Group exercise classes have been quite popular for some time. There are definitely some great things about group exercise classes, some bad things, and some down right horrible things about group classes. I’m going to steer clear of bashing the horrible things about group exercise, as they are quite obvious.

What might not be so apparent are the good and bad things about such classes you should consider. I won’t give you my thoughts based on just the physiological principles, but also the perspectives that hundreds of non-fitness folks share with me every day. Another often overlooked point is how you can determine determine if you are a good fit for group exercise classes.That’s what I’ll discuss today.

The good things about Group Fitness Classes

1. You feel less like an ass: Some people don’t like being the focus of attention; singled out to have their weaknesses exposed. They prefer to blend into the background, more passively acclimate to the situation until they reach a certain comfort level. Also, when you are trying something new, it might feel good to look around and see others are in the same situation you are, equally clueless but eager to learn. Dance lessons, ski lessons, and cooking classes are other common examples of this.

2. It costs less: This is a no-brainer. Many people look at the price tag of one-to-one services and group services and clearly they see group training as much less expensive.

3. There’s not so much of a commitment: Similar to #1, group classes let you lurk in the shadows. If you don’t show up, you don’t need to cancel, pay a fee, or feel bad for standing someone up.

4. You don’t have to think much: Sometimes it’s nice to simply do what someone says and follow their lead. No planning or brain effort needed – just follow along. This is was pointed out to me by one of my clients years back – sometimes it’s good to shut the brain down and just go.

5. Social support: Having a group of peers around you pushing, sweating, and giving signs of encouragement is huge. This is especially true for athletes, as the team culture pushes them to higher levels. This is also a proven benefit of support groups as well.

The bad things about Group Fitness Classes

1. Difficult environment to learn: People have different learning styles and learn at different paces. Some like things explained to them first: “This is what we are doing, this is why. Here’s the right way and the wrong way”. This is often followed by demonstration, then a chance to do it yourself, followed by feedback and tweaking. I am a classic example of someone who needs this learning style. I use this method often when teaching others, which I call the “tell, show, do, review” strategy.

The other issue is that the goal of most classes is to push the pace and challenge the most fit in the room. This often leaves the less fit or more timid in the dust.

Finally, there is usually a lot of noise and distractions (the smelly dude next to you, why is that lady still wearing rainbow leg warmers, etc) which can make learning how to do a program properly next to impossible.

2. Hard to individualize your plan

Many of us have unique needs. If you are very strong and fit, you often need specialized techniques to push you. Conversely, if you are very de-conditioned, you need extensive modifications of your plan to make it suitable for your needs. Others have injuries which keep rearing their ugly heads with little understanding as why, and still others need extensive monitoring due to certain conditions. Finally, some need planning that extends beyond sets and reps, but more about strategy and scheduling. For example, and executive with 3 kids and frequently travels may need more help with planing a training routine that fits their crazy schedule than anything else.

3. Bias towards aerobics

For some reason, group classes have been heavily resembled aerobic dance competitions or solid gold performances. There is nothing wrong with that, unless you need to preserve muscle mass to increase metabolism or simply are not a good dancer. Yes, I know that there are these muscle pump classes and power yoga classes (which is like jumbo shrimp or gentle football) but they are still mostly aerobic classes. Again, there’s nothing wrong with this, as long as you are also doing real resistance training in addition.

4. There’s not so much of a commitment: Yes, this was also sited as a good thing, but you can see how it would be a bad thing as well. Let’s face it, we all have some issues with commitment (if not big fitness gyms would all go under – you don’t really think big gyms do well if all their members show up, do you?). But when we have to commit, we tend to see good things happen. And the reality is that long term health results require commitment.

5. Individual accountability: Social accountability is great, but we must also cultivate individual accountability. This means 2 things: 1. Being accountable to only your unique  goals and 2. cultivating the sense of being accountable to yourself, not to some group.

Can you get all the good and none of the bad?

This is a question I’ve pondered fro quite some time. At Spectrum, we are known most for our core 1 to 1 services, but we do have small group and workshop based training as well. Our goal is to always innovate so we can provide the best services for various needs. That has forced me to consider whether we can provide all the good aspects of group training while avoiding the bad aspects.

