My latest appearance in the Post-Gazette. Hey PG, with as many times as a grace your pages per year, how about appointing me as Health & Fitness Editor/Reporter?!?!
It's an opportunity for you to step up your game and offer the same high-quality and up-to-date health & fitness coverage as the New York Times.
Just sayin'.
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/letters/2014/01/21/Exercise-correctly/stories/201401210017
Showing posts with label published articles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label published articles. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Post-Gazette 1/12/2014
My latest appearance in the Post-Gazette. Hey PG, with as many times as a grace your pages per year, how about appointing me as Health & Fitness Editor/Reporter?!?!
It's an opportunity for you to step up your game and offer the same high-quality and up-to-date health & fitness coverage as the New York Times.
Just sayin'.
Exercise Correctly - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It's an opportunity for you to step up your game and offer the same high-quality and up-to-date health & fitness coverage as the New York Times.
Just sayin'.
Before the clock even struck midnight on Jan. 1, we had our first obligatory fitness resolution-related article (“Fitter Faster,” Dec. 30). While the article made a few great points — namely the importance of intensity, less is more when it comes to time spent, fancy equipment is unnecessary, etc. — the numerous egregious errors present in the program, and form demonstrated in the pictures within, yet again demonstrates the need for qualified fitness professionals.
Many trainees — particularly the unconditioned ones — lack sufficient mobility and/or stability to properly perform many of the movements listed. With no regressions suggested, this leaves the door wide open for injury.
Speaking of injury, repeated spinal flexion as demonstrated on No. 4 (abdominal crunches) is precisely how world-renowned back specialist Dr. Stuart McGill states most lower back injuries occur. Similarly, No. 7 (triceps dip) is also a known way to irritate the shoulder through impingement resulting from anterior glide of the humerus in the shoulder socket.
Lastly, the elbows-flared/scarecrow like posture demonstrated on No. 3 (pushups) places undue stress on the shoulder and surrounding rotator cuff. These are just a few of the common errors I see daily in my practice that I correct to prevent unnecessary pain and injury.
The good news is potential trainees will be glad to know that setting up a successful exercise program is even simpler than the article suggests, as a good number of the exercises are redundant. Truthfully, all a successful and sound bodyweight strength program needs is one hip-hinge, squat, upper-body push and upper-body pull movement each. Just remember it’s still worth investing in a lesson or two from a qualified professional on form/technique to get the most of your time invested as well as to prevent injury.
RUSSELL DEMCZAK
Pittsburgh Kettlebells
Ohio Township
The writer is a personal trainer and a certified strength and conditioning specialist.
Exercise Correctly - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Latest Post-Gazette Appearance
Checkout my latest appearance in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in response to THIS article:
Diabetes successes
October 27, 2013 3:51 PM
Finally, a medical professional who "gets it." As a fitness professional of 12-plus years and a Type 1 diabetic myself, allow me to express my sincere gratitude for rare professionals like Dr. Swarna S. Varma who take the all-too-rare approach of focusing on prevention and the value of weaning people off of medications as opposed to the disturbingly common practice of treating symptoms and prescribing more medications ("Fencing in Diabetes: Endocrinologist Focuses on the Health Benefits of Preventing Disease's Complications," Oct. 21). The latter approach has been wholly ineffective, to be kind.
Through personal research and experimentation I, too, have developed my own methods, which are often contrary to "conventional wisdom," in order to achieve similar successes in both myself and clients. I look forward to sharing these strategies at the upcoming Diabetes Expo at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Nov. 9. The dedication and passion demonstrated by Dr. Varma as illustrated by conducting her own research and compiling her own database and her willingness to meet patients at odd hours mirrors that of my own and others who are personally affected by this deadly disease, yet Dr. Varma is not. For this, she is to be applauded, commended and emulated.
RUSSELL DEMCZAK
Health and Fitness Coach
Pittsburgh Kettlebells
Ohio Township
Health and Fitness Coach
Pittsburgh Kettlebells
Ohio Township
Thursday, April 22, 2010
More Musings...
Update: This piece was also published in the USAToday on April, 26th, found here.
The piece I submitted to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that I originally previewed here, was published, and can be found here - albeit slightly edited. Today I will include the text for another piece submitted to the USAToday and currently under consideration.
RE: Do Food Stamps Feed Obesity? - USAToday
The piece I submitted to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that I originally previewed here, was published, and can be found here - albeit slightly edited. Today I will include the text for another piece submitted to the USAToday and currently under consideration.
RE: Do Food Stamps Feed Obesity? - USAToday
While I can’t say with certainty that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (Do Food Stamps Feed Obesity? April, 20) is necessarily feeding obesity, like those organizations charged with recommending our dietary guidelines – it isn’t helping.
