5 Daily Brain Exercises

By Bernard Croisile, M.D. Neurology, Ph. D. Neuropsychology

5 daily brain exercises for you to perform
Many men are devoted to exercise to bulk up their bodies, but the phrase “use it or lose it” applies to more than just the muscles in our bodies -- it also applies to the neural pathways and connections in our brains. There are a variety of exercises and activities that can successfully work each of the brain’s five major cognitive functions on a daily basis. In addition to the tasks you can perform daily, you can also train your brain with HAPPYneuron online brain games and a personalized brain fitness program.

Our minds consist of five main cognitive functions:

• memory,
• attention,
• language,
• visual-spatial skills,
• and executive function.
  

It’s important to challenge, stimulate and effectively exercise all five areas to stay mentally sharp as our brains age. Here are 5 daily brain exercises that can help you do this.

1- Memory

Memory plays a crucial role in all cognitive activities, including reading, reasoning and mental calculation. There are several types of memory at work in the brain. Taken together, these are the cognitive skills we may notice most when they begin to fail. To maintain a good memory, you need to train for it, which can be easier than you think. Listening to music is not only enjoyable, but by choosing a song you don’t know and memorizing the lyrics, you boost the level of acetylcholine, the chemical that helps build your brain, and improve your memory skills. Challenge yourself even more by showering or getting dressed in the dark or using your opposite hand to brush your teeth. These challenges help build new associations between different neural connections of the brain.

Improve your memory with this HAPPYneuron game.

2- Attention

Attention is necessary in nearly all daily tasks. Good attention enables you to maintain concentration despite noise and distractions and to focus on several activities at once. We can improve our attention by simply changing our routines. Change your route to work or reorganize your desk -- both will force your brain to wake up from habits and pay attention again. As we age, our attention span can decrease, making us more susceptible to distraction and less efficient at multitasking. By combining activities like listening to an audio book with jogging or doing math in your head while you drive forces your brain to work at doing more in the same amount of time

Improve your attention with this HAPPYneuron game.

3- Language

Language activities will challenge our ability to recognize, remember and understand words. They also exercise our fluency, grammatical skills and vocabulary. With regular practice, you can expand your knowledge of new words and much more easily retrieve words that are familiar. For example, if you usually only thoroughly read the sports section, try reading a few in-depth business articles. You’ll be exposed to new words, which are easier to understand when read in context or easier to look up on a dictionary site if you are reading the news online. Take time to understand the word in its context, which will help you build your language skills and retrieve the word more readily in front of your boss in the future.

Improve your language skills with this HAPPYneuron game.

4- Visual-Spatial

We live in a colorful, three-dimensional world. Analyzing visual information is necessary to be able to act within your environment. To work this cognitive function, try walking into a room and picking out five items and their locations. When you exit the room, try to recall all five items and where they were located. Too easy? Wait two hours and try to remember those items and their locations. The next time you’re waiting on your coworker or friend to arrive, try this mental exercise. Look straight ahead and note everything you can see both in front of you and in your peripheral vision. Challenge yourself to recall everything and write it down. This will force you to use your memory and train your brain to focus on your surroundings.

Improve your visual-spatial skills with this HAPPYneuron game.

5- Executive Function

Without even realizing it, you use your logic and reasoning skills on a daily basis to make decisions, build up hypotheses and consider the possible consequences of your actions. Activities in which you must define a strategy to reach a desired outcome and calculate the right moves to reach the solution in the shortest possible time are actually fun activities you do daily -- like social interaction and, yes, video games. Engaging in a brief visit with a friend boosts your intellectual performance by requiring you to consider possible responses and desired outcomes. Video games require strategy and problem-solving to reach a desired outcome -- like making it to the final level. “It’s not just Halo, honey; I’m exercising my executive brain functions!”

Improve your executive function skills with this HAPPYneuron game.

cerebral workout

As we age, it’s important to flex our mental muscles as well as our physiques. Now that you’re aware of the five main cognitive functions and how to exercise them, it will be easy to find daily activities that will help you break a mental sweat and keep your brain in shape. If you need a little structured help, HAPPYneuron has fun and challenging games to work the brain in all five areas, as well as a virtual coach to serve as a personal trainer and ensure you get the most optimal brain workout for you.

Neurologist & neuropsychologist Dr. Bernard Croisile, author of Dental Floss for the Mind, Get your Brain in the Fast Lane and Broccoli for the Brain, as well a developer of HAPPYneuron online brain fitness program, fills you in how the brain’s five major cognitive functions are affected by various types of activities.

http://www.askmen.com/sports/health_200/215b_mens_health.html

Another way to lose fat

My New Cardio Trick
by Dr. John Berardi

I've been playing around with a new cardio trick lately and have been seeing very good results for fat loss. Basically the program goes as follows:

Stage 1 — The 4 Week, Pre-Diet Preparation

Your diet should come on the heels of a Massive Eating program where you have a very high calorie intake and thus, a high metabolic rate. During the 4 weeks before your diet actually begins, you'll gradually increase your cardiovascular exercise in terms of frequency, duration, and intensity while maintaining the intensity, duration and frequency of your weight training.

By the week prior to dieting, you'll be doing daily cardiovascular exercise of at least 30-45 minutes in duration at about 80% of your HR (heart rate) max {0.80 x (220-age)}. Remember, this is just for one week. Be sure to slowly increase your cardio throughout the four weeks of preparation. A good plan (depending on how you respond to cardio) may be as follows:

Week 1 — 30 min cardio every other day at 70% HR max
Week 2 — 45 min cardio every other day at 80% HR max
Week 3 — 45 min cardio every day at 70% of HR max
Week 4 — 45 min cardio every day at 80% HR max

Remember, the goal of this phase is to actually promote some muscular adaptation to the cardio so you must train regularly and intensely. Most importantly, though, during this period you must not lose body weight. This may be very hard for some but it's very important. To maintain weight, weigh yourself every few days and increase your calories (that's right) above Massive Eating levels.
he-man

Stage 2 — Diet Phase

Now that your metabolic rate and the rate of tissue turnover is very high, it's time to drop out both the cardio and the calories and watch the fat disappear. Starting with your first diet week, cut your cardio back down to 15 minutes every day or 15 minutes on training days and 30 minutes on non-training days. Also, lower your intensity back down to 65-70% of HRmax.

This reduction in cardio training should accompany a reduction in calories so that you're eating about 25% less than you would at maintenance. Maintain a heavy weight-training regimen during this time. As the diet progresses, lower your calories to maintain your fat loss and keep your cardiovascular activity relatively low. Only increase your cardio activity if necessary to continue your fat loss.

Using this little fat loss scheme, you'll be able to lose a maximum amount of fat while avoiding over training during your calorie restriction. It's a good strategy to take advantage of the muscle's ability to adapt to imposed demands. By doing some hard-core cardio for just a few short weeks, your body will learn to become efficient at utilizing oxygen and in maintaining weight. As a result, you won't lose muscle mass. Then, when you back off on the cardio, the cardio adaptations will persist, and you'll be a better fat burner during your diet.

10 Reasons Not to Skimp on Sleep

Too busy to go to bed? Having trouble getting quality sleep once you do? Your health may be at risk

By Sarah Baldauf

Posted October 16, 2008

You may literally have to add it to your to-do list, but scheduling a good night's sleep could be one of the smartest health priorities you set. It's not just daytime drowsiness you risk when shortchanging yourself on your seven to eight hours. Possible health consequences of getting too little or poor sleep can involve the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, and nervous systems. In addition to letting life get in the way of good sleep, between 50 and 70 million Americans suffer from a chronic sleep disorder—insomnia or sleep apnea, say—that affects daily functioning and impinges on health. Consider the research:

Video: Common Sleeping Problems

Related News

• 3 Ways to Get Better Sleep and Improve Your Health
• Kids and Sleep: They Need More
• The Athlete's Legal Performance Aid: Sleep
• Talk About Your Sleeping Problems

1) Less may mean more. For people who sleep under seven hours a night, the fewer zzzz's they get, the more obese they tend to be, according to a 2006 Institute of Medicine report. This may relate to the discovery that insufficient sleep appears to tip hunger hormones out of whack. Leptin, which suppresses appetite, is lowered; ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, gets a boost.