I’m now convinced that we can, based on our skill in scaling exercise according to diverse needs, and our teaching abilities. I talk more about this in a related post about bootcamps. Accordingly, we have developed our SmartFit Program which starts next week. This program is unlike anything available. If you want to see how we combined all the benefits of group training and more, while avoiding the negatives, then you’ll want to check this out.

Is group exercise right for you?

There are a few things you need to ask yourself to determine if group training is right for you:

1.  Do you strongly prefer one-to-one instruction and have failed at group approaches?
2.  Are you incredibly shy and don’t like to ask questions in a group?
3.  Do you have very unique needs? (i.e. want to compete in a unique sport event, have an injury that has not been properly assessed and managed, have a cardiac condition that requires constant monitoring, are very distracted in group settings?)

If you said yes to the above issues, than group fitness classes might not be for you. Otherwise, a proper group exercise program may be exactly what you need.

Not sure if they are right for you? You can always request a consultation with us, and we can help you determine if group classes are a good option or not.

Here’s to more of the good  and less of the bad in group fitness classes!

Many people who are dieting for the sake of losing fat, increasing muscle, or simply improving their health (decreasing cholesterol, inflammatory markers, etc) have debated about the merits of sticking to a rigid diet versus a flexible diet. Central to this debate is the concept of a cheat meal or even a cheat day.

Some swear by using cheat meals/cheat days to be able to stick to their diets. Others feel that cheat meals derail them into a state of prolonged overeating causing them to “fall off the wagon”.

We use cheat meals and variations of the concept extensively in our highly successful Body Balance Challenge. These techniques are the major reason why clients get dramatic results. I’ll reveal a little more about them below.

So let’s first talk about what cheat days, cheat meal and related concepts are, then discuss how and if you should use them.

What are Cheat Meals?

Some regard cheat meals as purposely eating a lot of junk. Others regard them as brief departures from their normal diet. I think the latter definition is better. There’s no place in a diet plan for going out of your way to eat 3000 calories of chips, chocolate, fries, and burgers for a cheat meal. If fat loss and heart health is your goal it will undo some hard earned progress.

So for now let’s consider a cheat meal as simply a departure from the normal prescribed diet. If you are on a low carb diet, then a cheat meal would involve eating a cup of brown rice along with your chicken and veggie stir fry.  But this also depends on context. If it is a friend’s birthday, it involves eating a piece of cake. This perhaps brings up the need for 2 different terms: free meal vs cheat meal. Cheat meal implies that you are doing something wrong, or that you are eating an unhealthy meal. That would be the piece of cake. Free meal implies that there’s anything wrong with what you ate, it just isn’t on the plan. That would be the brown rice meal in the above example.

What about Cheat Days?

There is also the concept of cheat days. Cheat days involve completely going off the wagon and eating whatever you want for an entire day.

This approach has been popularized by some body builders. They eat completely “clean” all week, then go nuts eating pizza, pancakes, and cookies all Sunday. Genetic freaks who are already relatively lean, workout daily, and have a unique hormone profile primed to store carbs instead of fat might get away with this. But in general, this is a bad idea more most. So I won’t talk much about cheat days.

However, having a day where you eat free meals – again, healthy meals but including things off the plan (think of the low carber, adding whole wheat bread, sweet potatoes, oat meal etc for a day) – can be a more viable option. There might be physiological and psychological benefits of this. More on that in a minute.

I should also mention that a free day can consist of taking a departure from other aspects of dieting as well: not strictly tracking food intake via a food log and not paying attention to meal frequency.

So now we know about the distinction between cheat meals, free meals, and cheat days and free days. So let’s look at why they might be beneficial.

Benefits of cheat and free meals

The benefits can be broken down into physiological benefits and psychological benefits.

The psychological benefits are pretty obvious. The rigors of adhering to a strict diet can wear you down. Going to a party or dinner with friends, being surrounded by junk food and endless opportunities for indulgence can make for a miserable situation. And if you decide to partake, the guilt can be severe. However, consider a situation where, as part of your diet, you have these free meals planned, or strategies to account for a cheat meal when they do occur. This takes the stress and guilt out of the equation, because you are still either:

1. Following the plan (eating your free meal) or

2. Have a strategy for accounting for a cheat meal when it does happen (birthdays, parties, etc).

One of the reasons we are able to see clients achieve quick results and long term success can be attributed to the psychological benefits of this approach.

