Happy Planksgiving!!!

We are a little under a week from Thanksgiving which marks the start of the holidays. It's around this time that temperatures drop forcing people inside and we are transitioning from pumpkin flavored everything to peppermint flavored everything. It's no wonder that everybody puts on weight this time of year with the increasing sedentary lifestyle, bad (delicious) food and lots of boozing.  Maybe it's a conspiracy by all the gyms to make us as fat as possible in November/December so we will sign up for their gyms in January. Might have to contact George Noory and the researchers at Coast to Coast AM to look into that one.

Journalism

But not at LPD because we are not just celebrating Thanksgiving but Planksgiving too. Abs are the ultimate vanity muscle. Everybody wants them and they are always on the cover of every magazine. For men it's the 'six week plan for a chiseled core' and for women it's getting a 'flat tummy'. By the way the real 'secret' to having a six pack is your diet not your workout, stop doing crunches and start eating veggies.  Having great abs is not just for the cameras though. But to understand that we need to start forgetting traditional ab training and start learning core training instead.

Dr. Stu McGill is a prominent researcher and kinesiology professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada and he is known as Dr. Spine. In a nutshell, McGill theorizes that the role of our spines and entire core is to stabilize our bodies.McGill thinks that by flexing our spines we increase our risk of irritating or herniating disks.  By keeping our cores strong and stable it allows the rest of our body to remain flexible. Don't think you just need a strong back either; when we have muscle imbalances and/or bad posture our bodies are not operating at full capacity. Remember being fit is about balance. You should be training your chest/back, quads/hamstrings, and abs/back equally to maintain that balance.

So instead of doing crunches, situps or V-ups let's learn how to do a plank.

If you are just starting with the plank start by holding the position for 10 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds. Do this for three sets. As you get stronger increase your time in the plank position by 5-10 seconds every week. I do a work/rest ratio of 1:1; so 30 seconds of work 30 seconds of rest. If you are a beginner and you follow this progression you should be able to do a plank for a full 60 seconds by the end of the year.

 If planks get too easy there are variations to make them harder. A simple way to is to elevate your feet or add instability. For example assume the plank position and lift one foot off the ground while maintaining a straight line. Another good variation is to put your forearms on a swiss ball instead of the floor.

 Good Luck and Happy Planksgiving!!!!!!

Turkish Getups

In previous blog entries I have covered two of the best exercises out there: burpees and kettlebell swings. Well prepare to be amazed cause I got a third one for you to add to your desert island list of all in one movements: The Turkish Getup. Where does the name come from? I don't know and I don't care. Saying it makes me feel like some BA Soviet cosmonaut raised by wolves. Unlike isolation exercises Turkish getups (TGU) work all your major muscle groups and require a lot of core strength to stabilize your body. I know this poor horse is beaten beyond recognition but it is crucial that LEOs incorporate full body, functional strength training with an emphasis on balance and stability. Isolation exercises are great for bodybuilders but they don't make sense in the tactical world.  

How do you perform the TGU? Basically you go from lying flat on your back to an upright standing position to back to your back. Like most exercises when you write it out it looks like the most complex thing out there so here are some of the basics with a few videos that explain the finer points of the movement.

 

Starting Position: Flat on your back. Right arm raised in front of you like you are doing a one arm bench press. Bring your right leg up like you are doing a situp. Leave your left arm flat at your side and your left leg flat on the ground also. Always keep your eyes on the weight. (At first don't use any weight until you get the movement down)

Hip roll: You will roll onto your left hip and support your weight on your left elbow. From that position you will continue to push up until you are on your left hand. All of this is done while keeping your right arm straight.

Swinging your leg: Now take your left leg and swing it under your body so that all of your weight is now on your left knee. This should be quick and when you are done you should be in a lunge position. Right arm still straight and eyes still on the prize.

Stand up: From the kneeling position stand straight up while maintaining the weight/eyes overhead.

All four of these steps are just 1/2 the movement. Simply reverse it to end up flat on your back again. Once in the starting position you have completed one rep. Of course you will have to switch sides so the weight is in your left and you support yourself on your right elbow/hand knee. You can see how this works your entire body.

How do you incorporate them in your training? Realistically they can be done at any time but I think they are great both as warmups and finishers. Initially I'd suggest starting out with little or no weight until you feel you have mastered the movement. From there I would suggest adding a little weight and doing 1/2 getups or maybe more appropriately 1/4 getups. Simply put the weight above your head and focus on getting the hip roll and transitioning to putting all your weight on your hand. Stop yourself short of getting to the kneeling position and lay down flat again. Again after you feel comfortable then incorporate the full TGU with weight. Start with 5 reps to each side. Ideally once you get it down these are supposed to be done heavy with lower reps not in a fast paced conditioning type of way.

