I know what you are thinking: “Should we consider taking 10 days off between workouts or even training phases?” No… not necessarily. It is important to note that the MRI studies mentioned above showed what would be considered a “normal” adaptative flux continuum that is assumed after strenuous muscular stress. This would include the stress and those relative qualities produced during and after exercise that would provide the essential neuromuscular signalling causing a protein synthesis event. What this means is that the exercise used would be sufficient enough to potentiate lean tissue synthesis. This would be the exact response that should be expected from their training.�
Alright, now that we have the science out of the way let me give you some quick anectdotal evidence that shows how a little extra time off to recover does the body good. This past weekend was the Tactical Strength Challenge at MJBC. The event has three disciplines that express mean strength (1 rep max deadlift), muscular strength endurance (max pull-up) and conditioning (5:00 kettlebell snatch test-16kg bell for women, 24kg bell for men). I will only use the deadlift to make my point. We had two women (both in their 40′s) and two men (both in their 30′s) in the challenge. None of whom had more than 14 training sessions (specific to the TSC event) over a 14 week period (yep…just one training session per week). Each were advised to take the week preceeding event off from all training (bootcamps included) to assure adequate rest for challenge. Here are the results: both women had PR’s (personal records) in the deadlift event equalling 20 lbs. heavier than they had ever pulled…EVER! The men…10 lbs. heavier! After our event I visited another TSC hosting gym and saw an old buddy of mine who was entered in the event. Interestingly, he was injured in a car accident two weeks before the event and was forced to take time off from his training. His best ever deadlift max. was a 505lbs. pull…not too shabby. Now check this out… The day of the challenge…an EASY 540 lbs. pull! Amazing but not surprising. A commonly missing key ingredient to predictable results from training is straight up recovery! I have said this time and time again…Results should always be predictable, expected and not considered random. Here is a takehome we should all take seriously if we are really serious about killer results from our training : Next time you hit the gym make sure your training is acutely stimulating enough to cause a potential response and then take the required time to chronically recover to ensure that you reap the benefits from your hard work!

Fitness Pro Matt Jennings Signs With Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency

“Twister–Industry Icon In The Fight of His Life”

By Todd Durkin, MA, C.S.C.S., Owner, Fitness Quest 10 (SD, CA)

Peter Twist is one of the most successful trainers
and performance coaches of ALL-TIME. His business, Twist Sport Conditioning, is a world-class training & performance facility in Vancouver, Canada, with franchises in the US and Canada.

For eleven years, Pete was an NHL strength coach. And since then, has devoted his life to helping kids and adults become their very best. His passion and energy are infectious, his intelligence is incredible, and his spirit is unbreakable. As a matter of fact, Pete may be in the best shape of any forty-seven year old I know, male or female. With the fitness and conditioning of an elite pro athlete, he looks like he can still suit up and play. And dominate!

But life took a strange turn earlier this year. Out of nowhere, Pete was diagnosed with Stage 4 Nasopharyngeal cancer (head/neck) that had spread throughout his lymph system. He was asymptomatic when he first went to the doctor in January 2011 (just about a year ago), and has been through hell and back since then, fighting one heckuva fight to force this thing into remission. He would tell you himself that this has been tougher than any fight he has ever faced in his long and successful hockey career.

I recently had dinner with Pete at his home in Vancouver. It gave us some quiet time to sit and talk. About fitness. About our industry. And about life. What a conversation it was.

I asked Pete if I could share his story, it truly is inspirational, because not many people know of his battle. As a matter of fact, for four of the hardest months earlier this year, only six people even knew Pete was sick. More know now, but the chance to share Pete’s story here with you is a chance to share some of the most IMPACTFUL words I have ever heard from another person. There are “deep lessons” from Pete’s journey, and I share them with his blessing and his hope that they might empower others in a similar battle for their health or other challenge in their lives.

****

One of the interesting things about Pete’s story is that there were no detectable signs or symptoms when he was diagnosed. He acted on his own intuition that something was wrong and asked to be tested. At first, doctors resisted because “he had nothing wrong.” His physical appearance, strong vitals, and healthy lifestyle, said (on the surface) that nothing “appeared wrong.”

When the truth of the situation was revealed, doctors found a tumor the size of a baseball located about 2 mm from the brain stem. A thorough diagnosis placed the chance of survival for three-years at 25%.