The physiological benefits seem to be related to increasing muscle glycogen (needed for energy) and hormones such as leptin and thyroid T4 which regulate hunger and metabolism. Diets restricting calories for a long time can reduce these hormones, thus potentially increasing hunger and lowering metabolism. Cheat meals or free meals may prevent or reduce these changes. However, it seems that the research is not very strong on the effects of just one free meal upon the functions of these hormones. Perhaps longer periods of “cheating” or free meals would be needed. That brings me to re-feeds and maintenance phase of dieting.

Re-feeds and Maintenance Phase

Re-feeds refer to a more extended time of purposefully increasing calories above the diet phase. So if you have been on a 1400 calorie diet, a re-feed would purposefully have you increase your calories for a few meals or even a few days. This seems to have a more significant effect on increasing leptin and T4 hormones, or at least preventing a decline on these hormones.

Maintenance refers to eating at a maintenance level of calories, or close to it. The goal is not to lose weight, and certainly not to gain weight, but rather, hold your ground.

This isn’t too different from how things are done in academia, sports or business. There always period of hard work, and periods of coasting. Semesters in school, in-season and off-season in sports, and quarters punctuated with vacations and retreats in business are examples of this. I think the same logic should apply to nutrition. We will have better focus on our diet if it is broken down into 6-12 week chunks, with planned breaks to let our bodies and minds take a hiatus, and then go back after it with fervor for another focused time frame. Or, for those who have achieved their goals, simply stay the course.

The issue now is how to we use these strategies to meet our goals?

How to Use Cheat Meals, Free Meals, Free Days, Re-feeds, and the Maintenance Phase?

Cheat meals can work well for those who are lean, as they tend to store more excess food as muscle glycogen versus fat.So lean people can do these more frequently

They also work well for most in situations such as holidays and birthdays where you know you will be around some junk and have a plan for how to account for those extra calories so you don’t halt your progress.

Cheat meals do not work well however for those with food addictions, as this can send them into a downward spiral of massive over consumption and set them back quite a bit. I should also mention that those who are overweight should use cheat meals sparingly, as some research indicates that they tend to store more excess calories as fat compared to leaner individuals.

Free meals work great for most everyone. Again, they can be used more frequently the leaner you are in general. Same goes for re-feeds.

The maintenance phase is best used when:

1. You hit your goal

2.You have been dieting for a long time. Again, this is relative. Obese individuals can diet for longer times before they need to take a break and go on maintenance mode. Leaner individuals (usually body builders and athletes) need to go  into maintenance mode more often to prevent muscle break down, over training, and decreased performance.

3. You are in a period of severe stress, or on vacation. These are times when dieting really sucks, so why set yourself up for failure? This isn’t the time to forget your diet and eat garbage, though. Rather, it is time to eat healthy but not track food and restrict calories below maintenance levels. An exception to this is for those people who feel making progress and controlling their diet is a way to get control of their life when they are stressed. As you can see, there is a lot of “it depends” here.

The Big BUT!

Cheat meals, re-feeds, free meals, maintenance phase: these things are great strategies that really work, but…

1. You still need to assess! If you don’t keep track of your body fat, things can easily get out of hand. This is a results driven process. Add to that, we tend to lose insight about how much we are eating. The numbers don’t lie, so tracking them can let you know if a.) you are gaining too much, so you are really on a bulking plan instead of a maintenance plan or b.) Relax! you aren’t getting fat – you are doing fine because the numbers tell you that, because in spite of going on a maintenance plan for 3 weeks you only gained a 1 pound. No big deal – you can lose that in a couple days when you get back on the diet plan.

2. Their still needs to be a plan! Don’t rationalize going off your  diet three times a day because you now have a clever term for it. And there is no reason to be on a maintenance plan for 4 weeks when you are significantly overweight. These need to be strategically planned based on your needs and goals, and there needs to be a start and end date for your maintenance plan or re-feed period.

