Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 9 (2/17/14)

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 9

Spending as many hours in the gym as I do on a daily basis, I'm afforded no shortage in sights of things that just make you shake your head. Unfortunately, quite often these sights ...are complete with a fitness 'professional' standing right there supervising the whole ordeal. I've decided the instead of standing silent and shaking my head, it would be better to call attention to said sights in order to educate my peeps.

This Week's 'Winner': "planks"

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 7 (12/9/13)

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 7

Spending as many hours in the gym as I do on a daily basis, I'm afforded no shortage in sights of things that just make you shake your head. Unfortunately, quite often these sights ...are complete with a fitness 'professional' standing right there supervising the whole ordeal. I've decided the instead of standing silent and shaking my head, it would be better to call attention to said sights in order to educate my peeps.

This Week's 'Winner': CrossFit

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 8 (12/16/13)

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 8

Spending as many hours in the gym as I do on a daily basis, I'm afforded no shortage in sights of things that just make you shake your head. Unfortunately, quite often these sights are complete with a fitness 'professional' standing right there supervising the whole ordeal. I've decided the instead of standing silent and shaking my head, i...t would be better to call attention to said sights in order to educate my peeps.

This Week's 'Winner': Up-right Rows

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 6 (12/2/13)

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 6

Spending as many hours in the gym as I do on a daily basis, I'm afforded no shortage in sights of things that just make you shake your head. Unfortunately, quite often these sights ...are complete with a fitness 'professional' standing right there supervising the whole ordeal. I've decided the instead of standing silent and shaking my head, it would be better to call attention to said sights in order to educate my peeps.

This Week's Winner: Having your orthopedically healthy client - though substantially overweight and weak- stand on a BOSU repeatedly waving a BODYBLADE (it's such a popular item at Wal-Mart that the page won't load as I type this if that gives you any indication how 'useful' one of these might be).

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 5 (11/12/13)

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 5
Spending as many hours in the gym as I do on a daily basis, I'm afforded no shortage in sights of things that just make you shake your head. Unfortunately, quite often these sights are complete with a fitness 'professional' standing right there supervising the whole ordeal. I've decided the instead of standing silent and shaking my head, i...t would be better to call attention to said sights in order to educate my peeps.

This Week's Winner: (Cutting)cookies is suitable for Christmas, but not for training.

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 4 (11/18/2013)

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 4

Spending as many hours in the gym as I do on a daily basis, I'm afforded no shortage in sights of things that just make you shake your head. Unfortunately, quite often these sights are complete with a fitness 'professional' standing right there supervising the whole ordeal. I've decided the instead of standing silent and shaking my head, it would be better to call attention to said sights in order to educate my peeps.

This Week's Winner: BS explanations and not taking responsibility and admitting you were wrong or at fault.

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Special Edition: American Diabetes Association Expo 2013 Recap

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Special Edition: American Diabetes Association Expo 2013 Recap

Diabetes affects 24 million people in the U.S., but only 18 million know they have it. About 90% of those people have type 2 diabetes, a condition that can largely be controlled through diet and exercise.  Furthermore, a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine states a person with type 2 diabetes may spend an average of nearly $85,500 to treat the disease and its complications over his or her lifetime. Might be something we want to get a handle on.

Being diabetic myself, the cause is obviously near and dear to my heart.  As such, I try to get involved as much as possible in order to create awareness and make a difference in people's lives by teaching them how to successfully avoid and/or control this deadly disease which has become a global epidemic. I also tend to get a little fired up when I see it manipulated and/or pimped out for financial benefit as the expense of those suffering from it.

Cue Pittsburgh Kettlebell's participation in this past weekends American Diabetes Association Pittsburgh Expo at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center......

WARNING: NSFW language ahead.

