A Little Less "Sicko"

Noted documentary filmmaker Michael Moore has been on tour hyping his newest film, "Capitalism: A Love Story." I'll check it out at some point as I have seen all his other movies. While I'm sure the movie is good, one thing I've noticed is Moore's weight loss. Over the years, I've said to myself, "Geez, for a guy who always complains about health care, he doesn't seem to be doing much about his own overweight issue." Maybe he heard me because he has had great success over the last year or so dropping the pounds.

"So how did he do it" you ask? Moore mentioned recently to Jay Leno he took a liking to The Pritikin Principle. Being Mr. Inquisitive that I am, plus the fact I try and read everything I can, I checked out Robert Pritikin's work. There were no big surprises what their program advocates to promote healthy weight loss. According to Mr. Pritikin, the 5 main recommendations for The Pritikin Principle are as follows:

1. Eat whole, Unprocessed, and natural Carbohydrate-Rich Foods (i.e. whole grains, fruits, and veggies)



2. Eat low-fat foods



3. Eat frequently



4. Be Active



5. Avoid Salty Foods
   

Following the Pritikin diet, he revealed to New Yorker Magazine that he lost 30 lbs over the past 3 months. His advice to others: “What I learned through Pritikin is pretty basic. Like, one common denominator of overweight people is, they don’t get enough sleep. Basically, my advice to the 65 percent of the country that’s overweight is to do three simple things: Get seven to eight hours sleep every night, go for a 45-minute walk each day, and eat at least 35 grams of fiber each day."

No big surprises here. I do LOVE that Moore preached plenty of rest/sleep as that is the biggest flaw for far too many people, particularly to us overworked, overstressed Americans. Adequate sleep, regular exercise, and proper nutritional habits could save this country billions.

Franklin wrap-up

I got to head out to Franklin, MA today to meet with ~20 town employees. I gave a lecture and demo on the importance of strength training and flexibility. Everyone did great!

Cookbook Sales on the Rise

Although today was a good day for the DOW Jones (just a hair over 10,000 at the close of the market), we still live in poor economic times. That being said, I read recently that cookbook sales were on the rise due to the poor economy as consumers try to save money by eating more at home. As I've mentioned previously, Precision Nutrition (http://precisionnutrition.com/cmd.php?pageid=987117) remains my favorite nutrition system to date.

Here's an outline of what Precision Nutrition is all about:

What is Precision Nutrition? What do I get?”
Precision Nutrition Version 3 is both something you get in the mail (system of guides designed to teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want) and something you join (a private members-only site and community with 24/7 support from coaches, expert volunteers and fellow members). It’s the two of those things in combination that make Precision Nutrition what it is: far and away the most comprehensive nutrition program in the world.

So PN is both something you read, and something you’re a part of. It helps to begin by explaining the part you read. Here, then, is what UPS delivers to your door when you become a member:

Success Guide
Before beginning any nutrition plan, whether it’s a lifestyle-based plan like Precision Nutrition or a quick-fix, flavor of the month program like those you see in the media every day, it’s important to start off on the right foot – with the right mindset.In this introductory guide to Precision Nutrition we provide an overview of the program and present 10 success strategies guaranteed to help you stick with the plan.

These strategies, taken directly from those who have been successful following the PN program, will be your “secret weapon” in your quest to change your body and change your life.

Diet Guide
This is your comprehensive guide to diet and nutrition. Put aside all the tips, tricks and gimmicks you’ve heard over the years. Forget everything you’ve been told about nutrition and learn the right information from scratch – in one complete, beginning-to-end system that fills in the blanks and puts everything into proper perspective.With the Precision Nutrition Diet Guide, everything is covered, from food selection to meal timing to nutrition program design. You will learn everything you need to know to lose fat or gain muscle. You’ll set your goal in the beginning, and you’ll learn exactly what to do to achieve it.

Everything is organized according to it’s importance in the grand scheme of things, and nothing is left to chance. You will walk away knowing exactly what you need to do to build the body you want.

Quick Start Guide
Rapid body comp change CAN happen – if you get all the right information, and put it to use immediately. That’s what the Quick Start Guide is for.
I’ll show you the exact steps that you need to take right away if you’re going to succeed. Every step is laid out in detail, and in less than 45 minutes you will have done precisely what most people never think to do – the critical steps that make all the difference.

Super Shake Guide
You’re on the go all day long. Let’s face it, sometimes things just don’t go right, and you’re stuck without a decent meal. But what do you do then? Blow your plan? Those cheats and missed meals add up quickly, and conspire to destroy your hard-earned progress. Well, not any more. Enter the Super Shake.Filled with ample amounts of high-quality protein, essential fatty acids and micronutrition, the Super Shake will ensure you never lack great nutrition, no matter where you are or how much time you have. It simply blows the off-the-shelf “meal replacements” out of the water – and you can make it yourself, cheaply and quickly. In the Super Shake Guide, I’ll show you exactly how to make them, I’ll show you how to customize them for your body type and your goals, and I’ll provide you with several Super Shake recipes to get you started.