These factors get overlooked. They are also one of the main reasons why our clients get amazing results with the Beverly Body Balance Challenge. We go over in-depth exactly how you should use these strategies, amongst others, to get results quickly but also teach you how to sustain them long term and still live your life. Click here to see what I mean. You will need to register today, because we are closing registration! The next group begins this Tuesday, and we may not do another until the fall.  Hope to see you soon!

As expected, the new year brings a renewed interest in improving health and weight loss, and along with that comes a barrage of solutions. Unfortunately, many simply don’t work and are based on misinformation or outright  lies.

I can’t possibly compete with the marketing budgets that can pump the airwaves and TV screens with “solutions” that scientifically appeal to your emotions that trigger a purchase. But I can reveal the truth about what works and what doesn’t.  So from amidst the roars of the misinformed and deceitful shucksters, I’ll squeak out some nutrition truth that hopefully will help you and those you care about. Here is my list of the top 10 Nutrition Lies:

1. Low Fat = Healthy

There is no debate on this: we need fat in our diets. That is why there is a class of nutrients called “essential fatty acids”. The Omega 3s are a well known example. From heart health to pain management to even fat loss, the benefits of fat in your diet are firmly established and mostly attributed to the anti-inflammatory effect of omega 3s. The risks of fat in our diet have been exaggerated or found to be untrue. I’ve written about this and the research in the past. Here’s the gist of it: 2 recent meta-analysis found no connections between saturated fat, stroke, or CAD (Siri-Tarino , 2010, Annals of Int Medicine 2009)

It is not uncommon for food companies to slap the label “low fat” usually accompanied by some symbol of health to promote the allusion that this means healthy. If your yogurt says “low fat”, but is loaded with sugar, do you really think that is healthy? Of course not. I won’t be surprised if we see “low fat” next to a picture of a heart slapped on a package of Pez one day.

2. Fat Blockers Work

I wrote about this back in 2008, and I’m sad to say I still run into people fooled by this. Here’s an excerpt:

“The recently hyped fat blockers just blow my mind. I’m referring to Orlistat, also know as prescription form Xenocal and non-prescription strength Alli (which I refer to as Axis). The idea is to impede the body’s absorption of fat. That would make sense if fat loss had anything to do with the absorption of fat in your diet, which it doesn’t.

Regardless, what is most interesting is the fact that manufacturers proudly site the #1 research study that reports a 7-12 pound weight loss (not fat loss) by subjects using Alli over 4 months, which really isn’t too impressive, especially if you consider the restrictions, like regulating your diet to 3 meals of less than 15% fat. (recent note: Not to mention it pales in comparison to the 18.8 average fat loss our BBC clients experience in half that time) Oh, and the side effects, like loose and oily stools, uncontrollable oily discharge,  the interference with the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, K and E, and the association of pre-cancerous polyps demonstrated in 2 studies on mice given Orlistat (the FDA didn’t think it was important to have studies on humans to follow-up on this issue). All for the price of $260! What a deal!

Funny, but Alli came out as the non-prescription form because Xenocal prescriptions were doing so poorly. So if it doesn’t work well, and Doctor’s don’t trust it (in spite of all the goodies the reps dole out),  bringing it direct to the general with a huge marketing campaign is a good idea?”

So no – they don’t work. They are harmful.

3. You must eat small, frequent meals

May people will say that eating small, frequent meals makes them feel less hungry and keeps them from over eating. Others will say that eating small frequent meals makes them think about food all day, and stresses them out because they can’t possibly live their life and prepare/eat 5-6 meals a day. But the latter flies in the face of conventional nutrition dogma: you MUST eat 5-6 meals a day! So what does the evidence say?

A review on the topic in ’97 (Bellisle, eta al. British Journal of Nutrition. 1997) found that when calorie intake was equal, there was no difference in weight loss for those who consumed frequent meals compared to those who consumed 3 or fewer meals.

A more research study (Holmstrup, M. et al, Europ. Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism 2012) compared people eating identical diets, except one group ate 6 times, the other ate 3 times a day. The group that ate 6 times a day had 30% higher glucose (ie blood sugar) readings compared to the lower frequency group! So much for eating frequently to control blood sugar. Interesting side note: when they increase protein in the diet, glucose readings lessened – another reason why higher protein is better than high carbs for blood sugar control (or – another reason to ignore most nutritionists and the food pyramid).