Originally, TGUs are done with a kettlebell (explaining my Soviet reference earlier) but can be done with a dumbbell, barbell or even your wife!!! The rule here is don't bite off more than you can chew. Start slow and build your way up. As with all overhead movements if you get over ambitious and can cause yourself alot of pain. Remember, the goal to any training whether it is resistance, endurance, explosive, balance or whatever is to avoid/prevent injury first and developing strength  second.

Good Luck Comrades  

Homemade equipment: Kettlebell Swings

Lately, I have been reading Tim Feriss's book The 4 hour body and think it's a great read. Standby for all kinds of quotes and concepts from the book. To sum it up Tim is obsessed with finding the 'Minimum Effective Dose' (MED) for nutrition, sleep, exercise, rehabbing injuries, sex etc. Tim is self admittedly unorthodox and focuses on bucking the norms of fitness, essentially challenging the establishment. Tim does a brilliant job of pointing out bogus science, sensationalist headlines and marketing ploys used by today's fitness 'experts'.

MED Explained

As mentioned above Tim wants to find the Minimum Effective Dose for building muscle, losing weight, improving sleep among others. To best explain the concept of MED Tim uses the example of tanning. Let's say the MED is 15 minutes a day of tanning. Anything more than that is just a waste, you aren't getting any darker. Not only are you wasting your time you also risk getting sunburned which will keep you inside for a couple of days, where you end up missing more tanning sessions. By figuring out the MED for any task Tim asserts that it gives you more time to do the things you want to do. Get Tim's book from Amazon or from your local library.

Kettlebell Swings and the homemade kettlebell.

In the book Tim introduces the Kettlebell swing and provides examples of people who have lost 100+ lbs from doing this one exercise. Check out the video below for an explanation of the move and proper technique. Kettlebell swings are one of the those cool exercises which is a strength/cardio hybrid, meaning it makes you want to throw up afterwards.

 

Alright so you decide you are going start doing these automatic vomit kettlebell swings. Hopefully your gym has them but if not you notice how expensive kettlebells are and because they are just one weight you might have to buy several of them. It can add up to $200+ quickly. So let me suggest the homemade adjustable kettlebell. Go to your local hardware store and pickup the following items:

 

3/4" diameter 12" nipple (1)

3/4" diameter 6"-8" nipples (2)

3/4" diameter T (1)

3/4" diameter Flange (1)

Clamp

 

A nipple is just metal pipe that has threads on both sides. We will use these to screw into the floor flange and T. I started with 8" nipples but will probably go down to 6" nipples so I stop hitting myself in the legs. Also you can get black metal or galvanized. the black metal is cheaper but is not as clean. I'm cheap so I went with the black metal.

 

What you need from the hardware store
 

So the longer 12" nipple serves as the base the shorter nipples will be your handles. You thread the three nipples into the T and then screw the bottom thread of the 12" nipple into the flange. Then you need to pick up weighted plates. I'd suggest going to a secondhand equipment store or garage sales as this gets pricey too. Then just unthread the top portion of the T and add the weights so they rest on top of the flange. Obviously you will need to get weights that have a large enough hole in the middle to fit around the nipple. Rethread the T back on, add the clamp to keep the weights from sliding and then get to work.  

Finished product.

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Drinking on Duty: Coffee

Besides body armor and a handgun, coffee is the most important piece of equipment for cops. Working weird hours and having other commitments during the off hours force many cops into a vicious cycle of staying awake and sleeping, alertness and drowsiness. Considered the world's most popular drug, caffeine is a stimulant that increases heart rates, mental focus and alertness, while decreasing sleepiness or drowsiness. Caffeine even has withdrawal symptoms, which leads many to claim they are 'dependent' or 'addicted' to coffee. Today more than ever we are overwhelmed with  energy drinks. Red Bull is the most widely known, but everyday new types of energy 'shots', gums, and pills are in convenience stores. Despite the market saturation, coffee is still king.

But is drinking coffee healthy? It depends on how you make it. The simplest rule I can come up with is, 'The blacker the better'". Many coffee drinks are laden with high amounts of sugar and dairy in the forms of sugary syrups, whole milk, and whipped cream. (If there is a second rule it is no whipped cream ever). Coffee is a drink with almost unlimited variations. You can get flavored ground coffee, add syrups, add sugar free syrups, use skim, whole, 2%, soy, or no milk at all. The drinks also come in a variety of sizes and can have other additions such as cookies, chocolate shavings, whipped cream etc. That makes getting accurate calorie counts difficult since many of your dedicated coffee shops have baristas who create and tailor each individual cup of coffee to the customer. That being said, let's take a look at some popular drinks at Starbucks. All nutrition information is from their site starbucks.com. All sizes are 'Venti' or 20oz. drinks because nobody drinks tiny coffees.