2) You're more apt to make bad food choices. A study published this week in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that people with obstructive sleep apnea or other severely disordered breathing while asleep ate a diet higher in cholesterol, protein, total fat, and total saturated fat. Women were especially affected.

3) Diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance, its precursor, may become more likely. A 2005 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people getting five or fewer hours of sleep each night were 2.5 times more likely to be diabetic, while those with six hours or fewer were 1.7 times more likely.

4) The ticker is put at risk. A 2003 study found that heart attacks were 45 percent more likely in women who slept for five or fewer hours per night than in those who got more.

5) Blood pressure may increase. Obstructive sleep apnea, for example, has been associated with chronically elevated daytime blood pressure, and the more severe the disorder, the more significant the hypertension, suggests the 2006 IOM report. Obesity plays a role in both disorders, so losing weight can ease associated health risks.

6) Auto accidents rise. As stated in a 2007 report in the New England Journal of Medicine, nearly 20 percent of serious car crash injuries involve a sleepy driver—and that's independent of alcohol use.

7) Balance is off. Older folks who have trouble getting to sleep, who wake up at night, or are drowsy during the day could be 2 to 4.5 times more likely to sustain a fall, found a 2007 study in the Journal of Gerontology.

8) You may be more prone to depression. Adults who chronically operate on fumes report more mental distress, depression, and alcohol use. Adolescents suffer, too: One survey of high school students found similarly high rates of these issues. Middle schoolers, too, report more symptoms of depression and lower self-esteem.

9) Kids may suffer more behavior problems. Research from an April issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that children who are plagued by insomnia, short duration of sleeping, or disordered breathing with obesity, for example, are more likely to have behavioral issues like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

10) Death's doorstep may be nearer. Those who get five hours or less per night have approximately 15 percent greater risk of dying—regardless of the cause—according to three large population-based studies published in the journals Sleep and the Archives of General Psychiatry.

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/living-well-usn/2008/10/16/10-reasons-not-to-skimp-on-sleep_print.htm

The Tabata Method Fat Loss in Four Minutes by Dan John

The Tabata Method
Fat Loss in Four Minutes
by Dan John

A couple of years ago, a company came out with an exercise machine that guaranteed results in only four minutes a day. The main problem? The $12,000 price tag. My car doesn't cost that much. I'm not sure I've ever spent that much on anything, including my education.

Well, I'm going to save you a lot of money today because I'm going to show you how to do the same thing without an overpriced machine. This "top secret" training method may do more for you than all your other training combined and leave you with 23 hours and 56 minutes to live the rest of your day.

But there's a price to pay. Think exhaustion, vomit and pools of sweat.

Enter the Tabata Method

Tabata is the name of a Japanese researcher who discovered an interesting way to increase both anaerobic and aerobic pathways at the same time. It's one of those strange training programs that seems to fit across disciplines: it's excellent for bicyclists, speed skaters, Olympic lifters, or the person looking to lose fat quickly.

This training method is so simple, yet so incredibly difficult, that athletes tend to try it once, acknowledge its greatness, and then vow to never speak its name again. What is it? It's simple: take one exercise and perform it in the following manner:

1) For twenty seconds, do as many repetitions as possible.

2) Rest for ten seconds

3) Repeat seven more times!

That's it! You're done in four minutes! Oh, and that thing you're trying to brush off your face? That would be the floor.

Eight sets of "as many reps as you can get done," followed with a brief ten second rest— simple and effective. The two best exercise options for the Tabata method are the front squats and the "thruster," which I'll describe in a bit.

It helps to have someone record the reps of each set for you because, well, you won't remember after you pass out. I use the "lowest rep number" of any of the eight sets as my measurement to compare workout to workout. If you go too heavy, that number might be two. If you go too light, you might find yourself getting around 15 reps or more.

Before we talk about the exercises, let's take a moment to be perfectly clear about what we're doing. This isn't "eight sets of eight," although the goal of doing eight reps in each of the twenty second clusters is about right. Instead it's "as many reps as I can get in" during the twenty seconds, followed by ten seconds rest.

And by the way, ten seconds is not racking the bar, getting a drink, talking to the cute girl on the bike, looking at the clock, walking back to the bar, chalking up, adjusting the belt, talking to a friend, then doing the next set. Ten second is ten seconds! No cheating!

Tabata Exercises

You need to choose an exercise that uses a large number of muscles. I suggest the front squat. Now, you may argue, why not the back squat? Well, it's hard to dump the bar quickly into the rack with back squats, while with front squats, you can simply fall into it and start your ten second rest.

With something like a military press, you won't be using enough muscles to allow you to survive in the last minute; you might only get one or two reps with your shoulders on fire. Deadlifts have been tried, but most people get a little worried about injuries doing them Tabata-style.

The front squat might be the single best Tabata lift. Having said that, if you don't know how to front squat correctly, the Tabata method might teach you to lift better than a thousand coaches. In the four minutes, it's easy to get 64 to 70 reps, which teaches the nervous system better than a PowerPoint presentation.

The bar will be held in the "front" of the body, with the fingers relaxed and the bar resting on the clavicles with the elbows high. Sit down "between the legs." This actually gets easier in the third and fourth minute as you just start to "drop" back through. As you rise back up, you don't need to lock out the knees; in fact, don't even think about it. Just get up and go back down.

Weight on the bar? Let's just say this: a guy with a 465 pound front squat puked with only 95 pounds on the Tabata front squat. Generally, I urge people to go "light," like 65 to 95 pounds the first time. There are those in this world who've gone up to 155 pounds and still got "eights" in the last twenty seconds, but those are very rare people!

The other great Tabata exercise is the "thruster." The thruster is one of the greatest lifts no one has ever heard of in the gym. Take two dumbbells and hold them at shoulder height. Squat down, keeping the dumbbells on the shoulders. As you rise up, press the bells to the overhead lockout position. You can either press as you rise or use the momentum to help "kick" the bells overhead. I find that I do a little bit of both in the four minutes.

Thrusters do things to your heart rate and breathing that I honestly can't describe. Go light! A 35 pound dumbbell in each hand is a very difficult thruster workout! Check your ego at the door for the first two minutes.

Tabata Tips

You need to be able to see a wall clock with a second hand during your four minutes of fun. Stop at twenty seconds, rack the bar (if you choose the front squat), rest ten seconds, grab the bar and go again. Watching the clock seems to help with the focus.

And remember this: you really shouldn't consider doing much after the Tabata workout. Your lungs will be going like a locomotive engine. Go ahead and plan anything you like, but don't be surprised if it just doesn't happen. I keep the family dog nearby to chase the carrion birds away while I rest on the sidewalk.

The hardest thing about this workout is staying focused for four minutes. Don't let your hands leave the bar or dumbbells, if you can help it. After you put the bar in the rack during the front squat, stay right there, an inch or two back from the bar, and stare at the second hand of the clock.

If you do thrusters, put the dumbbells on a bench and watch the clock with your hands ready. This little trick of staying with the weight seems to help make those ten seconds seem like, well, not much, really! But at least you don't have to move much to get the weights again.

I do either Tabata front squats or Tabata thrusters about twice a month. I'm sure someone will comment, "If it's so good, why don't you do it every day?" Go ahead, try it and report back after the second day.

240 Seconds of Pain

Why should you do this workout? The Tabata program might be the single best "fat burning workout" that I know. It might only be four minutes, but you seem to keep sweating and breathing hard for a long, long time afterwards. Moreover, it seems to teach the body the proper method of squatting far easier than all the instruction in the world.

One other thing: Tabata truly teaches a person the mental focus needed to push past pain and reach his body comp or athletic goals. It'll save you 12,000 bucks, too!

About the Author

Dan John is the Diocesan Director of Religious Education for the Diocese of Salt Lake City and a full-time "on-line" religious studies instructor for Columbia College of Missouri. Originally from South San Francisco, Dan came to Utah to throw the discus for Utah State University and never left. He has Masters degrees in history and in religious education, as well as having done intensive work at the American University in Cairo, University of Haifa, and Cornell.

Currently, Dan is ranked number one in the world in the Highland Games, ages 45-49, broke the American record in the Weight Pentathlon last August, holds numerous National Championships in weightlifting and throwing and maintains a full-time free internet coaching site at http://danjohn.org/coach.

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=490160

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The New V-Diet Test Drive by Dan John and Chris Shugart

A few months ago, coach Dan John said that the Velocity Diet was an insane diet for insane people. A few weeks later, he started the diet.