Finally, the recent position statement by the International society of Sports Nutrition on the issue of meal frequency reflects a review of the evidence on this topic. Amongst the conclusions: Increased meal frequency does not cause favorable body composition changes, increase meal frequency does not increase calorie burn or metabolic rate, and increased meal frequency does not improve glucose metabolism.

To summarize, some may do well with increased meal frequency to control hunger. However, eating 5-6 meals a day is not mandatory, and in some cases it may be detrimental. This is what I talk about to my clients about nutritional balance. We get hung up on this dogma that really screws with complying to the proven issues  – and we lose focus on the big picture. We need to balance preferences and convenience with proven science. In this case, preferences and conveniences play a huge part, and science allows us to dismiss dogma that gets in our way.

Isn’t it nice to know that you don’t need to set your planner to alert you when it’s time to eat?

4. Cholesterol in food is bad for you.

Cholesterol in your diet is not clearly linked to cholesterol in your blood stream. This has been illustrated in many studies about eggs and shrimp consumption. I’ve blogged about this here and here.

5. Eating after 7pm causes weight gain

This is another myth for which there is no evidence to support. This was specifically studied (Cameron 2006) and the researchers concluded that, given equal calorie consumption, there is no difference in weight gain amongst those who consumed 65% of there calories after 7pm compared those who eat their calories more evenly distributed before 7pm.

I suppose this myth comes from the association between eating bad food in the evening. Some studies have shown that people over eat bad foods while watching TV. And many people settle in on the couch to watch TV in the evening. Based on this logic, making the conclusion that eating after 7pm causes weight game would be like saying going out after 9pm causes crime because that’s when most crimes occur!

The better solution is to restrict yourself from eating in front of the TV. Dr. Brian Wansik from Cornell has written some amazing research on this “mindless” eating pattern.

If you are like me and 90% of those who are busy, eating after 7pm is a must. So don’t fret and harbor the anxiety that you are screwing up your health. There’s better issues to spend your brain power on.

6. A calorie is a calorie

This is what many programs like Weight Watchers are based on. They are trying to shy away from it recently, but it is pretty inconvenient seeing that the whole point system is based on it.

The main reasons that it matters not only about how many calories you eat but the quality is based on thermodynamics, glucose control, general health, performance, and appetite control.

It is easy to understand that getting your calories from vegetables instead of oreos will deliver more vital nutrients, control blood sugar, and help with your daily performance, so I won’t write much on that.

The other big issues are appetite and thermodynamics.

Simply put, higher protein diets suppress hunger, and higher refined carbohydrate foods stimulate hunger. There’s more research than I can state that supports this. Good luck keeping your calories low eating your sugar filled vitamin muffins and 200 calorie health cookies for lunch. It might work for a bit, but not for long.

The issue of thermodynamics is quite simple. Essentially, your body burns calories converting what you eat into a usable form of energy. There’s a lot of chemical reactions to break that chicken breast into tiny molecules that can be transported through your bloodstream to body tissues. That costs energy, which is the thermic effect of food.

The more proteins, vegetables, and fruits you eat, the higher your thermic effect of food. 5-20% of your daily caloric expenditure can be accounted by the termic effect of food. That is a big range. In our Body Balance Challenge, I show participants how they can lose up to 24 pounds a year by making a simple shift in what you eat compared to a typical diet of the SAME caloric amount. Clearly – quality does matter.

7. Cleansers/ shakes cause fat loss

This is another way some try to get you to buy stuff and take your attention away from what matters for fat loss. There is no magic cleanser or shake. People who lose weight with these products do so because they are consuming less calories. That’s it. End of story.

Consuming  a shake only diet isn’t a good long-term strategy for obvious reasons. And here again we are avoiding the big issue: how to eat properly for the long term. Turning to shakes avoids this issue and sets people up for failure when they inevitably have to come across this obstacle.

And no, they don’t cleanse toxins. We have something called a liver that can do that just fine. Getting rid of bad food helps too, and that is the “magic” of the cleanse.

Yes, shakes can be very convenient, and for that reason we use them in our client’s nutrition plans. In fact, I have a smoothie or shake  everyday. I discuss which ones I use here. As long as they are quality options, they are fine to use. Just don’t let them distract you from the fact that quality calories and proper habits are the only magic for fat loss.