A little coffee, a lot of garbage.

Café Mocha with 2% milk and whipped cream: 410 cals, 18g fat, 55g carbs 17g protein.

Having the same drink substituting skim milk and omitting the whipped cream will dramatically reduce the calories and fat.

Café Mocha with skim milk: 280 cals, 3g fat, 54g carbs 17g protein.
What's the worst thing you can get on the menu? The white chocolate mocha. Made with 2% milk and whipped cream this drink comes in at 580 cals, 22g fat, 79g carbs and 19g protein. For some reason the 'iced' version is even worse adding another 30 cals, 2g fat, 6g carbs.

So what do you get? Of course you can always get brewed coffee and just avoid adding all the other extras yourself. If that's too boring, get an Americano which is just espresso mixed with hot water. It gives you a lot of kick with no calories. By the way, a Café Americano is purportedly from American soldiers in Europe adding hot water to their European coffee drinks to replicate the coffee they were accustomed to back home. So if you order one of these you show your love from freedom.

 

'Merica!!!!

Good Read: Transformation Photos

Here's a good article about the deceiving transformation photos that you see with a lot of diet/exercise plans. It is amazing how simple things such as lighting and poses make all the difference. Transformation photos can be inspiring but our fitness goals should be more focused on performance and health as opposed to the vanity of a one time photo.

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-dixon/weight-loss-secrets_b_3643898.html

These two photos are of the same guy taken about one hour apart.

It looks both of these guys were heavy weight lifters in their before photos and just ate like a fat cop for a few weeks to make their 'transformation' all the more dramatic.

Unorthodox training: Rice Bucket

Grip and forearm strength are as overlooked as your calves. We tend to focus on getting the major muscle groups in while neglecting ancillary muscles thinking that we improve our grip strength while doing the simple, basic but extremely effective lifts such as deadlifts, squats, pull ups etc. This is for the most part true. We do train our forearms every time we lift and its obvious that an improved grip strength gives us a better lift.  In reality, if your grip is weak then you are weak.  But this doesn't just apply to your typical weightlifting session. The great thing about grip strength is that it is possibly the most applicable form of resistance training.  It also comes in handy when you are plumbing, swinging a hammer, doing yard work etc. (I always think about those old guys in their 70s-80s who spent their whole lives working on cars and such who can still shake hands like a gorilla).

One of the most common tools used to improve grip strength are grippers (I know very original name).  You can find these online and they come in a variety of resistance levels. The concept is fairly simple just squeeze the gripper, sometimes high resistance with low reps or lighter resistance with higher reps. A good website is  www.ironmind.com.

But today lets take a look at a more unorthodox, cheap and fun way to improve your grip.  All you need is a 5 gallon bucket and a 20-25 lb. bag of rice. Simply pour the uncooked rice into the bucket and start moving your hands around in the rice.  This is an old baseball trick that was used by pitchers, one being Roger Clemens, to develop the hand, grip and forearm strength to grip the ball.  Naturally you are going to want to do more than just 'move your hands around' so below are some videos that have actual routines and tips you can follow.

 

Run Hard, Run Fast, and Run Long

There is no way to get around it. Running should be a part of every fitness plan. If you spend anytime looking for and reading exercise articles on the internet you see a lot of propaganda out there decrying traditional cardio as boring and ineffective. It is just another way to attract clients/readers. It's the same premise as all the diets which promise people they can eat 'whatever they want' and still lose weight. If I tell you I can get you in shape without subjecting you to hours on the treadmill, stationary bike etc. you are more likely to buy into my program because it seems easier.

But we need to run. With all the rage about functional fitness training there is nothing more functional and basic then going for a run. Running has long been the worst part of every police/military/fire physical fitness tests and for good reason, it's the exercise we use the most. As a police officer, I can tell you exactly how many times I have been in a bench press competition with a suspect or how many times I lost in the sit and reach to the perp. But all of us at one time have been in a foot pursuit (and every cop falls down at least once, don't lie we all do....). I'm not trying to downplay the importance of strength and flexibility. I understand that wellness is about being well rounded in all aspects of physical fitness but I have seen a general decline in running. We need to get off the treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, stair steppers and start getting outside to run.

This four week running plan is simple and effective. You will run three times a week. You could try a Mon/Wed/Fri training split or a Tue/Thu/Sat. This will give you four days off from running a week.