Well, that explains a lot, doesn't it?

All kidding aside, I was thrilled to have Dan try the diet. He's brutally honest, intrinsically curious, and he has the heart of a teacher.

He also had a big fat belly.

Now, I admire the hell out of Dan. He's an athlete, and at 49 years old he's still a record-breaking competitor. But after seeing Dan speak at a couple of seminars, I couldn't help but notice that his "strong guy gut" was getting bigger.

Now, Dan doesn't train to look good naked like a lot of us do, but this went beyond aesthetics: Dan was starting to look unhealthy. And after talking to him, I knew he had some other problems he needed to get a handle on. They weren't big problems, but they were growing.

For one thing, Dan was developing a bad case of visceral or central adiposity. That means he was accumulating fat sub-abdominally — underneath the abs. This creates a hard, pregnant belly look.

And worse, it's a sure sign of impending health problems. In fact, it's linked to just about every bad health issue out there that can kill you. It wouldn't be overly melodramatic to say that the "pregnant belly look" on males is a clear foreshadowing of an early death.

And Dan had it.

But he was ready to do something about it, something kinda crazy: go on my Velocity Diet. As a recap, the Velocity Diet is basically a liquid diet where you drink protein shakes all week and eat only one solid healthy meal on the weekend. You supplement with healthy fats and fibers and you have a post-workout drink after lifting.

The diet lasts 28 days, then you transition off. Most people lose 10 to 20 pounds or more and report a loss of cravings for unhealthy foods and new preferences for healthy ones after the diet ends. Basically, the diet "reprograms" their behaviors toward food, and fat loss usually continues after the diet is over.

Dan started the diet about the same time I was starting an updated V-Diet book, and he agreed to try out some of the new ideas. What happened? Let's talk to Dan.

Chris Shugart: First things first, Dan, what were your results after four weeks on the Velocity Diet?

Dan John: My body weight on day one was 249 and some change. I used the wrestling scale at school. On day 29 it was 226 on the same scale. My waistline on day one was 42 inches and a little extra. On day 30 it was 37 inches.

Before	After

Shugart: Excellent! And you had some killer abs and obliques under there too! Okay, so you lost 23 pounds during the diet, plus five whole inches off your waist measurement.

Let's cut off the naysayers and the perpetual critics right now. Sure, some of that was water weight and glycogen, but probably only a few pounds, if that. So, outstanding results!

I also notice that you kept the fat loss up after the diet was officially over. Now, most people rebound after a strict diet and blow up like the Michelin man. But with the Velocity Diet, people usually experience radical food preference changes and overall behavioral changes when it comes to nutrition. Put all that together and the fat loss is permanent, plus they can continue to lose fat, if needed.

Now, didn't you also take some blood tests?

Dan John: That's the really exciting part, Chris. Check this out:

Before:

Total Cholesterol: 255
Triglycerides: 182
HDL: 41.2
LDL: 177.6

After:

Total Cholesterol: 171
Triglycerides: 103
HDL 46.9
LDL 103

Doctor Brunetti said, "I have never seen this! What did you do again?"

This is fact. This is science. This is much better: HDL up, bad stuff down. Twenty-eight days... look at the difference!

Shugart: The centralized adiposity, that nasty sub-abdominal "heart attack fat," is pretty much gone! That's great news, Dan. Now, what made you decide to do this crazy diet?

Dan John: This guy named Chris Shugart kept saying I was fat! Beyond the tears, I decided to change my life, and maybe love myself a little.

Actually, I've had two disappointing seasons back-to-back. I blamed job changes, kids, being an idiot, etc. But I realized at my annual doctor's appointment that I'd put on a lot of weight. And, dear Lord, there was a big fat guy in every one of my pics!

Big deal, right? I wouldn't have changed, because as a "strength athlete" I'm allowed to not care about my physique. But I was beginning to drop in performance. I started to get little injuries.

The thing about the Velocity Diet wasn't that I'd lose weight or body fat or whatever. I liked the discipline. I liked the jumpstart it would give me on my other goals.

Listen carefully: If you can do the V-Diet, if you can give up food and booze for 28 days, you can go out and attack any other goals you may have rattling around in your brain.

So, it just came to me. I was sitting there watching my left knee oozing with infection and wondering how to train for Pleasanton and it hit me: "V-Diet." No kidding. And I have little memory of why that sounded so right. Part of me, the part that wants to be a monk, loved the idea. My favorite part of me, the party guy, objected. The monk won.

Shugart: I like what you said about the discipline aspect. I have a theory here that some people thrive on this diet because it gives them full control over one aspect of their hectic lives. It's an empowering and somewhat enlightening experience. Or is that just corny?

Dan John: It's corny, but in a good way because it's true! We find some interesting things with teenagers and their various eating disorders: it's the one area in their lives they often feel they can control. So, maybe, just maybe, we all have a little place that wants "control."

As a parent with all the various "hats" I wear, I often find that something as simple as changing something in the yard tends to bring me some relief, some quiet or isolation. This is a good point, Chris, and I really didn't think much about it until now. Really, you're on to something...

Shugart: I hope so. The rapid fat loss aside, the Velocity Diet seems to give people some control back, and that control transcends into other aspects of their lives.

Okay, just another thought I want to toss out regarding the psychology of all this: sometimes the best choice to make is to have no choice. Do the V-Diet as written and all of your daily choices regarding food are taken care of.

We all know that to lose fat and get healthier you have to "eat less and exercise more," but it doesn't work for most people based on the skyrocketing obesity rate. People have too many choices with most diets: what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, how to prepare it, etc.

With the V-Diet, no choices. And for a lot of people, it's allows them to thrive. Any thoughts on that?

Dan John: I absolutely agree. People would ask me, "Dan, how about Greens Plus, cottage cheese, and cheap Scotch?" I'd reply, "No, Chris said to do this!"

I couldn't even entertain options! So, you took care of food and I just followed. It was a great model for me. I asked all the trainers at the last seminar I spoke at, "Who trains you?" That's my issue: I have great ideas for everybody else, but I treat myself like an afterthought.

You saved my life, Chris.

Shugart: Aw, shucks. Give us a quick outline of what you did every day.

Dan John: Briiiiiing, briiiiiiiiing.

"You have to be f'ing kidding."

That was what happened from day one of the diet to about day twenty. The 5:30AM alarm. I would pee, again. I'd open my morning "baggie" filled with two HOT-ROX Extreme capsules, four BCAAs, and Tribex Gold, swallow some water, get the dog leashed, and go walking.

The dog, by the way, looks so much better after my diet, too. I did this for the dog.

Shugart: Funny, I read once that if your dog is overweight, then you probably are too. Okay, what came next?

Dan John: When I got back, I drank some coffee, tried to read the local paper (it's awful), usually read a book, then had shake number one. Here's a good combo: a scoop of chocolate Metabolic Drive, a scoop of banana cream Metabolic Drive, and flax meal. Not bad really, considering.

School days were easy. I had two shakes in the morning between classes, then, at "lunch," I had my fiber tablets, my multivitamin (I bought the "Orange Urine Special" it seems), two more HOT-ROX, and four BCAAs. That was it for supplements.

Before the end of the day, I'd have an additional shake, go home and train, then my dinner shake and the "night" shake of one scoop of Metabolic Drive and the natural peanut butter. I ended up taking Flameout at night, too. I guess I also took some ZMA every night before bed. I really like it. But basically, I stuck to the exact outline that you sent me, Chris.

That's a big key: don't start adding cookies, muffins, turkey, Alpo, or whatever. Follow the damn diet! "The V-Diet doesn't work for me. I ate five meals a day and six shakes and I didn't lose a pound!" That ain't it, folks...

Shugart: Yeah, a few modifications are fine if made by well read, experienced folks, but some people go overboard with the changes until they're basically no longer doing the diet.

You, for example, really like natural Testosterone boosters and were using Alpha Male. But since it contains Carbolin 19 and so does your fat burner, HOT-ROX Extreme, you subbed the Alpha Male for Tribex Gold. No problem. Most people do the diet successfully with no T-booster, but the extra edge can't hurt.

