Fit-Bullet Friday #10

FitCorner's Friday Fit-Bullets #10.

• Low Carb Snack:
  For lunch, during the work week, I'll have a meal replacement shake (from IDLife). But I'm also striving to cut out sugar (sugar causes all kinds of issues) in my standard diet. So... I found some grass-fed beef sticks (Grass Run Farms) that actually contains ingredients I can pronounce! Yes, I know, it's a processed meat, but it's not the same as baloney or hot dogs, and I doubt it'll cause caner like other processed meat. They can be purchased from Amazon. I like all of the flavors and they have multiple options (including a sample pack of each).
  
• In the News: Walgreens is buying Rite Aid. It's a $17.2 billion deal between a couple of the largest pharmacy chains, between the two they will have nearly 13,000 stores!

• Workout Equipment: I'm working on building an "adjustable" squat box using leftover wood from my DIY Bench and Squat Spotter Catchers (and other home projects). I'm discovering as I do squats that I'm not very limber, same with dead lifts and especially hack squats. So, to help with that, I'll use the squat box for my regular squats. I'll also place a couple of the boxes (multiple sizes) on the floor to raise the Olympic bar up higher, until I gain the flexibility to do dead lifts/hack squats properly. I'll post the plans and images soon.

Every Friday I'll blog about topics related to health, fitness, wellness, self-improvement, and other miscellaneous topics I find interesting.

Fit-Bullet Friday #9

FitCorner's Friday Fit-Bullets #9.

• Fun? Fact: 
  
  "Reducing the sodium Americans eat by 1,200mg per day on could save up to $20 billion a year in medical costs."
  
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vital Signs: Where's the Sodium? Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/VitalSigns/pdf/2012-02-vitalsigns.pdf
  . 
• In the News: Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum has filed a lawsuit against GNC due to substances called picamilon and BMPEA. Read more on my post; GNC sued due to ingredients in supplements.
  

• Workout Equipment: My DIY wood spotter catchers are finished! You can read about them here: DIY Bench and Squatter Catchers

• Quote:
  
  "You are strong, smart, capable and motivated to make a positive difference. Get past the fear, and do all the good things you know you can do." - The Daily Motivator

Every Friday I'll blog about topics related to health, fitness, wellness, self-improvement, and other miscellaneous topics I find interesting.

Fit-Bullet Friday #8

FitCorner's Friday Fit-Bullets #8.

• Fun? Fact: 
  
  Percentage of obese adults has doubled:
  
  
  Early 1970s: 15%
  2007-08: 34%
  
  U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. Available at: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines.htm.
   
• Music I'm listening to:Wednesday morning I was listening to Internet Friends by Knife Party on Pandora, while doing dumbbell overheard press, when I heard the doorbell ding and cell phone ring. I thought to myself, "Who is here at 7AM!"... Nobody apparently as it was the song.
  

• Workouts
  This week I started my weight-lifting routine. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 10 weeks, full body workout. Let me just say that hack squats are a killer quad exercise if you've never done them. I am doing this in place of leg press as I don't have one.
  
  
• Quote:
  

  "The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease."

  – Thomas Edison

  Even Mr. Edison knew all those years ago that exercise and nutrition were the key to prevent disease, or at least help diminish the risk.
  
  Or are you on The Pill?
  
  "The use of contraceptive pills has been shown to decrease the physiologic levels of six nutrients--riboflavin, pyridoxine, folacin, vitamin B12, ascorbic acid and zinc".

Every Friday I'll blog about topics related to health, fitness, wellness, self-improvement, and other miscellaneous topics I find interesting.

Fit-Bullet Friday #7

FitCorner's Friday Fit-Bullets #7.

• Fun? Fact: 
  
  "The annual cost of being overweight is $524 for women and $432 for men; annual costs for being obese are even higher: $4,879 for women and $2,646 for men."
  
  Dor, Avi, Christine Ferguson, Casey Langwith, and Ellen Tan. A Heavy Burden: The Individual Costs of Being Overweight and Obese in the United States. Washington, DC: The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services Department of Health Policy; 2010.
  
  
  
• Recent workout Equipment Purchases:
  
  1. Champion Revolving Multi-Exercise Bar (I'll be using this for cable rows, cable bent over triceps, and cable tricep push downs.)
  2. Harbinger 29000 16-Inch Olympic Bar Pad (For Squats)
  3. Valeo 4-Inch VLP Performance Low Profile Belt (X-Large)  (Squats mostly, barbell hack squats as well)
  4. Powerlifting Wrist Wraps by terriFI
  5. Harbinger Power StretchBack Glove (Black, Large) (None of my weights have the rubber coating)
  6. Body Champ Olympic Weight Bench with Leg Developer, Gray/Silver  (Squat racks cost way too much and my basement ceilings are short, I also wanted something I could use for benchpress (free weights or dumbbells) and hams. This should do for now. The split unit will allow me to pull the bench out so I can get the bar for squats. I'll probably build some spotter catchers or a mini-squat rack.)
   