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 2 11/4/13

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 2

Spending as many hours in the gym as I do on a daily basis, I'm afforded no shortage in sights of things that just make you shake your head. Unfortunately, quite often these sights are complete with a fitness 'professional' standing right there supervising the whole ordeal. I've decided the instead of standing silent and shaking my head, i...t would be better to call attention to said sights in order to educate my peeps.

This weeks 'winner': Physioball seated 1-arm overhead presses, WHILE PERFORMING BICEP CURLS WITH THE OPPOSITE ARM AND....AND AN ISOMETRIC LEG EXTENSION ON THE OPPOSITE LEG WITH KETTLEBELL HOOKED AROUND THEIR FOOT!

No, I didn't make that up. I couldn't if I tried. Talk about multi-tasking. It started out ok with the overhead press, but what purpose did adding in the bicep curl AND leg extension serve? Someone's taking the term 'muscle confusion' WAY too far. For starters, those are both inefficient single-joint exercises which provide no metabolic challenge to your system. Second, they require the load to be reduced across the board by such a degree as to render all 3 exercises about useless.

If you can't succinctly explain the purpose of each and everything you are doing in the gym, it's time to re-examine what it is you are doing and make the necessary adjustments. Everything should have a specific purpose with measurable outcomes.

Successful exercises programs are based around 5-7 basic movements, and the variables manipulated are rest, volume, and load - NOT the # of exercises.

You can look 'cool', get 'tired'...or - you can get BETTER!

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 1 10/28/12

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 1

Spending as many hours in the gym as I do on a daily basis, I'm afforded no shortage in sights of things that just make you shake your head. Unfortunately, quite often these sights are complete with a fitness 'professional' standing right there supervising the whole ordeal. I've decided the instead of standing silent and shaking my head, i...t would be better to call attention to said sights in order to educate my peeps.

This weeks 'winner':

Standing tricep extensions, WHILE STANDING ON TOP OF AN EXCERISE/PHYSIOBALL!

Here we've got an inefficient single-joint exercise, combined with an extremely unstable and dangerous training environment. A recipe for disaster if there ever was one. The gym should be a place to improve many things - strength, mobility, conditioning - what it should NOT be is an audition for Cirque de Soleil.

If you wish to use an exercise ball in an effective and efficient manner, come see us at Pittsburgh Kettlebells and learn exercises like ball roll-outs, stir-the-pot, and hip-bridge with leg curl that target your entire body all at once in order to make the most of your time and equipment investment!

Random Thoughts....

Regarding THIS new study published by The New England Journal of Medicine and reported HERE discussing the positive effects of the Mediterranean Diet. 

Cliff notes version: "About 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease can be prevented in people at high risk if they switch to a Mediterranean diet.."


1. If the participants experienced an almost 30 percent reduction in risk by simply changing their diet DESPITE "already taking statins or blood pressure or diabetes drugs to lower their heart disease risk", while according to THIS article should only expect LESS THAN 1% change in A1C and a measley -2.6 mmHg to -4.4 mmHg change in blood pressure due to of these aforementioned drugs.........one might be tempted to ask themselves:


"WHY EXACTLY I AM PAYING/TAKING THESE FOR AGAIN?!?!?"


2. Maybe things like cholesterol levels and blood pressure in and of themselves aren't all that great predictors of heart disease risk in the first place?!?!

3. "And the really important thing, the coolest thing, is that they used very meaningful end points. They did not look at risk factors like cholesterol or hypertension or weight. They looked at heart attacks and strokes and death. At the end of the day, that is what really matters."

Seems logical to me. If only more 'scientists' did this we might actually get somewhere. Results matter - not personal bias and the opportunity to obtain grant funding.

4. "Low-fat diets have not been shown in any rigorous way to be helpful, and they are also very hard for patients to maintain."

Duh. Clearly.

5. A Mediterranean diet is "rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables."

READ: REAL FOOD. Un-processed. No laundry list of ingredients one can't spell or pronounce.

Who would of thought such a thing would have a positive impact on your health?!?! 