What followed was brutal. Two months of chemotherapy and radiation at the highest intensity one can receive. When I asked what that felt like, Pete described it as “severe burning of my mouth, face, and neck from the inside out.” Taking in nutrients was next to impossible; requiring “thirty minutes under layered pain-killers to get down a glass of vanilla protein drink.” Knowing Pete, he was probably yelling like a gladiator to get it down and get it done.

I learned that the effects of head and neck radiation continue to accumulate for five to seven weeks post-treatment. That means the side-effects get worse and worse even after treatments stop. Pete said this was one of the most frustrating parts of the entire experience.

From Pete: “My objective was to keep as much strength and physical mass as possible and to do little things HOURLY to deal with symptoms and set myself up to have a little higher starting point when I could manage to start ramping back up. A one percent difference was worth fighting for relentlessly.”

****

We talked about life lessons and as always, his words were deep and introspective.

* “QUARTERBACK YOUR OWN HEALTH AND OWN THE PROCESS” Doctors: oncologists, nutritionists, naturopaths, chiropractors, you name it – all come from different backgrounds, academic paradigms, and philosophies. Many of them do tremendous work, but are often overwhelmingly busy in their day-to-day and guided by the ‘system.’ It is critical that YOU determine what is right for YOU and take charge at each step. Quarterback your health and quarterback the team you assemble for any acute challenge in life.

* FOLLOW YOUR GUT, FOLLOW YOUR INTUITION. “If you’re strong and healthy, you won’t get looked at the same or as thoroughly by your doctors. They make assumptions based on fitness, appearance, symptoms, and positive energy. Insist they look deeper.”

Pete went in because of a premonition, a gut-call that something “wasn’t right.” He really had to press to get the right team together and get the tests done to eventually be diagnosed and then treated because he looked healthy. Had he waited until symptoms appeared, the results may have been….

* BE PROACTIVE. How you feel, your physicality, your health metrics, your blood work, and lack of symptoms do not necessarily mean you’re A-OK at the cellular level. Pete did crazy research on cancer, and believes, “We all have cancer five to seven times in a lifetime. Most we naturally eradicate from our systems… some we do not.”

* DON’T PLAY THE VICTIM CARD. It took a tremendous amount of grit and determination for Pete to get this far in the fight. He doesn’t like “wearing the cancer hat.” When going to the hospital for chemotherapy and radiation, he would drive his car “straight to the top” of the roof of the cancer center and park. He did not want to park where it said “PATIENT” painted on the wall. He would enter the parking garage with inspirational music cranked (AC/DC or POD if I know him!) and later would say, “Is that all you got? Give me your best shot!” After each radiation and chemo treatment, he would attempt to exercise right away, sometimes right in the parking garage. Literally.

* HEAL FROM WITHIN. Look beyond traditional nutrition guidelines and organic foods and invest in a deeper understanding of all the variables affecting cellular health.

* WE DON’T “RISE TO THE OCCASION”; WE “SINK TO THE LEVEL OF OUR TRAINING.” This is a message for trainers: Make sure you are ready for a battle and that your clients are too–one day everyone will face an immense challenge. I like what Pete says, “You can’t be your best when your best is needed and you aren’t in peak condition.” He adds, “I believe survival is in part determined by a will to live, a will to love, and a willpower to do the hard things well every minute during challenge, pain, and suffering. Become very passionate about LIFE and engage in activities in a way that grows WILL and WILLPOWER.”

WOW. Don’t wait until there’s a problem to start training like an animal and begin living TODAY like it’s your last day on earth. Powerful words.

* BREAK ALL THE RULES. “You must be willing to change YOUR rules: to adopt healthful strategies that give you an edge, to step up and break from the traditional medical model, to return to action.” Pete is an example that we are capable of more than we might be told. Fight to give EVERY effort any moment to build your physiology and physicality. Work at YOUR pace – not the pace of the average sick person. Not the pace expected by the disease model. Be willing to do everything it takes to get back to where you were. Act on your personal pride, conviction, and your will to live “FULL ON” for yourself and all those around you.

