BBC News – Survival of the fittest

In this Scientific American piece – Eat Exercise & Be Merry keeping a weekly journal of what you have to be grateful for, seemed to help folks in the study exercise more and keep a positive attitude.  I would agree that thinking positively leads you to be more optimistic, and try a little harder, and that leads you to push a little more in your workouts, which in turn will give you better results.

So putting yourself into a little positive feedback loop, a viscious cycle turned on end if you will, doesn’t sound like such a bad idea for the new year!

Scientific American – Fit Body, Fit Mind?

I think this is an interesting discussion overall, and definitely worth a read.  Looking at different sports, you see a different pattern of fat distribution, some extremely skinny and wirey, while others are softer.  Sumo wrestlers might be an extreme example, as they are quite fit, yet continue to maintain significant bulk.

1. standing ab wheel rollout
2. back lever
3. hannibal pullups
4. korean dips
5. one-arm one-leg pushups
6. leg lifts
7. straddle planche pushups
8. L-sit walk
9. human flag
10. superman pushup
11. dragon flag
12. side-to-sides
13. handstand pushup to nose
14. elbow step pushups – together
15. muscle-up with false grip
16. stall bar hold
17. deep handstand pushups
18. bicycle pullups

Here’s a great NY Times article with over 10 new apps which can help you keep track of all your data. But remember it’s more about the workout and the intensity that will get you in shape, so when in doubt, pencil and paper works as well!

CNN: Gadgets, Web sites to make you a better runner

Here’s a great article about a guy who, just preceding his 40th birthday, decided to get into shape, and the story of his path to the ultraman world championships.

From miserable man to “Ultraman”:  A Fitness Journey

Here’s a whole article on how to use and train with them.

The Right Way To Train With A Heart Rate Monitor.

As a trainer I can confirm one of Ratey’s first observations that a client “felt more passionate about life once he got into an exercise routine.”  He goes on to talk about what became known as the “endorphin rush”…

“Candace Pert had recently discovered that there were opiate receptors in the brain, meaning the body had a built-in way of killing pain with molecules that worked like morphine.  Endorphins, as they became known, dulled pain in the body and produced euphoria in the mind.  When elevated levels of endorphins were detected in the blood samples of a group of runners, everything seemed to fit.  The theory that exercise fills your brain with this morphinelike substance matched the good feeling everyone got.  It gave us the expression “runner’s high” an extreme version of the effect.”

“Blumenthal concluded that exercise was as effective as medication.  This is the study I photocopy for patients who are skeptical of the idea that exercise changes their brain chemistry enough to help their depression, because it puts the issue in terms that are as black-and-white as psychiatry can hope to deliver, at least for now.  The results should be taught in medical school and driven home with health insurance companies and posted on bulletin bouards of every nursing home in the country, where nearly a fifth of the residents have depression.  If everyone knew that exercise worked as well as Zoloft, I think we could put a real dent in the disease.”

“In short, exercise affects so many variables in the brain that its nigh impossible to isolate its effect as we’d like — in the name of hard science.  But the evidence is there, from the action of microscopic molecules to massive surveys of tens of thousands of people over the years.  Yes exercise is an antidepressant.  But it is also much more.”

“At every level, from the microcellular to the psychological, exercise not only wards off the ill effets of chronic stress;  it can also reverse them.”

“The advantage of using exercise to inoculate the brain against stress is that it ramps up growth factors more than other stimuli do.”

He talks about what he calls the “ever-widening gap between the evolution of our biology and our society”…  and goes on to talk about our paleolithic ancestors.  “Our average energy expenditure per unit of body mass is less than 38 percent of that of our Stone Age ancestors…  Paleolithic man had to walk five to ten miles on an average day, just to be able to eat.”

In his conclusion he really drives home the points about stress, and I want to quote that more fully here.

“Both stress and inactivity — the twin hallmarks of modern life –  play big roles in the development of arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and other autoimmune disorders.  Reducing stress by any means, and especially exercise, helps patients with their recovery from these diseases.  The diseases result from a weakened immune system, and as is evident in the example of Robert Pyles, exercise can dramatically improve immune function.”

It’s a little bit geeky at the beginning but well worth a listen.

“There is just a flock of evidence for the benefits for depression, anxiety, panic disorder. Part of what the real message is, is that if you activate your brain with exercise, you’re gonna release a lot of the neurotransmitters we aim with in psychopharmacology, you know, our drugs that we use, serotonin drugs, dopamine drugs, neurepinephrine drugs, all tend to try we think to elevate the levels of these neurotransmitters. Well exercise does that pretty quickly!”