 

 

Dancing With the Devil

Recently the facility I work at entered into an agreement to push GNC products - due in large part that one of our members holds one of the alphabet soup positions for GNC.

I'm your pusher!

Today it was time to stock up on product - or re-up as they used to say in the 'hood. So one of our employees returns with the usual assortment of fish oil, multi-vitamin and glucosamine-chondroitin - only to be accompanied by the latest and greatest supplement about to XPLODE....

Coconut Water

Apparently the stuff is the "new" Gatorade. Yippee do dah. With only one ingredient, at least it's not as processed as the "old" Gatorade- but really, nothing remarkable about it. No protein. No fat. Incomplete at best.

The scene that followed it's arrival however, was nothing short of disturbing. Supposedly educated health & fitness professionals with years of experience clamoring all over the stuff and the rest of the goodies like we were filming our on Christmas Story re-make. Unfortunately there was no Red Rider BB-Gun to shoot my eyes out, as it was a somewhat desireable outcome at the time.

But this is Pittsburgh, and Sidney Crosby is purported to be a fan of this magical water, so I really shouldn't be surprised. But surely as a surprise to most of you, I was able to withstand Sid the Kid's charm and not partake in the devouring of this precious coconut water. I guess I just felt I hadn't sufficiently depleted my glycogen stores with my HITT* session, and therefore wasn't worthy.

If this weren't enough to test my resolve we were also treated with GNC's latest issue of their Muscle & Body publication. Oh boy. The signs of the coming apocalyspe are plentiful today. Right on the cover is the nice big headline -

6 Top Supplements for Teens

Really?

Teens?

Going the route of the tabacco companies with the Get 'em while they're young approach I guess. It's bad enough pushing the stuff on unsuspecting schmucks trying to re-live their high school glory days, but preying on teenagers kinda crosses a line somewhere in the ethical desert no? I don't begrudge anyone the opportunity to make money, but c'mon man.

Excuse me while I go grab a shower - I feel dirty.

*( High Intensity Interval Typing)

Bang Head Here -------> X

Two gems (note:sarcasm) from today's Wall Street Journal.....

First, A New Way to Lose Weight? discusses the latest red herring in obesity research - brown fat. While Regulators to Review New Drugs to Curb Appetite previews the possible FDA approval of 3 new "anti-obesity" drugs.

In regards to the former, researchers think they may have "one solution to curbing obesity". So what might this possibly amazing new discovery be?

Wait for it.... Wait for it.....

Essentially, turn down the thermostat. The belief is that by exposing people to colder temperatures that it will prompt our bodies to generate more heat by up-regulation of brown fat. Brown fat is a substance previously thought to only exist in humans as babies and then "shed" as we grew older. Brown fat is purported to use energy as opposed to traditional white fat's role of storing it.

Are you WOW'd yet? Yeah, me neither. Seriously, didn't we kinda go over this thing already in a way with that whole drink ice water thing a few years back?

Surprisingly, no they did not recommend just having fatter babies so that it takes longer to shed the magical brown fat - but give it time. Of course, we are already doing that yet the rates of obesity and diabetes are still going through the roof - maybe the researchers noticed this.

Bruce Spiegelman, professor of cell biology and medicine at Harvard's Dana-Farber Cancer Center is quoted as saying "We're not trying to replace diet and exercise, but frequently they're not enough or not effective."

Well duh! Not when the dietary guidelines handed down to us by the lovely folks at the USDA, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, etc. are akin to - oh I don't know....HORSESHIT*! Sorry, never said this was a kid friendly show.

*(Actually, horse-poopie may be more healthy than current guidelines - especially if the horse is grass-fed! )

These are the the same people that still believe saturated fat causes heart disease. Or that canola/vegetable oils and margarine are "heart-healthy" - or healthy at all for that matter. They can also be seen extolling the virtues of low/no fat dairy products.