Pete’s words really stuck with me. He is an incredible man and truly inspirational. He ended his story with this (and I will paraphrase): Growth comes from challenges and of these, there are very few that will force you to draw upon absolutely one hundred percent of every single element of your being. One hundred percent of every personal resource within you. When one of these challenges presents itself, it will be an amazing opportunity. After the anger and fear have ripped through you, after you face your sadness and concern for loved ones, be sure to see the amazing opportunity you’ve been given. The battle will become a set of scars you carry with quiet pride and deeper gratitude for the chapters ahead of you. The personal growth is strong and real. Don’t be bound up or held back from the beating you’ll take. Springboard from it and let it ignite every single day for the rest of your life.

****

My evening with Pete ended with some “HEALING FROM WITHIN.” Pete’s diet for this past year has been mostly raw vegetables and a concoction of organic foods, supplements, and powerful antioxidants to fortify his system. So when he asked me if I would like one of his “desserts,” I willingly obliged. It was here I was introduced to what I now call “Twister’s 27-Ingredient Jungle Juice.” This “shake” has so many things in it I can’t remember them all. Three times a day for almost a year: cabbage, broccoli, spinach, raspberries, blueberries, cranberry juice, greens mix, fish oils, and many other “goodies” in it. Sounds disgusting, huh? Pete said, “You think this tastes horrible? Try cancer and then tell me if you like it.” Despite not knowing all that’s in it or if there are really twenty-seven ingredients, by the end, it tasted real good! For me, that night, sharing Twister’s 27-Ingredient Jungle Juice was a spiritual moment.

****

Pete is now almost one-year post diagnosis. He powers UP mountains running and laughs rambunctiously as he races down; he lifts hard and heavy again in his Twist Sport Conditioning Center and does wind sprints like he did when he was competing. He’s teaching again and back in the trenches making a difference. But most of all, he’s enjoying life and is as vibrant and FULL OF LIFE as I’ve ever seen him.

Pete recently developed a CREED for himself, his team, and all the clients they touch. Think to this as your life motto: “Life is short…LIVE EVERYDAY. Today I will GIVE everything I have, what I keep inside I will lose forever.”

Thank you Pete Twist for the man you are. The trainer you are. And the friend you are. I hope your story IMPACTS thousands of people to live their BEST LIFE EVERYDAY just as you do. Thanks brother!

**Note: Connect with Pete on Facebook: http://facebook.com/peter.twist13

Todd Durkin, MA, CSCS, is an internationally recognized performance coach, personal trainer and massage therapist who motivates, educates and inspires people worldwide. He is the owner of Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego, CA, where his wonderful team of 35 focuses on personal training, massage therapy, Pilates, yoga, sports performance training and nutrition to help transform the bodies, minds and spirits of a broad clientele. Todd trains dozens of NFL and MLB athletes. He is the head of the Under Armour Performance Training Council, serves on the Gatorade G-Fit Team, and is a featured presenter on the Perform Better educational circuit. He is a two-time Trainer of the Year (IDEA & ACE). Additionally, Todd provides motivational talks and programs to companies and conferences worldwide.

Men’s Health recently named his gym, Fitness Quest 10, one of the Top 10 Gyms in the US. Todd has appeared on 60 Minutes, ESPN, NFL Network and has been featured in Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Business Week, Prevention, ESPN the Magazine, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Men’s Journal, Stack Magazine, Self, Shape, Fitness, the NY Times and Washington Post. Todd has authored 35 DVDs on strength and conditioning, functional fitness, massage/bodywork and business/personal growth.

His book, The IMPACT! Body Plan, is a 10 Week comprehensive program designed to create world-class fitness and life performance. You can sign up for Todd’s FREE award-winning Ezine newsletter, the TD TIMES, at www.FitnessQuest10.com or www.ToddDurkin.com.

http://wakeup-world.com/2011/10/06/7-foods-experts-wont-eat/

I have to admit I chuckled when I read it because

I have admittedly felt similar frustrations in my 18 year career as a fitness coach.

When it comes right down to it though, we owe it to our clients to help them find great solutions

with unwaivering determination… 

No one said it was gonna’ be easy!  

Train Hard…Recover Harder…Eat For Results!          

Why does muscle soreness occur most frequently with the eccentric phase of contractions? There is evidence that when an active muscle is lengthened under a load torque that is greater than the force that muscle can produce, an altered detachment phase at the crossbridge cycling level (the active binding of subcellular actin and myosin ) is produced and the acto-myosin bond is broken mechanically (Morgan, 1990), along with the possible selective activation then of the larger motor units, Type II fibers (Nardone, 1989)

Basically, any physical activity especially strenuous exercise, has been proposed to activate both the metabolic and mechanical events mentioned above that may damage muscle and lead to soreness. The metabolic factors include high temperatures which can disrupt protein structures; insufficient cellular respiration that can reduce ATP levels; lowered pH and increase in lactic acid; free O2 radical production that may initiate muscle injury. Because eccentric contractions are associated with relatively high forces involved with high intensity training, the mechanical factor that is most commonly thought to elicit muscle soreness is high stress (Warren, Hayes, Lowe & Armstrong, 1993).