But those who exchange the Metabolic Drive for a sub-quality protein product inevitably fail the diet. The crap protein isn't supportive of the diet, it either contains no micellar casein or not enough, and it often tastes bad, which ruins compliance. Want to increase your chances of failing the diet? Use something besides Metabolic Drive. Do I sound like a shill? Tough titty. Use what works or don't use my diet.

Okay, rant over. What type of training did you do during this 28 day period, Dan?

Dan John: Well, at first I was just a sissy. I was afraid to do anything. Seriously, it was weird. I was going to do up to ten sets of three with the big stuff like deadlifts, squats, press, pull-ups, and the rest, and six to eight with the single joint moves. But, it was like I was waiting for a tsunami. When does "it" hit — the deadly "bonk" of no food and no carbs?

Never happened! About week two or so, I started really pushing it. I started doing Olympic lift complexes or kettlebell work to get going.

This kind of thing:

Power snatch x 5
Overhead squat x 5
Back squat x 5
Behind the neck press x 5
Good morning x 5
Row x 5

This is all done with one weight (light) and you go back to back to back through the lifts. Doing all of that is "one."

Shugart: Holy crap! Sounds tough!

Dan John: I tried to do up to six of these, but usually had the ability to talk myself into three to five of the clusters. I'm good at talking myself into something easier.

The other thing I discovered is that my squat wasn't too happy. So, I pulled out Dave Draper's TruSquat device and decided to use that with chains for reps of ten and just re-groove my bottom position. After two workouts, I asked myself, "If I thrive on sets of ten in the squat, why don't I do them?" If I had the brains to answer that, I'd be much better.

I did lots of one-arm presses and added military presses with chains (off a low box) and "invented" curls with chains, a great lift. There's no easy part with the chains. I did pull-ups every workout and the weight loss made them easier and easier. I also added back my sprints. I do up to eight sprints, bringing the speed/intensity up each rep. I'd consider this and the complexes to be a good addition for most folks trying the V-Diet, but only after the second week.

I also started taking farmer walks seriously again. My GPP went bye-bye this year and it cost me in competitions. So, we learn... again. I'm tired of relearning the same lessons.

So, yes, some structure, but I kept things a little random. I can't do a workout without at least one experiment.

Shugart: I'm the same way with sex. This year maybe I can try two new things. I'm going for a PR. Okay, next topic, you're an athlete and a coach — a performance guy — so how was that aspect during and after the diet?

Dan John: Well, with my Olympic lifting, I noticed that I'm "smoother" again. What does that mean? I don't know, but I know that I know it! Oh, and I broke the state record in the snatch at the Utah Recordmakers meet. So, yes, my strength is fine.

I'm also sprinting and walking and smiling and feeling good. I wasn't BS'ing with all that "I feel very good" stuff throughout those forum posts. Not only do I look better, my joints feel better. Now, I still have some injury issues; throwing big stuff all the time does lead to minor wear and tear, but overall, I feel great.

The one thing I like is that I'm much more athletic with the implements. I guess I knew that the extra weight was a burden, but I didn't realize how much. The biggest factor is that my right ankle doesn't hurt so much — the turning ankle in the discus. So, that's big. Bigger than one would think.

Shugart: Now, did you get any of those craving changes reported by most V-Dieters?

Dan John: Seriously, one night I was craving roasted chicken as I fell asleep, the same way a normal man thinks about womenkind.

Shugart: Hey, roasted chicken is better than burgers and fries! So, how did you get into the right mindset at the onset of the diet?

Dan John: I just took my brother Gary's advice and thought, "Tomorrow, I'll break the diet and quit. Just not tonight." I woke up, walked, did my shake, and I was fine.

That's a big one, Chris. You have to make deals with yourself all the time. But that's fine. Every athlete does this: just one more hill, one more day, one more whatever. I thrive on it, but for me it's "one more decade."

The no-booze thing was interesting, too. I thought it would be hard, but it was quite easy. I discovered something I needed to know: much of my alcohol consumption is simple thirst. I never realized how damn thirsty I get at night.

Now, all day, I coach and yell and teach, but I don't think I'm taking care of my water intake. At night, I can find myself pouring three different beverages in my mouth and think nothing of it: water, beer, and wine. Seriously. So, I dealt with the liquids issue and poof, much of the booze drinking issue cleared right up.

Funny. But, it could have ended up tragic without the 28 day "test run."

Shugart: Were there any other take-home lessons or things that you learned during the diet?

Dan John: Here's one: Quit BS'ing yourself about weight. I'm a 220 pound guy and unless my lifts and throws really take off with each additional pound, it ain't quality weight.

I also think that I didn't eat enough before the diet. Now, this is going to sound odd, but I noted that the steady stream of protein and fiber and whatever made me feel good. I had energy, my joints felt good, I thrived!

Shugart: I've had a lot of people tell me they've gained "strength" during the diet, which sounds impossible. But maybe, for the first time, they were getting enough protein to support their training while on this diet. Maybe they took that frequent meals thing seriously for the first time. Maybe they lost the chub and became more athletic and (dare I say it?) functional. You can certainly knock out more push-ups, pull-ups, chins, and dips when the excess fat is stripped off.

Okay, what was the worst part of the diet?

Dan John: Seriously, it was having women ask me about it. "Oh, Danny, what's this diet I heard you're doing?" Yeesh. "Oh, it sounds perfect for me! I have lots of self-discipline."

Right. You see, I don't. Really, I don't. What got me through the diet was a brilliant move on my part: I brought so many people into my story through T-Nation that to fail would be a huge failure... a lot of pain for me. Forever, people would question my will, my courage, my fill-in-the-blank. So, I put the price of failure very high!

Look at the thread counts. Look at all the emails I received, the discussions, the phone calls. I put the price of eating a cookie beyond the taste of any damned cookie ever made!

Shugart: That's a good tip. I think one of the best things a V-dieter can do is post a journal of sorts on an internet forum. Put yourself out there. Take before pictures and set a date for afters. It'll help you and it'll help others about to go through the same thing.

What other tips can you pass on to future Velocity dieters?

Dan John: Be proactive. Day minus one: organize all the baggies. Take every pill, every fiber cap, every whatever and put them into your "supps baggies." One grocery bag will hang in your bedroom for morning supps, one is divided into a work supps and a weekend supps, and a third is nighty-night supps. Don't think at all when you start the diet!

Dan the day before the diet: "baggie night."

Bring a blender and Metabolic Drive containers to work. Buy two things of milled flax seeds: one for home, one for work (or school or whatever). You're going to go through a jar of natural peanut butter this month, one spoonful at a time, so buy a good one.

Invest in some nice bottles of water, too. Tap water is fine, but at night a glass of water with some lime or mint will give you a moment of "formal" relaxation. I know it sounds goofy, but it'll make sense on day two.

Finally, continue to join your family for meals. Cook the damn meals! Yes, the world needs martyrs but not on this diet. Converse, enjoy, relax, entertain, and try to see the world through a new lens: you are going to be in charge of your eating.

Shugart: Good tips. Those cheap travel blenders at Wal-Mart are great.

How did you transition off the diet? Any tips for that stage?

Dan John: Here you go: shop wisely. I'm taking Cosgrove and Berardi's advice here, so I went shopping. Today, I brought to school:

A case of albacore tuna
3 pounds of spring salad mix
2 pounds of snap peas
3 pounds of broccoli
A container of hummus
A bunch of limes (for my water)
A case of diet iced tea

So, I can't make bad lunch or snack choices. I also start each day with two eggs and a can of green beans (a whopping 70 calories!) You were right, Chris, the diet prepares you for eating veggies.

Shugart: Shocking, but true! Thanks for your honesty through all this Dan. You're an inspiration, and I don't care how corny that sounds!

Notes and Updates on the Diet

For those not familiar with the original Velocity Diet articles (the experimental stages), you can find them here:

The Velocity Diet, Part I

The Velocity Diet, Part II

As mentioned, an updated and detailed Velocity Diet book is being written. But if you're interested in starting the diet right now, the articles linked above can guide you. Here are a few modifications to consider:

• Instead of Low-Carb Grow!, use Metabolic Drive. Basically, there was a name change, but there are also new flavors available, which really takes some of the monotony out of the plan.

• There's also a new flavor of Surge available, which is also less expensive per serving today than it was then.

• Flameout, the functional fatty acid supplement I now recommend, wasn't available during my initial experiments.

Instead I recommended taking large amounts of plain fish oil capsules. That's still a good method, but since Flameout is so potent, you can replace all those fish capsules with only four Flameout capsules per day.