Run Fast
Go to a local track or other open area and warm up with about 5 minutes of jogging and then some dynamic stretching. After getting warmed up do a 200m sprint, that's one half of a lap around the track. Walk for 3-5 minutes or if you are on a track just walk the other half of the lap. Complete the total number of reps for the week.

Week 1: 5 Reps
Week 2: 6 Reps
Week 3: 7 Reps
Week 4: 6 Reps

Run Hard
Same warm-up as before but this time you will be running half mile intervals, that's two laps around  a track or 800m. Try to maintain a consistent pace throughout the full rep, not bouncing between sprinting, jogging, and walking to finish. Try to walk for 5 minutes between reps.

Week 1: 3 Reps
Week 2: 4 Reps
Week 3: 5 Reps
Week 4: 4 Reps

Run Long
When it comes to long runs we don't care about maintaining any speed or tempo. The goal is to get the mileage in. You should be able to talk comfortably and take walk breaks as you need them. For your first week see how far you can go and then add a quarter or half mile to the number each subsequent week. Again, start off where you are comfortable and then add mileage.

Use this as an example

Week 1: 2 miles
Week 2: 2.25 miles
Week 3: 2.5 miles
Week 4: 2.75 miles

Burpees: Curing Softies

If breastmilk is nature's perfect food then perhaps the burpee is nature's perfect exercise. Burpees are great for a couple of reasons they build strength, coordination, and conditioning. But best of all is that burpees can be done anywhere, anytime with no equipment. Burpees can be added to any workout and no matter your goal you can always use a few more burpees.


Named after a WWI vet named Royal Burpee, the burpee became one of the most popular exercises in the armed services. Initially it was designed as part of a battery of tests to assess a recruit's fitness. The military loves no frills training and lining up recruits and making them do pushups, situps, burpees, jumping jacks in a field somewhere is right up their alley. If you get a chance read this Popular Science article from 1944 that talks not only about the burpee but actually lays out a workout they used to do. (I like how the Popular Science article called the soldiers 'softies', couldn't imagine that today, even though we are 100x softer then that generation)

Another nice thing about burpees is there are a lot of different variations. The basic burpee is a four count exercise.  (1) Squat down with hands on the ground, (2) kick legs out straight, assuming a push up position, (3) return feet to squat position and (4) Stand straight up. That counts as one rep. The most common variations is to add a jump on the fourth and final count and/or add a pushup at the second count right after you get in the pushup position. As always start slow and start with the basic burpee without the jump, adding the variations as you get more comfortable.

Here's some popular burpee workouts out there.

• 100 Burpee Challenge: Day 1 do 1 burpee, day 2 do 2 burpees, day 3 do 3 burpees......until you reach 100.

• Set a timer for 15 minutes. Do the prescribed number of burpees each minute. Focus on good form and use your leftover time to rest.

          Level 1: 6 burpees/min, total 90 burpees
          Level 2: 10 burpees/min, total 150 burpees
          Level 3: 15 burpees/min, total 225 burpees

• Set a timer for 7 minutes. Do as many burpees as you can without resting. Try to beat your record every time. (This is a CrossFit staple)

• Pyramid workout: Complete 10 reps, rest, 9 reps, rest, then 8 reps until you reach 1 rep. You can either work your way back up to 10 or call that good. Also good to pair with another exercise like pushups, squats, lunges, or V ups. So 10 burpees followed by 10 V ups, then 9 burpees followed by 9 V ups; the possibilities are almost endless. 

Heart Series: The Truck

The Bryan heart testing truck is coming to LPD on Tuesday July 16th and Tuesday July 23rd from 0730-1500 hours. To make an appointment call Bobbie at 402-481-8018. There are four tests being offered on the truck and you can pick and choose among the tests. Bobbie will be able to help you pick the right tests. The tests are:

Carotid Artery Ultrasound Screening:   This painless, non-invasive screening detects plaque deposits in the carotid arteries.  These plaque deposits are a leading risk factor for stroke. 

Cost: $40

Abdominal Aortic Ultrasound Screening:   This painless, non-invasive screening detects the presence of an aneurysm in the abdominal aorta.

Cost: $40

 

Peripheral Arterial Disease:  A painless, noninvasive test called the ankle-brachial index (ABI) compares the blood pressure in the ankles to the blood pressure in the arms to determine how well blood is flowing.

Cost:  $20

 

Atrial Fibrillation:  Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart arrhythmia, affecting 2.2 million Americans.  

Cost:  $10

 

There is also a calcium test that will likely be available at a later date/time. Bryan did this for LFR in the past and there were some employees, who with the help of this testing, were able to get some medical treatment that ended up saving their lives.