This all sounds cool to the exercise science geek, but what does it all mean? First, exercise that produces any soreness no matter what the stressor e.g. a heavy deadlift day; a mountain bike ride with some tough hill climbs; an intense boot camp class…all have one thing in common. They require adequate rest and recovery so that we can assume the positive results from that workout. Think of it this way: We use exercise as the required stressor so that our body can adapt to and respond with some kind of desired effect. For most of us that desired effect can be anything from better athletic performance to a stronger, healthier and more aesthetically pleasing body. All great goals, but if we prematurely jump back into a workout or take inadequate rest and recovery periods after a phase of intense training and before our body is ‘healed’ and ready to go again, we will most likely be dissappointed with our fitness results. And beyond that we most certainly open up the opportunity for the dreaded overuse and over reaching syndromes that put us on a Mandatory Layoff Status for who knows how long!

So, to understand the consequences of intense workouts we need to quickly go over the body’s time course of the response following exercise. From 4 hr to 4 days after the exercise, there is an increase in phagocytic activity, which marks the presence of an inflammatory response. Because of this association in time, it has been suggested that delayed onset muscle soreness is a consequence of the inflammatory response (Stauber, 1989). However,the consequences of strenuous exercise, especially eccentric contractions, are not confined to a few days after exercise; MRI studies have indicated marked swelling of injured muscles for up to 10 days and increased signal intensity for upto 60 days after exercise (Fleckenstein& Shellock, 1991; Shellock, Fukunaga, Mink, & Edgerton, 1991b). The muscle fibers that seem to be most effected and damaged by intense exercise are the Type IIb fibers. These are the muscle fiber types that are preferential during any exercise that brings on Momentary Muscular Fatigue during a :30-:60 second period.

I know what you are thinking: “Should we consider taking 10 days off between workouts or even training phases?” No… not necessarily. It is important to note that the MRI studies mentioned above showed what would be considered a “normal” adaptative flux continuum that is assumed after strenuous muscular stress. This would include the stress and those relative qualities produced during and after exercise that would provide the essential neuromuscular signalling causing a protein synthesis event. What this means is that the exercise used would be sufficient enough to potentiate lean tissue synthesis. That is a good thing because, whether you are a man or woman you want more muscle. Why? Muscle is necessary for better performance and great for ramping up metabolism and fat loss!

That being said, as astute practitioners of sound and results driven, muscle building training (ha ha… now your talkin’), it is important that we understand how truely taxing exercise can be on our bodies and therefore show prudence for building in adequate rest and recovery periods in all phases of our training program. And for those of us who have supervised programs it is very likely that your trainer/coach is already very familiar with and qualified to design training programs using the concept of periodization cycles. These cycles include but, are not limited to: the acutecycle (workout to workout), the microcycle (upto 7 days) and the mesocycle (2 weeks to a few months). These phases or cycles make up an overall goal focused training blueprint that is designed to progress your training with proper loading and exercise modalities, as well as adjust in the necessary rest and recovery periods that will most likely guide you to your desired fitness goals.

Remember, if you adhere to the fundamental concepts of a well designed fitness program and remember how essential R&R is to achieving your overall fitness goals, you will better guarantee your road to fitness greatness…and then some!

One of the great challenges that trainers encounter during the end of such a tough phase of training and the upcoming scheduled week off for rest and recovery is how we should respond to the few clients who want to know what they should do during their week off. This query used to bother me until one day I realized why they were asking the question. The reasons I found that some people were reluctant to accept the week off were: “If I don’t train I will gain weight.” Another concern was that “If I take a week off I will lose everything I worked so hard for.” These are reasonable concerns for sure. As a former national bodybuilding champion I understand why some may have such a difficult time wrapping their head around the concept that they need time off from training. I remember that I would rarely take time off from training and was convinced that “more training meant better results”. Most bodybuilders thought the same way. Maybe the onus of more is better in the exercise world should lie on the shoulders of the bodybuilding community as they are notorious for their seemingly”heroic” and incessant training schedules that would be commonly formulated out of thin air into a six day per week, dumbell heaving, 2 hour long training marathon. (Two thirds of those hours are usually sitting at the edge of a flat bench holding court about someone elses workout routine). Modern bodybuilders have a rather defiant attitude in acknowledging the need to take any time off from training and somehow that idea has transcended into and hard wired the minds of fitness enthusiasts across the spectrum.