What's worse, the archaic dogma these organizations are repeatedly shoving down our throats heavily influences the cirriculums in our institutions of higher learning - producing a nation of RD's, MD's, and RN's full of that same......... horse-poopie when it comes to Nutritional Advice*.

*(N/A for short. Which is what you should write over the nutritional scripts given by many of these folks. As in Not Applicable in this case - the human case.)

Later on, the article finally gets to the gut of the matter - "However, whether we lose weight or not depends on whether we overcompensate by eating more food." And how or what does brown fat influence in any way, shape, or form in that regard? Well good luck with that then!

However, the true beneficiaries of such research were revealed much earlier, as the discovery of brown fat in adults "spawned hope among scientists and drug developers"! Scientists because the drug developers gave them money and something to do, and drug developers because of the boat loads of cash they may possibly bring in with their latest weight-loss panacea. $150M boat loads in US sales of ALLI just last year to be specific. You know, the one where you need to bring a change of clothes with you in case you experience a sudden case of EXPLOSIVE diarrhea!*

*(Or the Hershey Squirts as my family has always affectionately referred to them.)

You have to love the logic ( or is it arrogance?) to sell people on a cure for something you don't fully comprehend the cause of in the first place - which is probably in part because they waste so much time on studies on brown fat and the development of magical weight-loss pills in the first place. The fact that people will spend $150M for a chance to lose weight knowing full well they will probably need their diaper changed at some point in the process only further underscores the utter failure of our nutritional governing bodies - and possibly the "over-medicating" of the country in general.

I bought a weight-loss pill, and all I got was a crappy pair of Fruit of the Looms.

Now there is a way to bump up that $150M figure, can't ever have too many t-shirts!

But maybe I'm wrong, maybe they are on to something? After all, when you think about it - horse-poopie, explosive diarrhea, and brown fat are all the same colo.......ah nevermind.

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

"Conventional wisdom has dictated that fat from red meat is a risk factor for heart disease, but ..."

...So starts an article I came across this morning - "Processed Meat May Harm the Heart" - Healthday. The sentence finishes as follows:

"...a new analysis from Harvard researchers finds it's eating processed meat -- not unprocessed red meat -- that increases the risk for heart disease and even diabetes."

Other notable passages:

..."The researchers found that people who ate unprocessed red meat did not significantly increase their chances of developing heart disease or diabetes. However, eating processed meat was linked to an increased risk for the two conditions.

In fact, for every 50-gram (1.8-ounce) serving, the risk for heart disease jumped 42 percent and the risk for diabetes increased 19 percent."

and..

"When we looked at average nutrients in unprocessed meats and processed meats eaten in the U.S., we found that they contained similar amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol," Micha said. "In contrast, processed meats contained, on average, four times higher amounts of sodium and two times higher amounts of nitrate preservatives."

This suggests that salt and other preservatives, rather than fats, probably explain the higher risk for heart attacks and diabetes seen with processed meats, Micha said.

Going well so far. Then...

...Both red and processed meat and other foods, such as butter and cheese, that are high in saturated fat have been linked to chronic disease, Heller said, adding that people should limit consumption of them as well.

"Going low- or no-fat with dairy products helps lower our intake of saturated fat," she said. "Choosing healthy protein sources -- such as white-meat poultry, low-mercury fish, soy, nuts and beans -- and focusing on moving in the direction of a more plant-based diet will help us all live longer, healthier lives."

Gotta take the good with the bad as the saying goes.

Comcast..to XFINITY and beyond - frustration that is....

Today's post is essentially a rant - otherwise eloquently known as bitching - so if that's not your cup of tea you have been forewarned.

So recently there has been quite the uproar at the fitness facility where I work over the cable TV situation. Totally logical that peoples first and/or largest concern at their gym is whether or not they can watch TV, I know.

Essentially, Comcast decided to 'upgrade' their system without thinking how it would affect their customers and establishing a sufficient technical support staff - you know, business as usual. Therefore for almost 2 weeks we have not had our full allotment of channels available for viewing because it took that long for them to BEGIN technical support for a business account - once again business as usual for Comcast. Deporable business model and customer service, I agree and understand - as I dropped them years ago and never looked back - but.....