 

e-mail lpd1143 for more details or call 402-481-8018 for more details.

Fitness at 50: Herschel Walker

Over the past weekend I caught the tail end of a documentary about Herschel Walker. For those of you who are not familiar with Herschel here's a quick summary of his life and accomplishments.

Herschel played running back for the University of Georgia from 1980-1982. In those three seasons Herschel rushed for over 5200 yards on 994 carries, averaging 5.3 yards a carry and rushed for 49 touchdowns. Herschel was on the Heisman trophy ballot all three years of his college career and won the Heisman in 1982.  Herschel was also a consensus All-American his entire college career.  Herschel left college early to play pro football. First, for the now defunct USFL and then for the NFL. Herschel ended up playing a total of 15 pro seasons and if you combined both his USFL and NFL numbers he would have rushed for over 13,000 yards putting him at number 5 in the NFL's all time rushing list. 

Herschel in his 20's

After retiring from football Herschel pursued various fitness related endeavors including a black belt in Taekwondo and competed in the Olympics at bobsledding. Eventually Herschel started a career in MMA at the age of 48. He ended up winning both of his fights, as knockouts.

Herschel at 48

One of the craziest things about Herschel is his training style/program. Herschel has always maintained that he never touched a weight before he went to college and even today prefers bodyweight exercises. Herschel has a daily regimen of 750-1000 pushups, 2500-3000 sit ups, and 500 dips.  He also jogs about 5 miles a day.

Herschel's a certified B.A. but it's funny to hear how he started working out. According to Herschel he was an overweight kid in a poor part of town with no access to gyms. Instead of whining about it Herschel began the pushup/situp routine that he does today. To a degree Herschel is just a genetic freak, I doubt many of us could obtain his physique following his routine. But my favorite thing about Herschel has got to be his drive/desire to try and master new things. Most would be content with being one of the best college football players ever and then just sit around getting fat but Herschel went out of his way to stay in shape.  Herschel wouldn't let his age be an excuse. At this point it's not just about fitness it's really about an attitude. We all know people at work and other areas of life who for lack of a better word give up when they reach a certain age. You don't have to do Herschel's routine it can be as simple as walking, weight lifting, hiking, biking, slow pitch softball etc. to a degree we're like sharks if we stop moving/learning, that's when we truly die.

How to deal with a crappy workout

It's happened to all of us at some point in our 'training'. We came to the gym ready to workout but about 10-15min into the workout there's about a 1,000 other places you'd rather be. Or you start your morning run routine and just a few blocks away from your house and you are walking, tired, tight, just not feeling it. It happens to everybody and it sucks when it does. Some people depend on that release of endorphins from exercise to get through the day like those 16 year olds buying 'incense' to get that 'totally legal' high. When things like this happen it's hard to stay motivated and focused on your goals, string a few bad workouts together and you might quit all together. So let's look at what you can do to recover from a crappy workout. After the bad workout ask two questions:

1) Have you been resting enough?

 An overlooked aspect of any workout is often rest. In bodybuilding land it is well known that your muscles do all their growing when you are resting. Endurance athletes, especially runners, are obsessed with rest as well. Running is hard on your joints and spending 5-6 days a week road running can destroy your body. Look at any 5K or marathon training plan, there's rest in there and it's not optional. So look at your past workouts. If you have been hitting it hard lately and had one day as a set back take that as a cue from your body to back off for a day or two and ease yourself back into it.  In addition to the actual workload look at your sleep patterns lately.  This job is tough on sleep schedules and its no surprise that sleep deprived athletes can struggle in the gym.

2) What have you been eating?

 In some lackluster workouts I can almost pinpoint the thing that I ate or drank that affected my performance the next day or so.  If you ate a pint of ice cream last night or a two packages of Eileen's cookies instead of good vegetables/fruit and healthy complex carbohydrates you should expect to struggle in the gym the next day. Food is fuel and crappy fuel equals crappy performance.  Of course if you spent the night out boozing then you are not only dehydrating yourself but you are also likely staying out late and alcohol actually hinders your sleep, the proverbial double whammy.  In looking at my own nutrition I'm amazed at how little water I can take in sometimes, drinking coffee, Red Bulls, diet pops etc. instead of water.

 Often you can diagnose the reason for your bad workout by looking at the above two questions.

 'Gee whiz Tom I went for my run this morning and I only ran 1.5 miles instead of my usual 4 what gives?'

'Well Bill didn't you spend last night drinking beer with your buddies and then eat that cheeseburger that has a Krispy Kreme donut as the bun?'