5-Minute Meal Guide
You’ve got a life. You’ve got a job, a family, a girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse, hobbies or school or other time commitments. What you don’t have is endless time for meal preparation. But guess what? Without that meal preparation, you’re pretty much doomed to body comp hell.With the 5-Minute Meals Guide, however, consider it taken care of. You’ll have a complete list of dozens of delicious, perfect Precision Nutrition meals that can be made in under five minutes. Great nutrition has never been this convenient.

Individualization Guide
Clipping generic, cookie cutter plans from magazines will only lead to disappointment, for one simple reason: as your body changes, your needs change, and so your nutrition plan must change too. If you’re not constantly tweaking your plan to fit your ever-changing nutritional needs, you’re guaranteed to stagnate.There is only one sure-fire way to continue to get results, and that is to tailor your diet specifically to your body, your goals and the results you’ve gotten in the past. So how do you know how your body differs from others? And once you know, what do you do about it? How do you know what changes to make? I’ve put the answers in the Individualization Guide, a step-by-step guide to a complex subject. I’ve made it easy to customize your diet for your specific needs – and you’ll be amazed at the results.

Measurement Guide
At Precision Nutrition, we have a battery of assessments, questionnaires and tests that our clients undergo regularly. In fact, we’ve come up with a mix of assessments that cover nearly every facet of health and human performance.Coupled with the Precision Nutrition system, these assessments allow us to get rapid results with clients. In fact, I’ve done informal testing indicating that regular assessments like these can speed up progress by 50-75% — even using the same exercise and nutrition program.

And in the Measurement Guide I’ll teach you exactly what to assess and how often – from body measurements to performance testing to blood work. Remember, if you’re not assessing, you’re guessing.

Plant-Based Diet Guide
Everyone can improve their health and fitness by eating more plants. Unfortunately, however, many vegetarians don’t eat much better than their carnivorous counterparts, because they tend to focus on non-meat pseudo foods rather than plants!So we’ve created a new section focused on this category of plant-based diets to help those who choose not to eat meat adapt the Precision Nutrition principles to their dietary needs — and reach the health and fitness goals that elude them.

Maintenance Guide
Believe it or not, the most challenging aspect of dieting for most people is not changing their body (losing the weight, for example). It’s maintaining that change over the long-term (e.g., keeping it off!).Fortunately, though, the maintenance phase can be easier and more enjoyable than the change phase — so long as it’s done right. In this new Maintenance Guide, we illustrate exactly how you can keep the body you’ve worked so hard for.

Support Guide
From the very beginning, Precision Nutrition has incorporated what we’ve learned is the critical component of a successful nutrition program: support.You can’t do this alone, nor should you have to. The most successful people in the world have the best support systems, and those who typically don’t make it are quite often those who weren’t supported by the people around them. A colleague of mine once shared a very insightful proverb with me, and I use it often. “You are,” he said, “the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

In the Support Guide, we show you how to make use of the support around you, and if your “circle of five” isn’t as supportive as you’d like, we show you how to make use of our circle: the coaches, experts and tens of thousands of fellow members just like you who make the PN Member Zone their online home.

“Are these e-books? Do I download them?”
No, these are NOT e-books.

While we have released books in the past as downloadable PDF e-books, that’s not what the Precision Nutrition guides are.

The Precision Nutrition System is a print product that will be sealed and delivered to your door. It comes in one box containing two parts:

The Precision Nutrition System binder, containing all ten guides, conveniently separated by tabs so you can quickly flip from section to section.
The Gourmet Nutrition Cookbook, Volume 1, in a spiral-bound format that lays flat on your kitchen counter.
The beauty of the binder system is that it’s completely “modular,” in that you can add more sections to it as your needs change. In our online library, which as a member you’ll have complete access to, you’ll find hundreds of nutrition plans, background articles, training programs, worksheets and much more, covering every conceivable situation you may face as you seek to get fit — and all of which you can download and add to your binder as you need them.

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I've had several clients recently start out with their Precision Nutrition manuals. They seem to like the info and are applying the concepts gradually into their daily lives. Check it out here (http://precisionnutrition.com/cmd.php?pageid=987117) and let me know what you think.