To add in some missing calories and balance out the fats, one serving of natural peanut butter can be added to your nighttime shake. This is what Dan did, and it seemed to work great (tasty too when added to chocolate Metabolic Drive.)

• I used Maximum Strength HOT-ROX during the creation of the V-Diet and many people have had success with it. Dan used HOT-ROX Extreme. Either will give you a heck of an edge on this or any other fat loss diet.

• Milled flax seeds were originally recommended for their healthy fat and fiber content. This is still a good choice, but many people prefer flax seed meal, which is more finely ground and more palatable. Either is fine though.

Questions? Just reply to this article and we'll be glad to help you out!

© 1998 — 2006 Testosterone, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_diet_nutrition_bodybuilding/the_new_vdiet_test_drive

3 Simple Tips That Work Telling The Rest of The Story by Dan John

3 Simple Tips That Work
Telling The Rest of The Story
by Dan John

Paul Harvey made a career with the statement, "And now, the rest of the story." I think most readers will recognize the phrase and perhaps, like me, they've leaned in to hear what interesting turn the story we've been hearing is about to take.

When the Beijing Olympics finished, a lot of people came up to me and asked, "Do you think the Jamaican sprinters are using drugs?" When I caught my breath after laughing for a few minutes, I mentioned that there may be an "outside" chance that one or two athletes somehow slipped past and, just maybe, a sprinter may have beaten the tests.

But I also know that, soon, I'm going to hear the rest of the story. It might be something new in the world of training, or something spectacular that we've all just missed. Most likely, the answer will be simpler than we all think.

There's Usually More to The Story

In one of my favorite books, John Jerome's The Sweet Spot in Time, the author makes a wonderful, but naive, point regarding the East German swim team at the 1976 Olympics:

"Observers maintain that the East German 'breakthrough,' if any, is not in basic science, not in physiology of training, but in development of the computer programs which can plan workloads with such precision.

"For the East German women, who dominated swimming for a period of years before and after the 1976 Montreal Olympics, the method seemed to work, at least for a while. For the East German men, interestingly enough, it did not."

Well... I'm sorry... but it might have been something else. If you're really interested, watch this great special from PBS and you may realize that computers helped a little, but essentially turning women into men helped even more.

So that's the rest of the story, and the longer I play in this game called strength, fitness, and health, the more stories I hear.

Old Stories Worth Hearing Again (For the First Time)

Years ago, I had a great interview with Dick Smith, the master of functional isometric contractions (FIC), a training trend that swept the world in the early 1960's. Simply, one pushed and pulled against immobile objects until muscularity and fat loss happened.

Dick Smith during an FIC workout.

This was almost 50 years ago, so nearly all of this method is lost, but I have dozens of articles cataloging football teams that "won overnight" by pushing and squeezing for a few minutes a day. As a coach, I can tell you that any program that promises instant strength increases in minimal time will get noticed.

Later, of course, writers such as Terry Todd and John Fair opened the door that anabolic steroids were the rest of the story. (Fair does a marvelous job in this issue of the Journal of Sports History.)

Those "pink pills," the original steroids, were touted as something that would basically help you digest protein. Through the 1960's and 1970's, many writers, including Vince Gironda, would emphasize that digestion was the missing link in super muscularity and size.

Gironda, with his pupil and the first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott.

Papaya extract, HCL pills, and a plethora of awful metallic-tasting things were sold to mimic the effects of drugs. In any case, the verdict on isometric training was that "it" didn't work; the steroids made the lifters improve. But, the story continues.

Tip #1: Making FIC Work

A few years ago, I had trouble standing up with cleans at a weightlifting meet, so I called Dick Smith. His advice? Get in the rack! First, Dick emphasized that you simply clear the bottom pin in rack work. One didn't need to use static things, like door jams or your other limbs. He emphasized using maximal weights in the rack.

The perfect weight is one when all you can do is clear the weight off the rack and hold it for all you've got. I took Dick's advice and found that the human body can clear a lot of weight off of a rack.

Second, he was very clear that one quickly overtrains in the rack, but at the same time, doesn't notice this overtraining at all. I found this to be true. In 1991, I went on a serious imitation of Bill March's program (one of the original "experimenters" in isometrics).

I got very strong... then I pulled my right trap. My friend, Paul Northway, commented, "God, you jerked 315 off the rack without any warm-ups." I got seriously strong and badly overtrained mixing programs, and I commented in my journal, "This stuff works!"

Later, after talking with Dick again, I began my dead stop front squat program, to cure my sticking point in the front squat. The best thing I ever did for my front squat strength, which is a basic indicator of total leg strength, was to purchase an inexpensive set of sawhorses (I got them adjustable, to set at my exact sticking point).

I packed on a lot of plates and squatted from the dead stop, bottom position. It worked wonders! I could've purchased a rack for $2000, but the sawhorses were about 70 bucks.

The term "dead stop" simply explains having no rebound or bounce on a lift. It works wonders for the bench press and military press, too.

In just a few weeks, I fixed a serious issue. Here were my observations:

1) Six singles, max! I believe I'd argue for less now; after a couple of warm-ups, maybe two or three total effort reps. (Dick wouldn't agree with this, but I don't just clear the bottom position, I stand right up, so the weight would actually be less.)

2) To warm-up, I like 2x5 with 50% of the estimated max in the full motion. For example, 165x5x5, if you're using 330. I tried doing dead stop front squats cold (no warm-ups at all) and it works, but I noticed that my hips/psoas killed me the next few days. Of course, I'm a geezer. Young bucks might not need it.

3) I'd agree with some who argue that one day a week is good, and you could do three if you're only doing one movement in the rack. This is going to be an experiment of one — what works for you and your weak points.

I did three days a week for about two weeks, then I started hating lifting (again) and I stopped improving. Two days, at the most, would work for me... I think.

The rest of the story is that, yes, isometrics work. FIC (rack work) could be the answer for those of you with sticking points in any basic "anti-gravity" lift. The deadlift from the floor is certainly a "dead" stop, but raise the bar up into the rack and see how much you can pull from just above the knees.

Tip #2: The Necessity of Abdominal Training

If you want to show off your abs... or core... or whatever you call it, go on the Velocity Diet and call me in 28 days.

As a reminder: Dan John before, and Dan John 23 pounds after.

Someday, each of you is going to pay for the 10,000 crunches that you were sure would build a six-pack. Instead, it built a bad lower back. Ab work does absolutely "nothing" for you. Just ask any long-time strength trainer.

And now, the rest of the story. I've been in touch with Dane Miller, who has been training with Dr. Anatoli Bondarchuk. "Bondy" is a legend in strength training, and Miller changed the way I'll look at abs forever. Imagine a mathematical formula as a template for your training program.

A+B+C=D

• D is your goal. It could be an athletic performance or a certain amount of lean body mass.

• A is an upper body movement, let's say the bench press.

• B is a full body movement, like the deadlift.

• C is abdominal work.

When I increase B, either by max lift or increased volume, I've noticed that D improves. Therefore, dropping B is universally bad. No matter what your goals are, you should keep deadlifting, or squatting, or whatever. Generally, increases in A have some effect on D, but it's more difficult to see the value.

Which leads us to C. Increasing ab work doesn't seem to help us with the goal. I've seen guys using ridiculous weight on 45-degree abdominal boards. What's the point, besides back surgery before you're middle-aged?

So, why do abs? Well, according to Miller, when you drop C, A and B go straight to hell, which we already know is going to impact D so fast it'll make your head swim. In other words, abs support your training goals as much as they support your internal organs! You have to do abs, simply to support the whole training system.

That's the rest of the story with abs. No, working your abs won't help your six-pack, but it will support all your efforts to be able to show off your six-pack.

Tip #3: Fat Loss is About Intensity

It's official. I've received my 10,000th email asking about the fat burning "miracle" that is HIIT and/or the Tabata protocol. Years ago, I bored the world with my article on The Tabata Method.

As a reminder, take 95 (or a humble 65) pounds and front squat for 20 seconds. I'd expect, and demand, between 8 and 14 reps. Rest for 10 seconds, then, without reading War and Peace, do another set of 20 seconds. Continue this cycle of "work 20/rest 10" for a total of four minutes.