• Music I'm listening to:
  Motor by Tracques - Electronic
  

• Quote:
  

  "There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don't allow yourself to become one of them."

  
  

  – Ralph Marsto from The Daily Motivator

Every Friday I'll blog about topics related to health, fitness, wellness, self-improvement, and other miscellaneous topics I find interesting.

Fit-Bullet Friday #6

FitCorner's Friday Fit-Bullets #6.

• Science is Fun!: Scientists create world's largest catalog of human genomic variation.
  
  "An international team of scientists from the 1000 Genomes Project Consortium has created the world's largest catalog of genomic differences among humans, providing researchers with powerful clues to help them establish why some people are susceptible to various diseases."
  
  "The catalog more than doubles the number of known variant sites in the human genome, and can now be used in a wide range of studies of human biology and medicine, providing the basis for a new understanding of how inherited differences in DNA can contribute to disease risk and drug response."
  
  
  
  Read more about the world's largest genomic variation catalog.
  
  
  
  
  
• Gadget: Skulpt Aim
  
  An interesting gadget that can measure body fat percentage and muscle quality. I love the idea; the ability to scientifically know that you are gaining muscle mass from your workouts. However, the reviews are across the board, some say it's not accurate, while others swear by it. Personally, I hesitate to buy first generation products. I'll hold off until the next version is released. It's a cool idea and will likely bring a new generation of health gadgets our way!

• Fun? Fact: 
  "About 92 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital, but statistics prove that if more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved," according to the American Heart Association.
  My wife and I are both CPR certified.
  
  
  
• Quote:
  

  "I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions."
  – Stephen Covey
  

Every Friday I'll blog about topics related to health, fitness, wellness, self-improvement, and other miscellaneous topics I find interesting.

Fit-Bullet Friday #5

FitCorner's Friday Fit-Bullets #5.

• Study: A recent study looks into obesity and how it can lead to specific alteration of genes.
  
  "Essentially, the researchers found that the level of DNA methylation was related to level of body mass index (BMI), a marker of obesity."
  
  
  Demerath says, “The work is exciting because it might be possible to design pharmaceutical or dietary or other behavioral interventions that specifically target these epigenetic signatures to avert diabetes and coronary heart disease.”
  
  Read more on methylation and oxidants.
  
  
  
  Reference: Research Snapshot: Obesity can lead to the alteration of specific genes
  
  
  
• Fun Factoid: "Yoga and meditation can ward off stress and disease."
  
  This quote is related to my earlier post on nutrition and epigentics. You can read more about where the quote came from here: Harvard Yoga Scientists Find Proof of Meditation Benefit. It's an interesting read.
  
  
• Quote:
  

  "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover."
  –Mark Twain

• Music:  Dada Life - Techno - Swedish DJ duo
  

 Every Friday I'll blog about topics related to health, fitness, wellness, self-improvement, and other miscellaneous topics I find interesting.

Fit-Bullet Friday #4

FitCorner's Friday Fit-Bullets #4.

• Study: A recent study looks into teenager sleep-wake patterns and associated study times.
  
  
  "The study looked at internal body clocks of different age groups and found that our ability to work effectively during traditional working hours changes dramatically at different ages."
  
  “We’ve joined together different types of scientists to study this and found that just one week with less than six hours of sleep [a night] leads to over 700 changes in how genes work in your body but with a full night’s sleep there were no changes."
  
  ‘Nine-to-five’ may have health risks, study finds
  
  
  
• Fun Factoid:
  
  “About a trillion molecules of oxygen go through each cell every day, inflicting about 100,000 free radicals hits or wounds on your cells genes or DNA, estimate geneticist, Bruce Aimes, of the University of California at Berkley.’’
  
  So what does that quote mean? Accpording to Dr. Aimes (geneticist, Bruce Aimes, of the University of California at Berkley), by the time we are old, each cell will have "a few million oxygen lesions"!
  
  This cell damage can cause all kinds of human disease. That's why antioxidants are important to help neutralize oxidants (aka free radicals). I'll post more on this topic next week.
  
  
  
• Quote:
  

  "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." - Mahatma Gandhi

  
  
• Music I'm listening to:
  
  
  1. Whispers in The Dark by Skillet - Rock
  2. Nothing Left to Say  by Imagine Dragons - Rockish
  
  
  

Every Friday I'll blog about topics related to health, fitness, wellness, self-improvement, and other miscellaneous topics I find interesting.

References: http://thenationonlineng.net/anti-aging-tips-for-buhari-in-change-era-3/

Fit-Bullet Friday #3

FitCorner's Friday Fit-Bullets #3.

•  Study: A study published last month shows a strong correlation between higher protein and amino acids from your diet can lower peripheral and central blood pressure.  Make sure you get quality sources of protein (whether from vegetables or meat).
  