There are however times when you are doing everything right and you still have a bad workout. You basically have two choices: Power through your lackluster workout or take a break.  Both have their time and place. My recommendation is to try to feel the difference between tiredness and injury.  If you are injured then rest up and let it heal. If you are just tired then I'd say work through it but mentally lower your expectations for this workout and tell yourself you will make up for it the next time.

Bill's Donut Burger is real

PRANCERCISE!!!!!!!!

 I'm still trying to figure out if this is a joke or not.  The more I watch it the more I think she is just that excited about prancercising.  Seeing how happy she is I think it's time to re-evaluate our physical fitness assessments for the department.  Imagine how many more people would participate in the voluntary vet assessments if we could do the prancercise gallop around the south parking lot instead of just boring running.  Prancercise does have it's own book, website and accompanying blog (which is likely wildly more popular than mine).  See Prancercise.com for more.

  Yes Prancercise is hilarious; but there is something of merit to it.  When it comes to exercise the best workout is the one you actually will do.  I don't care if it's running, biking, weight lifting, CrossFit, boot camps, swimming, yoga, or martial arts.  If you wanna put on your favorite white tights, jacket, ankle weights and go prancing down 'O' St go for it.  It doesn't matter what it is just as long as you get moving.  Do what you enjoy it's that simple.

UPDATE: DMAA and the FDA

Back in March I wrote a short piece about sports supplements that contain an amphetamine derivative called DMAA. DMAA is essentially a stimulant and has effects that mimic other popular stimulants such as ephedra and caffeine;  raises heart rates and blood pressure.  Psychiatric disorders, heart problems, nervous system disorders and death were all reported to the Food Drug Administration as possible adverse side effects. The FDA said they received about 90 of these types of cases.

 In response  the FDA sent out letters to 11 manufacturers of products that contain DMAA, warning them their products may be unsafe. Near the end of April 2013 the FDA announced that any products containing DMAA would be deemed unsafe and should not be sold. Several companies argued against this but ultimately lost and agreed to start to phase out production and sales of these products. The FDA does have the power to ban products from being sold the U.S. but in order to do that they have to undergo substantial testing. The FDA has not done that in this case but has sent warning letters to these manufacturers which was able to gain 'voluntary' compliance.

Both sides have experts that debate whether or not DMAA is safe and I'm not qualified to argue with either of them. Like I mentioned in the earlier post you know your body better than anyone else and should critically evaluate anything you put in your body.  That being said if you do like DMAA products now would be the time to scoop them up.

FDA UPDATE: http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/QADietarySupplements/ucm346576.htm

We have DMAA so buy us now!!!!!

   

Eating Out On Duty Series: Arby's

Arby's is another favorite often seen in substations. Arby's, like Subway, is one of those stealthy 'incognito' fast food restaurants where the food is real, but still you can still make very unhealthy choices at Arby's. 






We will use the same analysis as we did in the Runza review. We want to reduce calories, fat and sodium, keep a close eye on carbs and increase our protein consumption. If you are going to eat at Arby's chances are you are their for their roast beef. Good news is the Roast Beef Classic is one of the best options on the menu. Right now Arby's is offering a roast beef sandwich that has a King's Hawaiian bread as it's bun. If you don't like King's Hawaiian bread, you suck. But if you do then you know it makes a delicious sandwich. Unfortunately like all delicious menu items it is also one of the worst for you.  Not all roast beef sandwiches are created equal, let's compare it in the context of a meal.

King's Hawaiian Roast Beef: 550 calories, 21g fat, 1200mg sodium, 59g carbs, 31g protein.
Medium Curly Fries: 540 calories, 29g fat, 1200mg sodium, 62g carbs, 6g protein.
Medium Pepsi: 210 calories, 0g fat, 40mg sodium, 59g carbs, 0g protein
Meal total: 1300 calories, 50g fat,  2420mg sodium, 180g carbs, 37g protein

Roast Beef Classic: 350 calories, 12g fat, 950mg sodium, 39g carbs, 23g protein.
Jalapeno Bites: 280 calories, 16g fat, 600mg sodium, 31g carbs, 5g protein.
Medium Diet Pepsi: 0 calories, 0g fat, 25mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g protein.
Meal Total:  630 calories, 28g fat, 1575mg sodium, 70g carbs, 28g protein.

What you'll be saving: 670 calories, 32g fat, 845mg sodium, 110g carbs, -9g protein.

Looking though Arby's nutritional information I was struck by a two things.  

1) Arby's food has a lot of sodium in it. Only a handful of items on the menu are below 1000mg, even the Chopped Chicken Salad comes in at 1000mg sodium. I tried to cut the sodium down more as 1575mg is a pretty high number but I had trouble finding items that weren't off the kid's menu.