Getting kids to eat healthier is indeed a very important long-term goal. The impact on healthcare costs from doing so effectively would be enormous. However, the assertion that school lunches already have to meet “reasonable standards” is laughable. French-fries bathed in vegetable/canola oil counting as vegetables, and flavored milk containing more sugar than soda are not “reasonable” – they are incompetent. We can’t feed kids pizza and chicken patties everyday for twelve years and not expect them to later develop health issues or obesity.
Similar negligence also emanates from organizations like the FDA, American Heart Association, and American Diabetes Association - among others. Despite scientific evidence to the contrary, these folks still cling to dogma which vilifies something as harmless as saturated fat, while extolling the benefits of toxic substances like canola oil and margarine. Such misinformation then infiltrates our curriculums that, absent critical thinking and a self-emphasis on continuing education, produce a nation full of MDs and RDs that dispense outdated and inaccurate nutritional information.
SNAP, like many others, needs reform. Even as a 16 year-old grocery clerk, I could see the lunacy of the Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC) program providing for 64 oz. cans of JuicyJuice and sugar-laden breakfast cereals. But unless the reform is based on good science with an emphasis on real, unprocessed food - the war on obesity will be about as successful as the war on drugs.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Recent Musings...
Figured I would post a couple of rants I have submitted to local newspapers recently in response to articles they ran. The first was published, the other I'm awaiting word on.
First, submitted to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
In response to Dr. Quinlin’s letter from Sunday’s PG (“Obese people generally don't have a choice,” Nov. 23), as a health & fitness professional with 10+ years of experience; I must respectfully disagree.
The original article ("Fat and Fact," Nov. 22) finally brought to light the elephant in the room. While people may not choose to be fat, they do “alone decide how much they eat and how much they exercise (or how little).” It’s not necessarily laziness; it also stems from a lack of education on effective ways to do so. Folks may be surprised to know that the size and scope of their primary care physician’s education on the subjects of nutrition and exercise is extremely small. Even the American Diabetes Association, up until very recent years, was giving dietary recommendations that were actually compounding the problems and symptoms of those following it. These, combined with the large disconnect between medical professionals and health & fitness professionals; are largely contributing to our failure to sufficiently address the obesity and diabetes epidemics.
While I agree with the doctor that genetics play a large role, and that we know very little about the subject as a whole; there is science supporting specific dietary and physical protocols that have significant success. The idea that obesity cannot be controlled or managed any more than eye and skin color is simply not accurate. The responsibility of the individual cannot be understated.
While the obese population may “wish for a solution far more than any policy wonk”, do they know how to go about it and are they willing to make the necessary changes to do so? The multi-billion dollar sales of the supplement industry and FDA approved drugs such as ALLI, combined with the staggering rate of increase in obesity and diabetes in both adults and children suggests that the answer is no.
And most recently for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
RE: School districts expand healthy menu options - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
While the increased attention that the systematic poisoning of our children at the hands of our nation’s school lunch program has been receiving lately due to the efforts of Jamie Oliver and subsequent articles such as Thursday’s “School districts expand healthy menu options” excites me, the content and comments contained within suggest while meaning well and on the right path – we still have far to go.
I applaud the removal of the fryers - and more importantly the harmful canola/vegetable oil contained within them - in the Moon Area School District. But I decry the idea that by offering kids “baked chips, SunChips or pretzels” that it is somehow healthier. It’s not. It’s still processed junk. Why are we even offering snacks in the first place? A school is a place for learning; students need nutrients in order to do so - those snack choices offer no nutrients to speak of, rendering there availability illogical.
The allocation of more funds via legislation like the Health, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 is good on the surface, but to “enable the secretary of agriculture to establish national nutrition standards” is not necessarily helpful. Not if that person decides, such as the case in Huntington, WV, that french fries count as a vegetable. Or that canola oil is healthy (it’s not). Or that saturated fat is somehow unhealthy (it’s not).
Again, I do believe that Ms. Lazzaro, and many others, “have the kid’s best interests at heart”. I do. But it’s not enough. Our educators need educated. The idea that “fat-free pudding and reduced-fat cottage cheese” is “cutting edge” – or healthy for that matter – is laughable. One would have thought the fat-phobia phase went out in the ‘80s right with Olivia Newton John. Those products are anything but healthy once you look at all the chemicals and additives that are poured into them to make them palatable. Not to mention many of our most vital nutrients and vitamins are fat soluble; remove the fat and you absorb nothing. Nutrients don’t function in isolation.
There is nothing inherently wrong with carbs, fat, or protein. The devil is in the refinement and processing of each of them. The solution is simple on the surface – eat REAL, nutrient dense foods. For all of the fuss about food labels, if what you are buying has a food label – chances are you shouldn’t be eating it in the first place.