8. Effective diets must be rigid

Rigid diets are not always the best option, just like rigid plans. They must flex and  adapt to the ever changing circumstances. There is a balance between being flexible and compromising principles. To summarize this in a blog is impossible, that’s why we have clients! But is is something you can learn how to do, and the most efficient way I know how to do this is through our Body Balance Challenge. Until then, let me give you some examples of a flexible meal plan strategy:

Plan for alcohol. Not everyone is willing to give it up, and if it isn’t a problem for you it can be consumed in moderation and not harm you. So make an alcohol budget (ie no more that 4 drinks a week)

Plan for a free meal. Decided when you are going to go off your typical diet plan, like going out to dinner on Friday evening your going to have some ciabatta bread at your favorite Italian restaurant.

Plan for maintenance phase: Your mother in law is moving in, and your busy season for work is keeping you at the office 70 hours a week this month. Time to go one maintenance phase. Up your calories from your fat loss phase and the goal will be to not gain weight (you will need to assess every week though). Pick a maintenance phase deadline, then get right back after it.

There are thousands more examples, but just be aware that the balance between sticking to the principles but being adaptable is key. It make take time to learn how to do this, that is why having a coach is critical for most.

9. Eating a healthy will ruin your (social) life!

I’m not making a joke here. Lot’s of people think that eating well is a choice between having a fun life with their friends vs having their clothes fit a little better and making their vital signs look better. With this line of thinking, it’s pretty easy to default to the “I’ll take having fun with my friends” choice.

This mentality is problematic because it is simply untrue. But it is certainly understandable. Many nutrition folks tend to project their extreme view of nutrition upon everyone, giving you the notion that if you don’t think eating lettuce and mustard roll ups while hanging in watching Super-size me on Saturday night is the “funnest thing ever”, then you don’t get what eating healthy is all about.

This mentality is a huge problem. I know how fun eating pizza, beer, and wings is with the guys at a bar watching the game is, or knocking back a bottle of wine with some friends over a fancy dinner can be. Solutions that work, not just for the short term, but the long term must take these scenarios into account. Having fun needs to be prioritized, and nutrition planning needs to work with this, not ignore it.

There are thousands of ways we deal with this with our clients and ourselves. To get an idea how to do this, think about nutrition like finance. When you are in debt or saving for money, you need to plan your weekend fun a little differently. For example, if you are planning on watching the playoff game at the bar with your buddies next weekend and are on a fat loss program, be sure to be laser focused on your diet for the next 2 weeks (save up), fill up on healthy food before you leave to go to the bar to avoid over eating (make a deposit), and set some rules for yourself, like you have to have 3 glasses of water before you have any beer, you make a bet with your buddy that you won’t at more that 8 wings, or schedule a workout early the next am you’ll be less likely to overindulge (planning/budgeting).

There’s no reason why eating well should negatively affect your social life if you do it right. Of course, there are a lot of variables to consider here, like addiction issues (see below) or toxic relationships (friends/family members trying to sabotage your fitness goals)

10. Everything in moderation works well

I have seen this logic fall flat on it’s face too many times to count.

The fact is that some people are simply addicted to food. I wrote about the fascinating proof of this here. For many, having a little sugar is like an alcoholic having a little whiskey. This is a bad strategy for many people. It might go against the nice platitudes that fill pages in the popular magazines, but it’s the truth.

For sugar addicts, we find that taking a three week hiatus, including sugar substitutes, has a high rate of success. The 3 weeks are hard, but most feel so much better that they continue to stay with the no sugar approach.

Transfat is another example. The stuff has clearly been linked to just about every negative effect on the human body. Recent studies of it’s effect on brain health that I wrote about here is more evidence.

Hopefully this gives you some clarity about what to do to make changes to your nutrition that will improve your health. Please be sure to share this with your friends and family. There are so many people who are confused by these myths to such a degree that they don’t know what to do and simply give up. Don’t let that happen. I believe that being informed is the best solution to paralysis by analysis. That’s why I write these blogs.

I alluded several times to the Beverly Body Balance Challenge because this program contains in-depth solutions to the issues these myths raise, and more. And, it is simple a program that I believe in and has proven results. The deadline for registration is coming up this Friday so be sure to sign up soon. Thanks!

