

During this period it would be very challenging to continue my diet adventure when someone else is doing most of the cooking, although it is not impossible. I will continue my gluten free ways, avoid dairy, although I may indulge myself in some fresh raw milk from the farmer down the road and will try to keep eggs to a minimum. Most of the other food items I have eliminated will probably make there way back into my diet at some point during these 10 days.

When I get back to Copenhagen after these holidays I will keep eggs and dairy out of my diet plus some other stuff and continue on with this journey.

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

PS. I haven't forgotten that I still need to discuss the supplements I am taking (I have already written about fish oil). There are 3 more I need to write about and they are things that most if not all people could benefit from.

My Elimination Diet - almost 1/2 way done

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.

Image by D'Arcy Norman via Flickr

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!

That is a s**t load of research.

Here is an example of one.

Schwalfenberg G. Omega-3 fatty acids: their beneficial role in cardiovascular health. Can Fam Physician. 2006 Jun;52:734-40.

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.

Download the entire article for free: http://www.cfp.ca/cgi/reprint/52/6/734

I am also taking other supplements which I will talk about next time I write in a few days.

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

My Elimination Diet - Day 3 & 4

Day 3

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.

Overall, so far so good.

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

My Elimination Diet - Day 1 & 2

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

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net