The deeper issue is captured beautifully by Michelle Tejchman of Moon Middle School – “I’m a junk-food person.” Judging by the alarming rate of increase in obesity and diabetes – in our children – she is far from alone. But WHY is she a junk-food person? We can throw money at this problem just as we have at education in general. But it won’t be enough. Until there is a fundamental shift in the home - and America as a whole, the nation’s health will continue to decline right along with its intellect.
Jamie has done something beautiful. Hopefully it’s the beginning of a new movement, one which I intend to be a part of. The question is….
“Who’s coming with me?” – Jerry McGuire
First, submitted to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
In response to Dr. Quinlin’s letter from Sunday’s PG (“Obese people generally don't have a choice,” Nov. 23), as a health & fitness professional with 10+ years of experience; I must respectfully disagree.
The original article ("Fat and Fact," Nov. 22) finally brought to light the elephant in the room. While people may not choose to be fat, they do “alone decide how much they eat and how much they exercise (or how little).” It’s not necessarily laziness; it also stems from a lack of education on effective ways to do so. Folks may be surprised to know that the size and scope of their primary care physician’s education on the subjects of nutrition and exercise is extremely small. Even the American Diabetes Association, up until very recent years, was giving dietary recommendations that were actually compounding the problems and symptoms of those following it. These, combined with the large disconnect between medical professionals and health & fitness professionals; are largely contributing to our failure to sufficiently address the obesity and diabetes epidemics.
While I agree with the doctor that genetics play a large role, and that we know very little about the subject as a whole; there is science supporting specific dietary and physical protocols that have significant success. The idea that obesity cannot be controlled or managed any more than eye and skin color is simply not accurate. The responsibility of the individual cannot be understated.
While the obese population may “wish for a solution far more than any policy wonk”, do they know how to go about it and are they willing to make the necessary changes to do so? The multi-billion dollar sales of the supplement industry and FDA approved drugs such as ALLI, combined with the staggering rate of increase in obesity and diabetes in both adults and children suggests that the answer is no.
And most recently for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
RE: School districts expand healthy menu options - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
While the increased attention that the systematic poisoning of our children at the hands of our nation’s school lunch program has been receiving lately due to the efforts of Jamie Oliver and subsequent articles such as Thursday’s “School districts expand healthy menu options” excites me, the content and comments contained within suggest while meaning well and on the right path – we still have far to go.
I applaud the removal of the fryers - and more importantly the harmful canola/vegetable oil contained within them - in the Moon Area School District. But I decry the idea that by offering kids “baked chips, SunChips or pretzels” that it is somehow healthier. It’s not. It’s still processed junk. Why are we even offering snacks in the first place? A school is a place for learning; students need nutrients in order to do so - those snack choices offer no nutrients to speak of, rendering there availability illogical.
The allocation of more funds via legislation like the Health, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 is good on the surface, but to “enable the secretary of agriculture to establish national nutrition standards” is not necessarily helpful. Not if that person decides, such as the case in Huntington, WV, that french fries count as a vegetable. Or that canola oil is healthy (it’s not). Or that saturated fat is somehow unhealthy (it’s not).
Again, I do believe that Ms. Lazzaro, and many others, “have the kid’s best interests at heart”. I do. But it’s not enough. Our educators need educated. The idea that “fat-free pudding and reduced-fat cottage cheese” is “cutting edge” – or healthy for that matter – is laughable. One would have thought the fat-phobia phase went out in the ‘80s right with Olivia Newton John. Those products are anything but healthy once you look at all the chemicals and additives that are poured into them to make them palatable. Not to mention many of our most vital nutrients and vitamins are fat soluble; remove the fat and you absorb nothing. Nutrients don’t function in isolation.
There is nothing inherently wrong with carbs, fat, or protein. The devil is in the refinement and processing of each of them. The solution is simple on the surface – eat REAL, nutrient dense foods. For all of the fuss about food labels, if what you are buying has a food label – chances are you shouldn’t be eating it in the first place.
The deeper issue is captured beautifully by Michelle Tejchman of Moon Middle School – “I’m a junk-food person.” Judging by the alarming rate of increase in obesity and diabetes – in our children – she is far from alone. But WHY is she a junk-food person? We can throw money at this problem just as we have at education in general. But it won’t be enough. Until there is a fundamental shift in the home - and America as a whole, the nation’s health will continue to decline right along with its intellect.
Jamie has done something beautiful. Hopefully it’s the beginning of a new movement, one which I intend to be a part of. The question is….
“Who’s coming with me?” – Jerry McGuire
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