And I know I shouldn't be, but I am really amazed at how severely this has turned people's worlds up-side-down. I think I may have even seen a person or two bag their 'workout' for the day because they couldn't watch TV while performing what they refer to as 'cardio'.

Really?

You don't think you being induced into a Comcast coma for hours on end in your couch/bed/office is part of the reason you feel the need to come to a gym in the first place? Or is it that your wife/kids/job annoy you so much you just have had to find a new place to piecefully enjoy the latest Sportscenter marathon?

Quite frankly, I'm not sure which of those two purposes your average fitness facility provides these days.

It's been years since I have used a commerical gym - I train at my home these days - but I just never understood the need for TV's there when I did. NEVER once did I have the desire to use one. Or typical 'cardio' equipment for that matter, but that can be a whole 'nother post all in of itself!


Run in place? Do I look like a hamster?

Pedaling furiously on a bike to no where? Ludacris.



Nothing against biking - I bike to work when the weather permits - but it's a real one with TWO wheels. The point is it had a PURPOSE; to get to my destination. Saving on gas and outrageous parking costs doesn't hurt either!

But I went to the gym to TRAIN, not WORKOUT. Take a moment to think about the difference.

Why do you need a TV to get through your 'workout'? Why not focus more on what you are doing and be entertained by bettering your previous efforts? Be entertained by FINALLY seeing changes after 5 years of looking and feeling the same; if not worse? Why not switch things up and get out of your comfort zone?

Take the opportunity to get some QUALITY* instruction on some body weight exercises - or even those scary free-weights. You know, something where the first step is not to sit down.

Learn from that same instruction that you can actually spend LESS time in the gym; and get MORE RESULTS.

Learn a NEW sport. You know, something you could do with a friend/spouse that is actually sustainable - with a PURPOSE that isn't chock full of monotonous boredom.

Take the opportunity to ask a QUALIFIED** professional for guidance on how to eat healthier. Just be sure to ask them if they believe in the lipid hypothesis first as a quack-meter!***

Stop SPENDING your time....


And start INVESTING it!


*Probably NOT the buff-est/fittest looking person on the staff more often than not. Watch them train other people, you can usually tell the ones that are actually paying attention - not just clipboard jockeys.

** Yes I know these people are extremely hard to find; but you certainly aren't going to find them watching Nancy Grace.

*** The correct answer is: "Buwahahahaha! No child, you are safe with me." Or something like that.

Attn: Michelle Obama.....

If Michelle Obama is truly serious about waging a war on obesity, she would do well to read a great post by Richard Nikoley over at Free the Animal (Warning: NSFW...Not Safe For Waist - Food Porn Included!) touching on the deplorable state of the school lunch program in the US; contrasted by that of France.


It is imperative that we reach and teach children to eat REAL food early on in order to interrupt the growing obesity and obesity-related epidemics that have been increasing at such alarming rates. Otherwise, the war on obesity will end up being successful as the war on drugs, the war on poverty, the war on terror..ahhh you get the point.


"Head Start; No Child Left Behind...Somebody's losing fu**ing ground here!" - G. Carlin

Is it IN you?

Gatorade drops Tiger Woods - Yahoo

Ya know...I really think Gatorade is making a mistake here. Follow me.

One just need look at how Gatorade fueled his performance in all of those ummm....extra-cirricular activities! Any guy would kill for a motor like that, right? Didn't these people go to marketing school? Sex sells people!

That's a more ringing endorsement of Gatorades' effectivness than say.... the effects on walking through a nice park holding a stick(golf); or that guy at your local gym claiming he needs it to "replenish his electrolytes bro" after his exhausting run through your typical Cybex circuit and jaunt on the hamster....errr, I mean treadmill right? Right?