  "In multivariable analyses, a higher intake of total protein and the 7 individual amino acids examined [(arginine, cysteine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, leucine, and tyrosine)] was significantly associated with lower peripheral and central blood pressure"
  
  "The intake of amino acids associated with lower arterial stiffness and central blood pressure is easily achievable in the habitual diet, making these findings very  relevant for public health strategies to reduce cardiovascular disease risk."
  
  - Amino Acid Intake Is Inversely Associated with Arterial Stiffness and Central Blood Pressure in Women

• Quote:

  " Of the 2.4 million deaths that occur in the United States each year, 75% are the result of avoidable nutritional factor diseases."

  – Dr. C Everett Koop, Former US General Surgeon General

  Want to know more? Read my post on your DNA, Genes, and Nutrition.
  
  Also, for a 101 on DNA, check out DNA, Amino Acids, and Proteins.
  
  
  
• Fun Fact: Not getting enough sleep can increase cortisol. According to wikipedia, "It is released in response to stress and low blood-glucose concentration.". With a higher stress high-fat and sweet foods are more desirable. Get some sleep folks!

• Music:
  
  
  1. Sunlight by Modestep - Techno/dance. The sunlight hurts my eyes!
  2. Call Me by Shinedown - slower Tempo, but it moves me emotionally.  
  
  

Every Friday I'll blog about topics related to health, fitness, wellness, self-improvement, and other miscellaneous topics I find interesting.

Fit-Bullet Friday #2

FitCorner's Friday Fit-Bullets #2.

• Recipe: Stir-Fry. I love me some Stir-Fry! This is a bulk Paleo-ish (depends on your stir-fry mix) Stir-Fry Recipe that my wife and I use.
  
  
•  MIT, Harvard find 'master switch' behind obesity: Very interesting article on genetics and obesity.
  
  

  “Obesity has traditionally been seen as the result of an imbalance between the amount of food we eat and how much we exercise, but this view ignores the contribution of genetics to each individual’s metabolism,” said senior author Manolis Kellis, a professor of computer science and a member of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and of the Broad Institute, in a release.

• CVD Risk Calculator: If you know your Systolic Blood Pressure (that's the top number), your total cholesterol, and your HDL cholesterol you can calculate your 10-year Risk of Having a Heart Attack. What is your risk? I'm less than 1% of people having a heart attack in the next 10 years. Both of my grandpa's died from heart failure early in their lives. I want to see my grand-babies one day.
  
  
• Fatigue and gaining weight? Maybe you have a thyroid issue. I thought I did. I had a full thyroid panel completed. Make sure you get your TSH, Free T3, Free T4, and Antibodies tested. TSH no longer gives the most accurate picture of your overall thyroid health, but most Docs will still only test TSH. In any case, my thyroid is fine across the board. So I'm suspecting it's just fatigue/stress. Stop the Thyroid Madness is a good site to check out if you want to know more why TSH is not the only test to determine if you have a Thyroid issue.
  
  
•   Music:
  
  
  • Elements by Lindsey Stirling - I like most everything she creates. I played the Viola for about 6 years, so I really dig modern Orchestral music. Check out her music sometime.
  • Spaceman by Hardwell - Techo/dance. Good pace and a lot of bass! This is part of my workout playlist.

Every Friday I'll blog about topics related to health, fitness, wellness, self-improvement, and other miscellaneous topics I find interesting.

Fit-Bullet Friday #1

FitCorner's Friday Fit-Bullets #1.

• IDLife Nutrition - My wife and I have switched our nutrition supplementation (for vitamins) to this company. I've been happy with the results so far. My acid reflux/heat burn has all but disappeared and I no longer want to face-plant my keyboard at 2pm every day, also the time saving aspect! Read more on our switch....
  
  
• Health Tip: Vitamin D regulates calcium balance in your body, it helps to input Calcium into your bones, and also where Calcium should or should not be in your body. Make sure you are getting the proper does of Vitamin D daily. If you are a home-body and never go outside, you could be Vitamin D deficient. Personally, I take about 4,000 IUs in the morning (via EyePromise Restore)  and 2,000 IU's (via IDLife Nutrition) with my evening meal.
  
  I take EyePromise Restore as I have low zeaxanthin levels. It's measured by the 3-blue dot MPOD (Macular Pigment Optical Density) test.

•  Quote: I've seen this quote in numerous places on the internet, the first time I saw it was in the book Do The Work. Basically, in my opinion, it's about how we are afraid to get our of our comfort zones and push past our own self created boundaries.
  
  

  "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." - Marianne Williamson

   
• Tiny Brain - An almost fully-formed human brain has been grown in a lab for the first time.

• Music - My tastes have changed over the past year. It's more techno/dance/rock now, some of the more pop/modern hits as well. I'll be posting a new high bpm workout list soon. Here is my old high pbm workout music list.
  
  If you're into this genre, check out the following:
  
  1. Bonfire by Knife Party - Techno/dance
  2. Gold by Imagine Dragons - Rock

Every Friday I'll blog about topics that I find interesting related to health, fitness, wellness, self-improvement, and other miscellaneous topics.