Matt Metzgar

Put Down The Chips

Here's a new study that looks at the problems with acrylamide, an ingredient found in potato chips.  It is also found in other foods such as french fries and cereals.  It is thought that acrylamide may increase inflammation.

Volunteers ate potato chips daily for 4 weeks.  A significant increase in inflammation was found.  Interestingly, four weeks after the study ended, markers of inflammation were still high.

All this translates to: throw away the potato chips!

Pelvic Rotation

I found this interesting article on hip rotation by the ChiRunning folks.  I think it's important because this is one aspect that seems to be quite different than Pose running.  The article highlights the importance of hip rotation in lenghtening the stride.  Here's a graphic:

 

The figure on the right shows proper hip rotation.

What I like about this is how it would facilitate "running the line", having the inside of each foot step follow an invisible line down the road.  The figure on the left would make this very difficult, and would probably increase torque on the knees. 

I played around last night trying to get more hip rotation when running.  It seemed to make for easier running, though it will probably take some time to feel natural.

Heavy Versus Hard II

I finally got my hands on the new Carpinelli study, discussed earlier.  What it attempts to do is show that there are many different repetition ranges that can produce the same amount of strength gains.  Carpinelli goes through a number of studies that show strength gains are mostly the same whether the rep range is 3 - 5 repetition max(RM), 6 - 9 RM, 10 - 12 RM, and even 15 - 20 RM.  Here's one quote from the study:

"The preponderance of studies strongly suggests that effective resistance training simply requires the selection of desired range of repetitions (e.g., 3 - 5, 6 - 9, 10 - 12 RM), which is based on a personal preference rather than a specific goal, and a progression of the resistance to stay within the desired range of repetitions."

He is simply saying that the idea that low-reps/heavier weights builds more muscle than other repetition ranges is false.  In the studies he reviewed, only one study supported the heavier-is-better idea, while 20 other studies showed no difference among various repetition ranges.

I had a couple of thoughts on this study.  First, in my own experience, I've found that low-reps work but only temporarily.  I can only last 3 - 4 weeks before my nervous system burns out.  Over the course of a longer study such as twelve weeks, it's easy to see how different rep ranges would all lead to roughly the same outcome.

Second, I wonder if a person's preference for repetition ranges is more a function of their genetics.  I'm sure low-reps work better for some than for others.  If a person chooses their rep range based on their own feedback rather than following a scripted plan, this may improve results.

This study also made me think about Tiger Woods' workout.  He does high-rep sets, sometimes up to 50 reps per set.  Even though this is an unusual rep range for muscle-building, he has successfully built muscle over the course of a few years.

This study should remind people to keep an open mind about repetition ranges.  There appears to be many different repetition ranges to improve strength.  A person should choose a range based on their personal preferences, not on unfounded science.

Retail Markup

I tried a different approach this month in buying a book I wanted.  Frustrated by the in-person bookstore experience, I went shopping online.  I found this random company, a1books, that seems to be selling many new books at 50% off the cover price.  Of course you have to pay shipping, and the shipping is done through the slower media mail.

Nevertheless, I ordered and received the book about a week later.  I ended up saving one-third of the cover price in the whole experience.  What's amazing to me is that this shows the huge markups involved with the major book chains.  A1books is selling books for 50% off, but still they must be making a profit on that to stay in business.  It appears that a lot of a book's cover price goes to fund bookstore locations, employees, advertising, etc.

I don't feel like I'm cheating the authors by ordering discount books.  I would assume that they make the same amount whether the book is sold through a chain or through a discounter.  This also shows how the self-publishing route can be so profitable.  With minimal overhead, much more profit will flow to the author.

After this experience, I will probably lean towards more online book buying.  I also envision that the publishing industry will change a lot in the next ten years.  With inventions like Kindle, more books will continue to be delivered in electronic format instead of paper.

Keep on Stepping

I've been reading this older study(pdf) that looks at daily activity levels.  Researchers had healthy young adults reduce their daily steps from a normal 6,000 steps down to 1,500 steps.  The goal was to assess any metabolic changes.