Happy New Years! I think this is a perfect time for me to share my favorite post holiday nutrition quote:

“It’s not what you eat between Christmas and New Years, it’s what you eat between New Years and Christmas.”

Stop feeling guilty about eating too much around the holidays. Instead, start changing your nutrition habits. No matter what “insane” workout, how many miles you walk or classes you attend, or what the infomercials tell you, you won’t be able to out-exercise a bad diet. So you will need to make some smart nutritional changes if you want results.

I came across some amazing research that shows how nutrition hasa significant impact on brain function. This will certainly serve as some great motivation to change your diet.

Bowman GL, Silbert LS, Howieson D, Dodge HH, Traber MG, Frei B, Kaye JA, Shannon J, Quinn JF. Nutrient Biomarker Patterns, Cognitive Function and MRI Measures of Brain Aging. Neurology 2012;78:1-1.

Researchers did something fascinating here. They wanted to see the effects of certain diets on brain structure and function. However, rather than relying on patient recollection of what they ate, they did blood analysis which is far more accurate in determining the concentration of substrates and vitamins in their blood. The researchers found that those who had higher amounts of omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins B, C, D, and E have significantly larger brains and higher cognitive functions. They also found the opposite in those that ate diets high in trans fats: they had smaller brains and lower cognitive function.

So What Should We Eat For Optimal Brain Health?

Diets rich in certain fats, vegetables and fruits are a great way to get these nutrients proven to impact brain health, and well as heart health amongst other benefits. Supplementing is a great idea as well. My clients and I use Prograde’s EFA Icon Krill oil for omega 3′s. They are absorbed better and are much less prone to rancidity (ie no fish burps) than fish oil. We also take their multi-vit: VGF 25. This is a non-synthetic multi-vitamin, meaning that it is made of a variety of organic vegetables and fruits. Some nutrients derived from vegetables and fruits have been show to have better absorption than their synthetic counterparts found in most other vitamins. You can learn more about these options here.

What Should We Avoid?

Those who eat margarine, and many baked and fried goods are likely eating trans fats. Cookies, pies, chips, and even some cereals are common offenders. These foods are also very low in nutrients and high in calories. Trans Fats have consistently been linked to just about everything that negatively effects health. If there is one thing to avoid in your diet, it’s trans fat. Here’s how you can spot trans fat: it should be listed on the nutrient label, but it can also be found in the ingredients label: if it says “partially hydrogenated” it has trans fat.

The First Step

When the Spectrum team consults with those interested in losing fat, some are surprised to here that the first recommended step in almost all cases is to eat more: more omega 3s, more vegetables, and sometimes more fruit. As you can imagine, a healthy body needs certain nutrients. Failing to account for this, and instead just tracking points without regard to having and ample amount of vital nutrients is not a healthy approach.

This is a delicate balance – getting enough nutrients for optimal health, yet cutting back on calories to promote fat loss. There are many obstacles and sources of misinformation to add to the challenge. Fortunately, we have had remarkable success in helping people achieve this balance. You can check out some of the evidence and life changing stories here and learn more about our Beverly Body Balance Challenge.

So it time to part ways with the guilty, and take the first step towards taking control of your health. Get more omega 3s, vegetables and fruits, and get rid of the trans fats. Clearly it’s the smart thing to do!

Stay tuned for much more about proper nutrition and fitness. I’ll do my best to contrast the crazy fat loss scams, fads , and misinformation with true real world solutions that actually work. Here’s to a healthy and Happy 2012!

It seems that there still exists some confusion about injuries in young athletes.

Some think that injuries are due to bad luck, or just the inherent stress of sports. Others believe that poor training or a lack of conditioning is to blame, while others believe this is simply a problem for older or more elite athletes to deal with, as kids don’t have to worry about serious injuries.

So what is the deal?

Let’s get to the bottom of this, so we can focus on the overall objective, which is to allow kids to maximize their potential, be safe, and have a blast playing the games we all love!