Ever since then, I've had dozens of emails saying that people did "Tabata sit-ups" and got none of that pain I waxed so eloquently about. My friends... never compare sit-ups to front squats.

It's like comparing your neighborhood street football game to the NFL. Yes, you got a stinging two-hand slap from 'lil Timmy down the block. That doesn't quite compare to being manhandled like a puppy's favorite chew toy.

The HIIT workouts I'm told about are the same idea, too. One guy was "pouring the coals" to a vigorous interval treadmill workout... 30 seconds of high intensity jogging with five minutes of easy walking. For the record, I have no idea why people email me about anything beyond lifting and throwing.

I decided to figure out just what "HIIT" was. The best material I found was a summary from Dr. Tom Fahey: HIIT - High-Intensity Interval Training Workout: A Time-Efficient, Low-Volume, High-Intensity Training Strategy For Building Cardiovascular Endurance. Tom, an old friend and a great discus thrower, summed up the basics of HIIT very clearly, but I needed something more.

At a Highland Games fundraiser, we once sold "attempts" at a farmer's walk with 105 pounds per hand. To keep the event going, I had to jump in every few attempts and take a 30-second walk to reset the weights. The next day, and for several days after, Fahey's insights suddenly made sense.

Listen folks, this is Testosterone. Would you rather do a 30-second treadmill jog or would you rather march around death-gripping heavy dumbbells? I'm only allowing one answer. For your HIIT workouts, strap on a heavy sled, or grab two heavy dumbbells, and crush yourself into fat-burning mode.

This idea is a work in progress, but before you know it, you'll hear the rest of the story.

For Those Who Missed the Points:

• To fix a problem, consider a short experiment with dead stop (FIC) movements exactly at your sticking point. Don't do a billion reps, just a few.

• Ab work won't give you a six-pack. It will, however, be the best support work you can do for your entire training regimen.

• Instead of embarrassing yourself on a treadmill, burn fat using a barbell or dumbbell with either Tabata front squats or a HIIT version of farmer's walks.

And that's the rest of my story, anyway.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding/3_simple_tips_that_work

© 1998 — 2008 Testosterone, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Training Myths Debunked

Return to http://www.mensfitness.com/fitness/203

We reveal the truth behind 10 of the oldest misconceptions in fitness

Most of the ideas you hear circulating in your local weight room today have about as much basis on scientific fact as the notion that the world is flat. MF calls out these myths once and for all and tells The Truth about how to train.

1) Lactic acid causes muscle fatigue.
How It Started: Research conducted nearly 100 years ago (on frog muscles, no less) suggested that lactic-acid levels within muscles increased with fatigue.
The Truth: "Lactic acid increases with fatigue because it's fueling your muscle contractions," says Chad Waterbury, a strength coach in Los Angeles. It causes the painful burning sensation in your muscles that makes you want to stop lifting, but your liver is also converting lactic acid into more energy, so it's actually helping to offset fatigue. Muscle fatigue is prompted by an accumulation of protons within the muscles, which is caused by the breakdown of glycogen, the stored carbohydrate that helps to fuel exercise.

2) It's safer to lift weights slowly.
How It Started: In rehabilitation settings, patients are told to perform exercises at slow tempos in order to retrain their bodies to execute a movement pattern smoothly. Consequently, some trainers got the idea that training slowly reduces the risk of injury.
The Truth: "As long as you always control the lifting and lowering phases of an exercise," says Waterbury, an expert in neurophysiology, "you won't set yourself up for injury." In fact, Waterbury tells all his injury-free clients to perform their reps with speed "because it trains the muscles to react quickly in unexpected, real-world situations, which is how you really protect yourself from injury." Furthermore, lifting weights with speed activates more muscle fibers, leading to greater muscle gains.

3) Light weights and high reps tone muscles.
How It Started: Bodybuilders have long used lightweight, high-rep sets in the weeks prior to a contest. The more reps they're able to perform, they figure, the more calories (and fat) they burn, helping them get as lean as possible.
The Truth: Bodybuilders always accompany this kind of training with low-carb, calorie-restricted diets; that's what accounts for their rapid fat loss. "A toned appearance is dependent on your level of body fat and muscle development," says Jim Smith, C.S.C.S., a strength coach in Sayre, Pa. In other words, to see more muscle tone, you need to get bigger muscles and lose flab.

4) Machines are safer than free weights.
How It Started: Exercise-machine manufacturers advertise that their equipment isolates target muscles and prevents injury by having the trainee perform an exercise through a preset path of motion, thereby eliminating room for error.
The Truth: The restrictive movements of machine exercising might actually increase the risk of injury. "Machines are fixed and rigid and therefore limit the natural movements of the lifter," says Smith. They can't accommodate a person's individual limb length and strength curve, and as a result can place shearing forces on joints. "When you use free weights," says Smith, "your body naturally makes adjustments throughout the exercise's range of motion according to your strength level, speed of movement, and proficiency at executing your reps." Machines don't allow this.

5) You need to "shock" your muscles to make gains.
How It Started: It's hard to target the exact origin of this one, but it most likely began with bodybuilders who noticed that if they changed up their training after several weeks of using the same routine, they made quicker gains.
The Truth: Switching up exercises, sets, and reps is one thing, but purposely overloading your nervous system is a sure precursor to overtraining and injury—not muscle gains. "Your muscles operate under the laws of science, not trickery," says Vince DelMonte, a personal trainer in Ontario. Making gains is simply a matter of outdoing your previous workout. Once you can perform one more rep or lift one extra pound over what you did last week, "you've achieved progressive overload," says DelMonte, "and it's time to move on to the next muscle group."

6) You must train to failure for the best results.
How It Started: It was probably "those bodybuilders" again, who this time assumed that if hard training builds muscle, then training as hard as humanly possible must build the most muscle.
The Truth: "There is no activity outside of training that demonstrates that going to failure is critical," says DelMonte. "Construction workers often have phenomenal muscularity, but you don't see them carrying bricks around until they drop." Taking your sets and workout length to the point of using lighter weights will not result in progressive overload—the cornerstone of muscle growth. You will not give your muscles a reason to change, your motivation will dip, and you may even lose interest.

7) You have to get a "pump" to gain muscle.
How It Started: People noticed that doing moderate- to high- rep sets for a muscle group with little rest in between gave them pumps and (later) bigger muscles.
The Truth: There's nothing wrong with getting a pump, but it's only a reflection of how long your muscles have been under tension—it's not necessarily a harbinger of growth. "As your muscles stretch and contract," says DelMonte, "they become engorged with blood," and if you don't rest them long enough for your blood pressure to drop so that the blood flushes out, you can enjoy that swelled-up look and feeling for an hour or so. "You can get a pump just by running up a hill," says DelMonte, "but that doesn't mean you'll build big legs." Muscles need to be placed under a lot of tension to grow, and that means lifting heavy weights. Training specifically for a pump may cause you to use loads that are too light and reps that are too high, "and that leads to muscular fatigue, not muscular overload," says DelMonte.

8)Your muscles need high-volume training to grow their biggest.
How It Started: When steroids became pervasive in bodybuilding in the 1960s and '70s, trainees discovered that using the drugs allowed them to perform more sets for a muscle group without endangering their recovery. As a result, they could force their muscles to perform more work and grow at a faster rate.
The Truth: Take away the 'roids, and you place yourself at high risk for overtraining. In the '40s and '50s, movie star Steve Reeves and weightlifting icon Paul Anderson trained with brief workouts using heavy weights and built the kind of bodies most of us still aspire to today. The fewer sets you perform for a muscle group, the faster that group can recover from the training and be trained again. Rather than thrashing a body part one day with as many sets as you can stand and then waiting a week before you can hit it again, you can perform approximately two sets per exercise and be ready to train that area again later in the week. "Now instead of 52 workouts for that body part in a year, you'll do 104," says MF adviser Jason Ferruggia, a performance-enhancement coach in Warren, N.J. "This allows you to double your stimulus for growth and ultimately get even bigger."