2) Curly fries are surprisingly high in calories and fat.

 Large curly fries: 600 calories and 35g fat
 Medium curly fries: 540 calories and 29g fat
 Small curly fries: 400 calories and 22g fat 

 Because of this I substituted the jalapeno bites for the fries. Again typically a side salad would be the best option but people don't really want to eat salads all the time, and the whole point of this is to pick out foods that folks will eat.

Check out http://www.fastfoodnutrition.org/ for more info.



















National Police Week

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial
Day and the week surrounding the day as National Police week. This year's memorial week is Sunday May 12 to Saturday May 18. The purpose of this week is to honor all of the officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. Here's a sobering stat: Every 56 hours a police officer dies in the line of duty.  Check out this blog to see photos from this year's events.

One of the cool things about CrossFit is they name some of their toughest workouts after specific military, police and fire personnel whom we lost. CrossFit has some great concepts but some of the moves can be difficult for beginners and you need some special equipment (I don't have any gymnastics rings lying around).  Building off that theme I suggest trying the following workout this week in honor of all our fallen brothers and sisters.

Warm up
No rest between exercises:

200m Sprint
10 Burpees
200m Sprint
20 Push-Ups
200m Sprint
30 Squats
200m Sprint
1 minute Plank

Repeat 3-5 times with 30 Sec in between sets.

Maybe we can name this one the 'Sotto' after this poor cop who got stuck in a tree rescuing a cat. (Yeah NYPD sent two cops to get a cat out of tree, kinda puts watering violations in perspective)

Lunch and Learn Summary

Last Thursday was the lunch and learn presentation by Dr. Matt Johnson from Bryan.  In case you missed it here are the highlights from what I got from the talk.

Essentially there are two types of risk factors; those you can control and those you can't.  For many people there is a genetic or family history of certain types of diseases and/or conditions.  This could include high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease etc.  If you are among the 'lucky' who do have a family history of said conditions then realize theres not a lot that you can do to change that and you have to be extra vigilant on the things you can control.  This can help explain why people who are physically active, eat good foods, not smoke or drink can have heart attacks.   Be sure to discuss your family history with your physician.

Since we have realized there are some things about our health we can't change, let's focus on what we can do to prevent heart disease.

1) Diet No surprise here. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and avoid sugary foods.  Focus should be on lean meats like chicken, turkey and pork.  Dr. Johnson suggested the portion size of red meats be no larger then a deck of cards.  Dr. Johnson emphasized that our diets should be about long term lifestyle choices and not the quick fixes of fad diets.  Although he stopped short of recommending any commercial diet he did say the Mediterranean Diet has alot of healthy elements to it.

2) Exercise  Experts here recommend a 150 minutes week of exercise, which for all you math majors, is 30 minutes a day for 5 days.  This exercise needs to be cardiovascular challenging, we need to be getting our heart rates up.  People who do manual labor often think their work is a good substitute for 30 mins of cardio, it's not. Dr. Johnson grew up on a farm and discussed how he had to convince his dad that farm work doesn't give his heart the same benefit.

3) Healthy Weight  This one obviously flows from the first two.  People who are overweight or obese are at higher risk for developing heart disease. How do you know if you are overweight?  The most common tool is the Body Mass Index or BMI.  BMI is a forumla which determines what is a healthy weight for somebody based on their height and weight.  Determining your BMI is simple you can use this online calculator.  If you are BMI 'obese', like me, don't worry.  One of the limitations of BMI is that it does not differentiate between muscle and fat.  So you could have 5% bodyfat and be an Olympic swimmer, gymnast etc. and still be considered obese by BMI standards.

4) Smoking Tobacco use is also one of the most common risk factors for heart disease.  Not much analysis here. If you don't, don't start; if you do, stop.

Basically don't live like Da Superfans

"Dr. said I had a polish sausage stuck in the lining of my heart"

Bodyweight Workouts

I had an earlier post about prison fitness. That video focused on prisoners doing Olympic style powerlifting moves such as deadlifts, bench presses and squats. The prisoners were using basic equipment. Most prisoners can get even more ripped using only bodyweight exercises or moves.

In some ways bodyweight moves are superior to free weights. Compare the bench press and the pushup. The obvious benefit to the bench press is that it adds alot of weight to overload your muscles and increase not only muscle strength but size as well. The drawback to the bench is that it is not practical. How many times do you lie on your back and push something straight off your chest? Probably not often. Usually we are pushing things from a standing, kneeling, or sitting position but rarely lying down on a bench. We do however often push ourselves up off the ground, similarly to a push up.