My clinical and training experience tells me clearly that injuries are largely preventable, and often attributed to:

1. inadequate training, or being unprepared for the demands of the sport
2. poor training, in which the training itself causes or contributes to injury which is really a travesty.
3. Improper rest and recovery due to too little sleep, poor nutrition, or doing too much sport (think year around baseball)
4. Improper response to early warning signs of injury. This is perhaps the biggest issue. Most problems give you more than fair warning before they rear their ugly heads. Think of the young pitcher throwing across his body, stepping with the lead leg in an open position, lacking sufficient shoulder rotation and most importantly complaining of PAIN = hello shoulder and elbow growth plate damage. Or, the girls whose knees collapse inward during a squat or jump stop. That signals a high risk for a complete ACL rupture.

I can go on and on. I’m not trying to scare you – but these issues are serious and can be easily identified and corrected with trained eyes assessing the issue and designing the right intervention. Simple concept, but often ignored.

So what can we do about this? Does conditioning play a roll in preventing injuries in young athletes? Lets look at some research and expert opinion about some common issues regarding the role of youth conditioning and injury prevention:

Is there any proof that resistance training is safe for young athletes?

“There is no current evidence to support the misconceptions that children need androgens (i.e. must be post-puberty) for strength gain, or lose flexibility with training.”
- Lyle J. Micheli, MD, Boston Children’s Hospital, JAAOS, 2001

“Experimental training protocols with weights and resistance machines and with supervision and low instructor/participant ratios are relatively safe and do not negatively impact growth and maturation of pre- and early-pubertal youth.”
-Malina, Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, 2006

Are Injuries in young athletes really a big problem?

Injuries in young athletes are increasing

“ I am seeing four times as many overuse injuries in youth sports than five years ago and more kids are having surgery for chronic sports injuries.”
-Dr James Andrews, regarded as the world foremost expert of orthopedics surgery and dysfunction of the shoulder and elbow in baseball pitchers.

Overuse injuries are the most common

Nearly half of all sports injuries to middle-and high-school students, are due to overuse.
-NSCA

30% to 50% of all pediatric sports injuries are due to overuse
-SAFE Kids USA

Overuse injuries are more devastating

“Athletes who had overuse injuries lost 54% more time from training and competition than those who had acute injuries.”

“In some cases, the damage is permanent, increasing the risk that the athletes—some of them as young as 9—will suffer crippling arthritis or require extensive surgery as they get older.”
-Difiori, Physician and Sports Medicine

Is Proper conditioning the solution?

“50% of overuse injuries in children and adolescents are preventable.”
- The American College of Sports Medicine

“Most overuse injuries can be prevented with proper conditioning and training”.
- Dr. John P. Difirori, Physician and Sports Medicine, ‘99

“Young athletes need proper training for sports. They should be encouraged to train for the sport rather than expecting the sport itself to get them into shape. Many injuries can be prevented if youths follow a regular conditioning program.”
- American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons

“Cross-training in moderation throughout the year is recommended to prevent any one area of the body from becoming overworked and stressed and to help maintain overall fitness levels.”
-American Academy of Pediatrics

“Risk factors identified for overuse injuries include inflexibility, muscle imbalance,Prior injury Inadequate conditioning Anatomic malalignment, low self-esteem, Too-rapid training progression and/or inadequate rest, and incorrect sport technique”
- Difiori, Physician and Sports Medicine

Hopefully, for the sake of the safety and healthy of young athletes, it is clear now that proper conditioning really can prevent many disabling injuries. Of course, no injuries are completely preventable. But we would be ignoring the evidence and opinions of experts by not taking proactive steps shown to reduce the risk of injuries.

Trained professionals focusing on teaching athletes, not just yelling at them and pointing them from station to station, are required to ensure young athletes achieve the benefits of conditioning. Trainers who focus on teaching kids how to push to improve performance and distinguish this hard work from the unnecessary risks and warnings of injury are something every athlete should have. I’m proud to say that our team of Physical Therapists, Athletic Trainers, and Nutritionists at Spectrum Fitness Consulting has developed the skills and program required to provide such an experience for young athletes.

See for yourself by scheduling a free consultation or simply call 978-927-2065. Please call soon, as we keep our program small to provide the level of supervision that is need to do this right. Our programs generate a lot of interest, so call in advance to get the times slots that are best for you. Our Winter -Spring session starts on January 16th, and we have a few openings available. If you would like to download a registration form, you can download one here.