This study is unique because it tries to set up a cause-and-effect relationship.  Normally, you see a correlation with health and high levels of activity, and also the reverse, disease and reduced activity.  But you never know which one is leading the other.  Does a disease condition lead to reduced exercise, or is it the other way around?  In this study, they reduced activity levels in healthy adults and then looked for any effects.

The reduced steps lead to decreased insulin sensitivity and an increase in abdominal fat.  The subjects also lost muscle mass.  The researchers believed that "that calories used to maintain muscle mass with greater stepping may have been partitioned to visceral fat." 

This is a pretty neat result - that daily activity levels can affect nutrient partioning.  Usually, you read that diet and weightlifting are the keys to better nutrient partioning.  This study shows that daily activity levels are also a factor.

Dangerous Endurance?

Here's a brand new study that shows how endurance training can increase the risk of atrial fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm).  It notes that "endurance sport practice increases between 2 and 10 times the probability of suffering AF, after adjusting for other risk factors."

The study concludes by saying there may be threshold effects, so that when endurance training passes a certain intensity or volume it may become dangerous.

Refined Food Addiction

After thinking about the world's biggest addiction, I have found this paper with a similar viewpoint.  The authors propose that refined food consumption is a type of substance abuse problem.  In the paper, their survey results show that many people who are overweight exhibit the same type of behavior as those addicted to other substances like alcohol or tobacco.

The paper is chocked full of good information, such as this graph below(click to enlarge):

It shows that since 1970 consumption of potentially addictive foods has skyrocketed, while consumption of an unrefined food like animal protein has remained relatively constant.

The authors of this paper are from the Refined Food Addiction Research Foundation, whose website is here.

Vitamin D Campaign

A reader sent me this good link about a Vitamin D campaign that is underway.  A number of scientists have come together to bring attention to the worldwide Vitamin D deficiency.  For $30 you can get a home kit and have the results sent back to you.

There are also some informational videos and articles on the site.

The World's Biggest Addiction

Stuck in an airport yesterday, I had plenty of time to view the weight problem that is affecting most of the population.  According to the statistics, 2/3 of adults are overweight or obese.  However, I think that figure is deceiving.  First, even for a good number of people with a normal BMI, their body composition is off.  Second, most of the non-overweight adults are in the 18 to 30 age bracket.  Above age 30, probably 70-75% of adults are overweight.  Above age 40, it gets worse.  Therefore, even the 2/3 statistic appears suspect to me.  If you used different measures, you're looking at almost 80% of the population with weight or body composition problems.

So what's causing all the trouble?  The answer was all around me at the airport: processed foods.  I attempted to eat a Paleo lunch at the airport, and it was very difficult.  Some of these grilled chicken salads have only 2-3 ounces of chicken along with giant pieces of lettuce.  And of course, all this for only $8.99!

However, if you were looking for junk food, it was available at least every 100 feet.  It was like one giant battle among the junk food peddlers to one-up each other.  Soda, candy, flour, chocolate - it was all there for the taking at cheaper prices. 

It's become extremely obvious that people just can't handle these modern processed foods.  Even with all the gyms and renewed focus on exercise, it's not enough to make a dent in the country's weight problem.  You can see this with kids, too.  If any particular age group should be resistant to obesity, it should be kids.  Kids have the full slate of good hormones and activity on their side, but junk food can even overcome this.

You could say that junk food makers have been successful in creating the world's biggest addiction.  If you're counting the number of addicts, then drugs and cigarettes pale in comparison.  Junk food has captured probably 80% of the U.S. population, and it is making rapid headway into China and other developing countries. 

The junk food industry is winning, and people are losing.  It's a sad situation - one that does not have an end in sight.

Running and Isolation

Here's a study that looked at the effects of social isolation and running.  Researchers took some rats and put them in individual housing, as opposed to group housing.  After exposure to running, the rats who were individually housed had higher levels of stress hormones.  It was noted that this social isolation turned a positive activity (running) into a negative stressor.

I wonder if the same is true for humans!  Also, I would like to see the health effects of a person running alone versus running in a group.