"Certified" Gets Thrown Around

Many Americans work with a "Certified" Personal Trainer or Strength & Conditioning Coach. Unfortunately, most clients don't do their homework to discover which certifications are actually accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). To date, there are only 10 organizations that offer personal training certifications. Sadly, there are hundreds of terrible certifications available online. If you'd like to do some "background checking" on your trainer, check to see if the organization which they certified through is on my list below:

• American College of Sports Medicine


• American Council on Exercise


• The Cooper Institute


• International Fitness Professional Association


• National Academy of Sports Medicine


• National Council on Strength & Fitness


• National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association


• National Exercise Trainers Association


• National Federation of Professional Trainers


• National Strength & Conditioning Association*

*my certifying agency (NSCA)

Great Job Danvers!

I started teaching another group ex. class @ Danvers High School last week. So far, everyone's doing great. I always get a huge turnout when I go there and it's quite humbling. Not sure why they keep coming back every year, but I do try and make it a fun workout. I always try and play lots of good music and keep them laughing as we sweat hard every week. Keep up the great work Danvers! It's a joy seeing you all every week.

Size Does Matter

Is it WHAT you eat, or HOW MUCH you eat? Check out the full scoop here from a recent Precision Nutrition article: http://precisionnutrition.com/cmd.php?pageid=987117&u=www.precisionnutrition.com/portion-size-and-overeating

A Point of Frustration

One of my roles in running my personal training business is to critique and modify the exercise regimen that people perform. I'll often sit down and chat with an individual to gather information on their training background (i.e. injury history, orthopaedic issues, strengths/weaknesses, goals analysis, etc....). It's frustrating to see some of the routines I see. I sometimes forget how terrible a lot of the information the mass media presents really is. In addition, people often learn their habits by watching/copying others who have no clue, so it essentially becomes the blind leading the blind.

I met recently with an individual who sat at a desk (like MILLIONS of other Americans) all day and her routine consisted of ZERO exercises to strengthen her postural muscles (i.e. rhomboids). Your routine should correlate to what you do for a living. The moral of the story:

• If you SIT at a desk for 8+ hours/day at work
• If you SIT in your car driving to and from work
• If you SIT to watch TV when you have dinner after you get home from work...

...then you should NOT be SITTING during every exercise. You need to STRENGTHEN the weak links in the chain, which often include glutes and mid-back for many.

Email me (paulconnolly123@gmail.com) if you have specific questions.

Dynamic Warm-up Defined

People at most commercial gyms typically define a warm-up as putting their coat in their locker. I like to have my clients often begin their workouts with a dynamic warm-up to get warmed up and prepare their body for the workout. I was reviewing one of my workout files tonight and came across a perfect definition I discovered a few years back for the Dynamic Warm-up:

The Dynamic Warm-up is a warm-up routine that improves flexibility,cardiovascular
readiness, and the level of neural excitation. When performed before, during, and after an exercise routine or sports performance the dynamic warm-up has been shown to
decrease post-activity soreness as well as increase power production by 20% in addition to improved flexibility. The routine can be used as a way to increase recovery after and in between workouts. Select an area that is approximately 10-15 yards in length and start the dynamic warm-up. Take your time in doing this routine…this is not a speed building exercise routine.

Blood Pressure Revisited

While I undoubtedly make it a point to provide my clients with a sound exercise program, I find myself taking "the whole person" into account more than other personal trainers. One specific statistic I like to track- or at least be aware of- is my clients' blood pressure (BP). We all know there are certain numbers that are "healthiest." Simply put, your top # ("systolic") should read BELOW 120 mm Hg, while your bottom number ("diastolic") should read BELOW 80 mm Hg.

One question I got recently was "WHEN should I check my blood pressure (BP)?" From my limited research, I like people to check it various times throughout the day. Determine when it's at its highest and use that time each day to monitor it. Of course, this whole process should be conducted in conjunction with your physician's feedback. Allow plenty of time to pass if you plan on taking it after exercise or ingesting caffeine, which can both elevate your BP reading.

NBA D-League Officiating Experience

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to officiate the NBA's Developmental League tryouts for the Maine Red Claws. With their inaugural season set to begin in November, the Red Claws held open tryouts @ UMASS-Boston. Guys showed up from Maine down to Virginia. The process was mostly scrimmaging, although each group did begin with various ball handling drills just to get the guys loose. The athleticism was pretty incredible I'll admit, as it was the most fast-paced basketball I've ever officiated. I'm used to "below the rim" play, but this was some serious stuff. While I'm not impressed by 6'8" guys throwing it down, I do catch myself "in aww" as guys who aren't that big follow up a missed shot attempt with a windmill dunk. I thought one guy was gonna tear the rim down after he caught it left-handed, proceeded to bring it all the way back, and hammer it down- cool stuff!