9) You should never let your knees go past your toes on squats and lunges.
How It Started: One too many injuries during the squat or lunge—but it was probably the result of accidentally rotating at the hips during a rep, which can cause ligament damage in the knee.
The Truth: Where your knees end up during any lift is highly dependent on the length of your legs and where on your joints the muscles attach. Some people (usually shorter guys) can squat easily without the knees passing over their toes in the down position, but others (usually taller guys) may find that their knees drift far forward. Purposely trying to keep your knees behind your toes when your body doesn't want to puts a lot more strain on your hips and lower back, and that can lead to worse injuries. As the late exercise scientist Mel C. Siff, Ph.D., noted in his book Facts and Fallacies of Fitness, "The Japanese sit on the floor with their knees folded fully flexed beneath them, bearing all their body weight for prolonged periods daily without producing an epidemic of knee injuries."

10) You should wear a lifting belt whenever you go heavy.
How It Started: Lifting heavy weights always poses a risk for injury. Somebody somewhere hurt his back during a heavy lift, and the lifting-belt craze took off.
The Truth: "If you're going for a new max and want the additional mental boost a belt may give you," says Joe Stankowski, C.P.T., a trainer in Wilmington, Del., "by all means, wrap your midsection in cowhide." But beware that if you use a belt on lighter sets or in every workout, your body will get accustomed to having that aid, and soon you'll find that you won't be able to lift heavy weights without it. "It's entirely possible to lift massive weights safely using your body's own support system," says Stankowski, who notes that some elite powerlifters have squatted upwards of 900 pounds without a belt. Forgoing the belt will force your abs to work harder to protect your spine, which of course has the added benefit of building a more muscular midsection.

Gelée royale

Autre nom : lait des abeilles.

Indications

Combattre la fatigue physique et intellectuelle, le surmenage, soutenir les convalescents; traiter les troubles menstruels.

Posologie

Fatigue, surmenage, convalescence

• Prendre de 100 mg à 250 mg par jour de gelée royale lyophilisée ou de 300 mg à 750 mg de gelée royale fraîche. Traditionnellement, on recommande de prendre la gelée royale avant le repas du matin, pendant quatre à six semaines. Certains auteurs suggèrent de consommer jusqu’à 1,2 g par jour de gelée fraîche (400 mg de gelée lyophilisée) en cas de grande fatigue.

Attention. À cause du potentiel allergène de la gelée royale, il est préférable de commencer par un dosage réduit et de l’augmenter progressivement.

Description

La gelée royale est une substance laiteuse et gélatineuse sécrétée par les glandes pharyngiennes des jeunes abeilles nourricières. Elle est destinée à l’alimentation des larves au premier stade de leur développement et constitue le régime alimentaire exclusif des reines durant toute leur existence. Également nommée « lait des abeilles », elle contient environ 65 % d’eau et de nombreuses autres substances :

- des glucides, essentiellement du fructose et du glucose (15 %)
- des protides, surtout des protéines, des peptides et des facteurs de croissance (13 %)
- des acides gras (4 %)
- des minéraux.

De plus, elle est relativement riche en vitamines du groupe B, notamment la B1 et la B5. L’ensemble constitue un concentré nutritif très riche qui permet une croissance rapide des larves d’abeilles. On attribue en partie à la gelée royale le fait que la reine, qui s’en nourrit exclusivement, soit beaucoup plus grosse que les autres abeilles et qu’elle vive cinq ou six ans tandis que la vie active des ouvrières ne dépasse guère les 45 jours.

Normalement, la quantité de gelée royale produite dans une ruche suffit à peine à assurer la croissance des larves et l’alimentation de la reine. Pour obtenir les quantités souhaitées, les apiculteurs doivent éliminer la reine de la ruche et inciter les ouvrières à élever plusieurs larves destinées à produire des reines. Avant que ces techniques soient mises au point, la gelée royale demeurait un produit rare et relativement peu connu.

Historique

En raison de sa relative rareté jusqu’à ce que les apiculteurs mettent au point, au début du XX^e siècle, les techniques permettant sa production à une échelle industrielle, les usages médicinaux de la gelée royale sont demeurés peu connus du grand public.

On dit que les souverains de la Chine antique lui attribuaient le pouvoir d’assurer la longévité et la vigueur sexuelle. Ce n’est cependant que depuis 70 à 80 ans que la gelée royale est devenue réellement populaire auprès des Chinois et elle est présente dans plusieurs préparations destinées au traitement des douleurs arthritiques, de l’hypertension artérielle, du diabète, de l’hépatite chronique, des troubles menstruels, de l’infertilité et de la fatigue. En Médecine traditionnelle chinoise, cette substance est considérée comme un tonique en cas de carence du Yin.

On trouve une tradition populaire similaire en Europe de l’Est et en Russie où la gelée royale est considérée comme une substance adaptogène, c’est-à-dire une substance qui accroît, de manière générale et non spécifique, la résistance de l'organisme aux divers stress qui l'affectent. Tout en causant un minimum d'effets indésirables, un adaptogène exercerait une action normalisatrice non spécifique sur de nombreux organes ou fonctions physiologiques.

C’est à un savant hollandais du XVII^e siècle que l’on doit les premières observations scientifiques systématiques sur cette substance et sur les usages qu’en font les abeilles dans les ruches. Observations qui furent confirmées au XVIII^e siècle par des chercheurs français et suisses.

La production industrielle de gelée royale et le recours à la lyophilisation (procédé de séchage à froid) ont conduit à la mise au point de nombreux produits qui connaissent aujourd'hui une certaine popularité un peu partout dans le monde. Au Japon, par exemple, on la consomme dans les genki, des boissons tonifiantes particulièrement populaires auprès des employés de bureau.

Recherches

Très peu d’études scientifiques rigoureuses existent quant à l’action de la gelée royale chez l’humain. On dispose surtout d’essais in vitro et sur les animaux. Les données actuelles sont insuffisantes pour attribuer une quelconque cote d’efficacité à ce produit.

Ménopause. Les résultats de deux essais cliniques préliminaires, dont un sans placebo¹, sur une préparation renfermant de la gelée royale, du pollen et de la vitamine C (Melbrosia®) ont donné de bons résultats au chapitre de la réduction de plusieurs symptômes de la ménopause^1,2. Cependant, comme il s’agit d’un produit contenant d’autres ingrédients, il est difficile de savoir quel rôle la gelée royale a joué au cours de ces études.

Hyperlipidémie. L’auteur d’une méta-analyse publiée en 1995 s’est penché sur les données animales et humaines (essais non répertoriés dans Medline) concernant les effets de la gelée royale sur les taux de lipides sanguins³. Il a conclu qu’à des doses quotidiennes de 50 mg à 100 mg, la gelée royale lyophilisée faisait baisser le taux de cholestérol d’environ 14 % et le taux de lipides sanguins d’environ 10 %. Cependant, sur les 10 études sur des humains retenues par l’auteur, cinq ont porté sur un produit injectable, et, parmi les autres, deux étaient des essais sans groupe placebo. De plus, toutes ces études datent des années 1960 et leur qualité méthodologique n’est pas à la hauteur des critères actuels. En 2004, une étude sans placebo a été menée sur 55 femmes ménopausées² : après trois mois, les chercheurs ont observé une amélioration des taux de cholestérol, mais une augmentation du taux de triglycérides. Notez également que l’hyperlipidémie ne fait pas partie des indications traditionnelles de la gelée royale.

Immunité. Un bon nombre d’études sur les animaux et in vitro ont confirmé l’activité immunostimulante^3,4 et immunomodulatrice^5-7 de la gelée royale. Ces actions sont communes aux substances adaptogènes et ont été attribuées aux composants lipidiques⁷ et protéiques^3-6 de la gelée royale.

Cependant, une étude récente à double insu avec placebo effectuée chez 64 enfants n’a pas été concluante⁸. Les participants avaient de 5 ans à 16 ans et la prise de gelée royale de trois à six mois avant la saison du pollen n’a pas modifié l’incidence et la gravité du rhume des foins. Des essais supplémentaires et de plus grande envergure sont nécessaires avant d’en arriver à une conclusion sur l’action de la gelée royale sur le système immunitaire chez l’humain.

Divers. Au cours d’essais sur des souris, on a observé que la gelée royale avait un effet antifatigue⁹. D’autres chercheurs ont observé un effet hypotenseur chez des rats d’hypertendus¹⁰. D’autres études menées sur des rats indiquent que la gelée royale peut exercer une action anti-inflammatoire et accélérer la guérison des plaies cutanées¹¹.