Rest & recovery should not be considered an option, but rather an integral and necessary component to any successful strength and conditioning or fitness program. To understand this concept from a different mind set, we have to go back to a time when man’s exercise was not so much with the goal to look and feel great but simply a fundamental practice in survival.

Early man… caveman, paleo man, our ancestors… lived in a very hostile environment. Their mere need for survival would cast them into scenarios where they would have to track and hunt down wild game such as a wildebeest or zebra to exhaustion; kill it on site; skin and separate the animal into manageable sections (sorry about the grizzly description) so that it could be carried back to camp with the help of other hunter tribe members. Hunting for our most earliest ancestors was an incredibly gruelling , dangerous and often times a deadly reality. These expeditions would sometimes take weeks and it would make sense that they would not want to be in these situations of having to hunt very often. They would make sure the hunt (their intense training) was worth while and would enjoy the fact that they would not have to ‘train’ that hard again for a period of time. They would instead stay active in gathering the necessary brush to provide the comforts of bedding, top cover and warmth (fire) at their camp site as well as procure the valuable sustenance of eggs, grasses, flowers, fruits and vegetables that would be nourishing sources found more conveniently near camp. Our ancestral tribes would walk in groups and dance at camp for enjoyment and fun. These activities also assisted digestion. All of this stuff, the lifestyle, was just a simple existence that expressed a perfect ratio of exercise (hunt):rest & recovery(activity) that would most certainly ensure their readiness for their next hunt (our workout phase).

I know the idea of this hunter/gatherer stuff sounds strange and maybe even a bit disconnected to us. But, we need to understand that our society as we know it, has established conditions that are mismatched between the world we live in today and the DNA that we still truely share with our earliest ancestors. We evolved to eat different diets, to ‘exercise’ differently and live differently from the ways we do today. If we take a minute and look around us we have to be in agreement that most people today do sit too much; don’t stay active enough;eat way too much; and try like hell to “out train” some poor lifestyle choices. This viscious cycle very often causes the reality of chronic injuries that keep so many from the ultimate goal…To be better! We all desire to live optimally…with strength and vigor in how we think and perform. We can’t do this by just playing catch up with intense bouts of exercise and negating the power of rest and recovery. When it comes right down to it…it is proper training, solid nutrition and sufficient rest and recovery that are the pillars that support a healthy and vigorous lifestyle. Take any one of these pillars out and that lifestyle crashes…

Sunday Morning Breakfast (family style): I made just enough to satisfy our family of five.

-Grilled Veggie Omelet

Last night’s left over grilled onion, green, orange, yellow and red pepper,portabello mushroom, eggplant in heated plate and sprayed with PAM. Beat up 8 whole free range eggs and add to pan. (No milk added to omelet)

-8 slices of uncured Nature’s Promise bacon (Applegate Farms is another uncured bacon we use)

-MJBC RE-LOAD Pancakes (These are the “goof off ” part of today’s breakfast)

2 cups Bob’s Red Mill (gluten and dairy free) Pancake Mix

3 whole eggs

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1 1/2 cups SO DELICIOUS unsweetened and organic Coconut Milk

4 scoops Whey protein

Mix batter and portion out on a heated PAM sprayed pan. Makes 14 x 3″-4″ cakes.

Note:These cakes do not need any kind of syrup. They taste awesome! Limit yourself to 3 or 4.

Remember this breakfast was divied up between my wife, myself and our three young boys ages 8-13 yrs.

To follow a whole week of my single digit body fat, high performance nutrition go to my facebook link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Matt-Jennings-Boot-Camps/181116185236268

Copy and paste link and get a glimpse into just one week of my nutrition plan that helps keep me at a super lean and strong 8% BF(and my wife at 14% BF) all year long! P.S. She is 45 and I am 46 yrs old. P.P.S. Our secret? Get out of your own way…You just have to want it bad enough!