But I digress.

The sooner people realize that Gatorade was not designed for their 'intense' workout at Bally's, the sooner they might actually see progress towards their fitness and health goals.

Put the sugar water down folks; you aren't doing anything to warrant it.

Pistons trainer banishes Nike Hyperize sneakers

Pistons trainer banishes Nike Hyperize sneakers - Yahoo

I got excited when I first saw the title, thinking a high profile NBA strength coach was going to finally expose the silliness that is the modern sneaker. Unfortunately I was disappointed. Let us examine.

"These shoes had taken most of the support out of the sides and it was a lighter shoe. Most basketball shoes weigh between 1.4 and 1.7 pounds."

"These shoes were weighing 0.8 pounds, which was way too light as far as side support. Since we've banned the shoe, knock on wood, we haven't had any ankle sprains."

So. A difference of 9.6-14.4 OUNCES(ounces?) is substantial enough to provide 'support' to a world class athlete often weighing in excess of 200 POUNDS(not ounces) moving and changing direction in multiple planes at full speed? Does anyone really think a shoe 'supports' anything in that situation? If you do, take one of your shoes and bend and pull on the sides of it and take note of how little effort it takes. Not seeing the logic here.

Pistons actually fine members of the team who don't tape their ankles because it has shown to be so effective in preventing injury.

First: Please show me the scientific evidence that illustrates that taping ankles prevents injury; and which type of injury it supposedly prevents. Go ahead; I'll wait.

Second: Those of us in strength and conditioning who have bothered to invest in any continuing education are aware that the ankle is designed for MOBILITY - just as the knee is desinged for STABILITY - and so on in alternating fashion as you move upward through the body. Restricting the MOBILITY of the ankle by taping - and to some degree high-top sneakers - only places further pressure on the knee to become more MOBILE; the opposite of it's function. Anyone see the problem there? Think it may have something to do with the large increase in the dreaded 'high' ankle sprain, ACL injuries, and microfracture surgeries we see today? I do.

Bottom Line: If you train athletes properly with a joint-by-joint approach, they will posess the MOBILITY and STABILITY they require to help prevent injury.

Go barefoot as much as possible, training included. Single-leg training in multiple planes. Train the ankles, hips, and thoracic spine for MOBILITY. Train the knees, lumbar spine, and shoulders for STABILITY.

For further reading on the silliness of sneakers, check out Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.

Jillian Michaels et al: Biggest Loser(s) Indeed....

The following article was forwarded to me by a friend this morning. I couldn't agree more; I'm just happy that suedo-trainers like Jillian Michaels are finally being called out for their negligence before they kill someone.

'The Biggest Loser' Has Big Problems... - LiveScience.com

"...And indeed, things have. Two patients were hospitalized after collapsing during a one-mile (1.6 km) foot race for the season 8 premiere. This year's season 9 opened with another strenuous challenge in which contestants raced 26.2 miles (42 km) on stationary bikes. Show medical consultant and UCLA professor Rob Huizenga had to drag one protesting contestant off her bike when she was stricken with severe cramps. A second contestant, 526-pound Michael Ventrella, was treated for exhaustion.

...Risks aside, weight-loss experts say that the biggest problem with the Biggest Loser is that extreme methods of dropping pounds are less likely to work in the long run. Several former Biggest Loser contestants have regained some or all of the weight, which doesn't surprise Kushner."

Big Pharma at it again...

http://http//www.nytimes.com/2010/02/20/health/policy/20avandia.html?no_interstitial

"Avandia was once one of the biggest-selling drugs in the world. Driven in part by a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, sales were $3.2 billion in 2006. But a 2007 study by a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist suggesting that the drug harmed the heart prompted the F.D.A. to issue a warning, and sales plunged. A committee of independent experts found in 2007 that Avandia might increase the risk of heart attack but recommended that it remain on the market, and an F.D.A. oversight board voted 8 to 7 to accept that advice."