Toujours chez le rat, on a observé une activité oestrogénique de la gelée royale¹², ce qui explique peut-être en partie son usage traditionnel pour les troubles menstruels chez la femme. La gelée royale augmente d’ailleurs la performance reproductrice chez la brebis¹³. Finalement, des essais récents chez la souris indiquent que la gelée royale peut, d’une part, prolonger la survie moyenne des animaux en partie par une action antioxydante¹⁴ et, d’autre part, avoir un effet protecteur sur le cerveau adulte¹⁵.

Précautions

Attention

• Certains auteurs affirment qu’on peut prendre sans danger jusqu’à 1,2 g de gelée royale par jour et même plus¹⁶. Il est important de commencer par un faible dosage et de l’augmenter progressivement afin de détecter une possible allergie.

Contre-indications

• Les personnes allergiques au miel, au pollen, aux piqûres d’abeilles et aux plantes de la famille des composées (marguerite, échinacée, pissenlit, etc.) pourraient également l’être à la gelée royale.
• On a rapporté plusieurs réactions allergiques et anaphylactiques à la gelée royale chez des sujets souffrant d’asthme ou d’eczéma atopique.

Effets indésirables

• En usage topique, la gelée royale peut provoquer ou exacerber une dermite.

Interactions

Avec des plantes ou des suppléments

• Aucune connue.

Avec des médicaments

• On a récemment attribué à la gelée royale un cas de perte de sang dans les urines (hématurie) chez un patient âgé souffrant d’un lymphome non Hodgkinien et d’hypertension et qui prenait de la warfarine, un anti-coagulant¹⁷. Cependant, le lien de cause à effet n’a pas été clairement établi.
• Chez les souris, la consommation de gelée royale (5 % de la diète) n’a pas eu d’impact sur les enzymes hépatiques du métabolisme des médicaments¹⁸.

Sur les tablettes

La gelée royale fraîche doit être conservée au congélateur, à l’abri de l’air, de l’humidité et de la lumière. Si elle est lyophilisée (séchée à froid et réduite en poudre), ces précautions ne sont plus nécessaires. Comme la gelée royale perd environ les deux tiers de son poids au cours de la lyophilisation, 100 mg de gelée lyophilisée correspondent à 300 mg de gelée fraîche.

En plus de la gelée royale fraîche (vendue en pot) et lyophilisée (présentée en capsules), on trouve dans le commerce des préparations à base de miel et de gelée royale. Il existe aussi des produits liquides, généralement présentés en ampoules, et qui renferment, outre de la gelée royale, du miel, du pollen, de la propolis ou du ginseng en proportions variables.

Certains produits sur le marché ont une teneur normalisée en 10-2 HDA (acide 10-hydroxy-2 décénoïque), un des ingrédients lipidiques actifs de la gelée royale qui sert également de marqueur.

Bien que la Food and Drug Administration américaine ait sévi plusieurs fois au cours des années 1990 pour ramener à l’ordre les fabricants et les distributeurs de gelée royale⁷, plusieurs d’entre eux continuent à faire des affirmations publicitaires non fondées au sujet des vertus de leur produit (arthrite, maladies rénales, fractures, effet antibiotique, perte de poids) pour n’en nommer que quelques-unes.

	Réviseur : Pierre Haddad, Ph.D., chercheur national du Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec et professeur titulaire, Département de pharmacologie, Université de Montréal.
Recherche et rédaction : Pierre Lefrançois et Françoise Ruby, avec la collaboration de Jean-Yves Dionne, pharmacien.
Mise à jour : 25 mai 2006

Références

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Bibliographie

Darguère JM. Lexique des compléments alimentaires, Dangles, France, 2000.
DerMarderosian A et al. Royal Jelly, The Review of Natural Products - Facts and Comparisons, États-Unis, 1992.
Docteur Donnadieu. Toutes les thérapeutiques de ma pharmacie naturelle. Les produits de la ruche. La gelée royale. [Consulté le 23 avril 2006]. www.01sante.com
National Library of Medicine (Ed). PubMed, NCBI. [Consulté le 27 mars 2006]. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Therapeutic Research Faculty (Ed). Royal Jelly, Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. [Consulté le 18 novembre 2005]. www.naturaldatabase.com
Tyler Varro E, Foster S. Tyler's Honest Herbal, Haworth Press, États-Unis, 1999.

Notes

1. Szanto E, Gruber D, et al. [Placebo-controlled study of melbrosia in treatment of climacteric symptoms]. [Article en allemand, résumé en anglais]. Wien Med Wochenschr. 1994;144(7):130-3.
2. Georgiev DB, Metka M, et al. Effects of an herbal medication containing bee products on menopausal symptoms and cardiovascular risk markers: results of a pilot open-uncontrolled trial.MedGenMed. 2004 Dec 16;6(4):46.
3. Vittek J. Effect of royal jelly on serum lipids in experimental animals and humans with atherosclerosis.Experientia. 1995 Sep 29;51(9-10):927-35.
3. Majtan J, Kovacova E, et al. The immunostimulatory effect of the recombinant apalbumin 1-major honeybee royal jelly protein-on TNFalpha release. Int Immunopharmacol. 2006 Feb;6(2):269-78.
4. Simuth J, Bilikova K, et al. Immunochemical approach to detection of adulteration in honey: physiologically active royal jelly protein stimulating TNF-alpha release is a regular component of honey. J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Apr 21;52(8):2154-8.
5. Bincoletto C, Eberlin S, et al. Effects produced by Royal Jelly on haematopoiesis: relation with host resistance against Ehrlich ascites tumour challenge. Int Immunopharmacol. 2005 Apr;5(4):679-88.
6. Kohno K, Okamoto I, et al. Royal jelly inhibits the production of proinflammatory cytokines by activated macrophages. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2004 Jan;68(1):138-45.
7. Pollet S, Bottex-Gauthier C, et al. Insight into some of the signaling pathways triggered by a lipid immunomodulator. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 2002 Nov;24(4):527-46.
8. Andersen AH, Mortensen S, et al. [Double-blind randomized trial of the effect of Bidro on hay fever in children] Ugeskr Laeger. 2005 Sep 19;167(38):3591-4. Danish.
9. Kamakura M, Mitani N, et al. Antifatigue effect of fresh royal jelly in mice.J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2001 Dec;47(6):394-401.
10. Matsui T, Yukiyoshi A, et al. Gastrointestinal enzyme production of bioactive peptides from royal jelly protein and their antihypertensive ability in SHR.J Nutr Biochem. 2002 Feb;13(2):80-86.
11. Tokunaga KH, Yoshida C, et al. Antihypertensive effect of peptides from royal jelly in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Biol Pharm Bull. 2004 Feb;27(2):189-92. Texte integral : www.jstage.jst.go.jp
11. Fujii A, Kobayashi S, et al. Augmentation of wound healing by royal jelly (RJ) in streptozotocin-diabetic rats.Jpn J Pharmacol. 1990 Jul;53(3):331-7.
12. Mishima S, Suzuki KM, et al. Royal jelly has estrogenic effects in vitro and in vivo. J Ethnopharmacol. 2005 Oct 3;101(1-3):215-20.
13. Husein MQ, Haddad SG. A new approach to enhance reproductive performance in sheep using royal jelly in comparison with equine chorionic gonadotropin. Anim Reprod Sci. 2005 Jul 28.
14. Inoue S, Koya-Miyata S, et al.Royal Jelly prolongs the life span of C3H/HeJ mice: correlation with reduced DNA damage. Exp Gerontol. 2003 Sep;38(9):965-9.
15. Hashimoto M, Kanda M, et al.Oral administration of royal jelly facilitates mRNA expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor and neurofilament H in the hippocampus of the adult mouse brain. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2005 Apr;69(4):800-5. Texte intégral : www.jstage.jst.go.jp
16. Donnadieu Y. Toutes les thérapeutiques de ma pharmacie naturelle. Les produits de la ruche. La gelée royale [Consulté le 23 mars 2004]. www.01sante.com
17. Lee NJ, Fermo JD. Warfarin and royal jelly interaction. Pharmacotherapy. 2006 Apr;26(4):583-6.
18. Kamakura M, Maebuchi M, et al. Influence of royal jelly on mouse hepatic gene expression and safety assessment with a DNA microarray. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2005 Jun;51(3):148-55.
19. Barrett Stephen, MD. Bee Pollen, Royal Jelly, and Propolis. [Consulté le 23 avril 2006] www.quackwatch.org

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