I had the opportunity to meet guys like Randy Linvingston (former NBA guard), Jon Jennings (former Celtics assistant and current Red Claws Team President), and Austin Ainge (Red Claws head Coach and son of Danny Ainge). Overall, it was a very productive day, particularly since I was the least experienced official there. The other 2 officials I worked with have been refereeing for over 55 years combined, so needless to say, I learned a lot. It'll be interesting to see which guys end up making the team and hopefully show up in the NBA some day.

"Feel Free To Yell At Me"

The title for this blog post is an exact quote I received from an individual I recently put through a weight-training session. He admitted it was his first time being formally taught how to properly strength train. We were about to begin a 2nd set of DB Incline Presses and as he got ready to lift the weights, he said "Feel free to yell at me." Of course I chuckled and I said "Why would I do that?"

I think there's an awful misconception with some people thinking that personal trainers, strength coaches, etc... need to constantly yell at their clients to be effective. This couldn't be farther from the truth. I told my client that my number one concern was to ensure he had proper technique to ensure his safety. The last thing I cared about was how much weight he lifted. Why would I feel the need to yell at him? I don't know; it just struck me funny.

Ironically, a few years back I used to work with a trainer who yelled non-stop. I called him the "cheerleader personal trainer" of our staff. He had no education in training, yet a lot of people worked with him as they (mis)assumed that the trainer who yells is the most effective one. The technique of his clients was atrocious and I'm sure after my brief time working with him he's gone on to injure several clients.

Moral of the story: an effective trainer is one who pushes you safely and positively. Sure, I raise my voice once in a while but in a supportive manner.

OCT Newsletter Released

The C's huddle up today to celebrate the release of my OCT Newsletter, found here:
http://pcconditioning.com/newsletters/2009Oct.pdf

Breakfast Bars

I was working at a health fair recently and one of the dietitians I work with brought in these home-made breakfast bars. They were delicious, so I wanted to share the recipe with you. Yes, the protein content is low, but it's not a bad choice if you're on the run and need something portable to take to work, school, etc...

Click below for the recipe:
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2009/09/02/recipe_for_breakfast_bars/

The End of Summer

I always think of this song as the official end to summer:

My Fav. time of the Year

Training Camp starts today for my beloved Celtics @ Salve Regina College. It's amazing how quickly the off-season flies by.

What's for Dinner?

A client recently asked me during a training session what a good option for dinner would be? Pair any of the following with a few vegetable servings and you're good to go. Dig in...

• Bison patty


• Ostrich burger


• Rotisserie chicken (no, not a whole one!)


• Tofu stir fry w/pineapple salsa (pictured: recipe found here
http://inspiredbites.blogspot.com/2008/06/coconut-crusted-tofu.html)

• Turkey meatloaf


• Wild salmon/halibut

Corporate Wellness Program Established

Just got in from back-to-back days at Putnam Investments, one of the largest mutual fund complexes in the United States. I assisted a local nutrition company (http://sensiblenutrition.com/) to help establish a corporate wellness program @ Putnam. Every one of their employees was mandated to engage in various health-related testing in order to receive a reduction in their health insurance premium. At my table, I measured Body Composition (BC) and Body Mass Index (BMI) on each employee. The results of the tests were explained to each person to ensure the distinctions between BC and BMI were clear. It continues to intrigue me the general attitudes people possess toward their physical health, particularly those whose require major lifestyle changes.

ABC's of Fiber

Fiber is something we all know is good for us, but how much to ingest and what are the optimal sources are questions that need to be answered. Core Performance ran a recent article I really liked and wanted to pass it on to you.

Check out the full text here: http://www.coreperformance.com/knowledge/nutrition/fiber.html

The "Dirty Dozen"

Considering "going organic" with your produce? If so, consider the following "Dirty Dozen" list, courtesy of the Environmental Working Group (http://foodnews.org/). The following fruits and veggies contain the highest levels of pesticides. Therefore, you should consider choosing the organic version of them:

• peaches


• apples


• sweet bell peppers


• celery


• nectarines


• strawberries


• cherries


• pears


• grapes (imported)


• spinach


• lettuce


• potatoes

"What's THE BEST ________ Paul?"

People often ask me the best questions as I call them. For example, I'll entertain queries like:

• "What's the best exercise for my abs?"


• "What's the best way to lose weight?"


• "What's the best way to gain muscle?"


• "What's the best supplement to take?"

While my typical response to the aforementioned questions is "it depends," I can honestly say that beyond Precision Nutrition (http://precisionnutrition.com/cmd.php?pageid=987117), the best piece of nutrition literature I suggest checking out is Nutrition Action Health Letter. Published 10 times/year by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, it's the publication I advocate all the groups I teach to subscribe to. It's super cheap, informative, and a great resource. There are specific issues I refer to when analyzing supplement ingredients with clients. I keep most issues and archive them, and will undoubtedly continue to refer to them down the road.

For more information, check out the following: http://cspinet.org/