But bodyweight exercises are not limited to simple squats, push ups and pull ups. I found this video online called the '44 Best Bodyweight Exercises Ever'. The guy doing all the exercises is named Tee Major and you can find out more about him at http://teemajor.com/. Watch the video and incorporate one or two of the moves in your current workout. See if you can do a clapping pull up.

 

 

 

SWAT Treadmill Workout

Here's a cardio workout I got from SWAT. It only requires a treadmill, a pair of light dumbbells and some determination. I will put out three versions of the workout: Newbie, Vet and BEAST mode.

 The workout is 60 min total time divided into six ten minute intervals or sets. After each 10 minutes increase the incline by 1 degree and the speed by 0.1 mph. During the workout you will be holding dumbbells. Alternate holding them at your sides and resting them on your shoulders every two minutes. Do this workout every other day.

Newb*: 5 lb dumbbells

0-10 min: 7 incline, 3.0 mph
10-20 min: 8 incline, 3.1 mph
20-30 min: 9 incline, 3.2 mph
30-40 min: 10 incline, 3.3 mph
40-50 min: 11 incline, 3.4 mph
50-60 min: 12 incline, 3.5 mph

Veteran: 10 lb dumbbells

0-10 min: 10 incline, 3.0 mph
10-20 min: 11 incline, 3.1 mph
20-30 min: 12 incline, 3.2 mph
30-40 min: 13 incline, 3.3 mph
40-50 min: 14 incline, 3.4 mph
50-60 min: 15 incline, 3.5 mph

Beast: 15 lb dumbbells

0-10 min: 10 incline, 3.2 mph
10-20 min: 11 incline, 3.3 mph
20-30 min: 12 incline, 3.4 mph
30-40 min: 13 incline, 3.5 mph
40-50 min: 14 incline, 3.6 mph
50-60 min: 15 incline, 3.7 mph

At first glance the workout looks fairly pedestrian, especially the first 30 minutes. Do me a favor. Take a mental picture of yourself at the beginning, confidently walking along saying to yourself how easy this is etc. Recall that image when you hit the 45-50 min mark and see if you recognize yourself.

* I did the 'Newb' workout yesterday and it's a bear. I think once I hit the 35 minute mark I said "This isn't fun anymore." At the 50 minute mark it was "C'mon baby you got this" while panting heavily, looking like Ted from Airplane.

Couple of reasons why I like this workout:

1) Low impact
Considering the fact you are walking for the entirety of this workout you really eliminate alot of risk for your typical running injuries. The walking is easy on your joints especially if you have bad knees and back. As a rule workouts should be challenging but they shouldn't 'hurt'. It doesn't do you any good to push yourself to a point where you injure yourself and then have to miss some training time and/or go only 50%-75% because you are ailing.

2) High heart rate, high calorie burn
Using the hand held heart rate readers on the treadmill I got my heart rate to the 175-180 bpm range at the end of the workout. Personally I'm not a big fan of the so called 'fat burning zone' propaganda out there and think that cardio training should actually challenge and subsequently improve your cardio system. Also the workout really burns alot of fat/calories while sparing muscle.

3) Simple and adaptable
Anyone who can walk can do this workout. The starting and ending inclines, speeds and dumbbell weights are just suggestions. You can play with them as fits your needs and limitations. As an example you can try the Veteran speeds/inclines with 5 lb weights. I'd say the only 'rule' is to increase your incline/speed each ten minutes.

The biggest drawback to this workout is the time factor. 60 minutes is a long time and can be mentally exhausting, but push through it. It takes discipline to hold on to those weights and stay on the treadmill for the full 60 minutes but if you do cheat you are only cheating yourself.

Lastly, if somebody wants to name this workout I'm all ears. For some reason 'SWAT Treadmill Workout' does not sound cool at all but I couldn't think of anything.

Eating Out On Duty Series: Runza

If you have ever met a  expatriate Nebraskan one of the first things they will complain about is how much they miss Runza.  Runza of course is the trademarked name for the chain of restaurants in Nebraska, although they have locations in Iowa and Colorado too.  The famous Runza sandwich is commonly referred to as a bierock, which like everything in Nebraska has it's origins in Germany.  For the uninitiated its just a bun stuffed with beef, cabbage, cheese, onions etc. In addition to the Runza sandwich the restaurant also has typical American fast food like hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, fries, ice cream etc.

Pulling into Runza I see there is a special sandwich out called the 'Spicy Jack Runza' which also comes in a 1/4# burger and a chicken sandwich. The Spicy Jack series adds pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, bacon and jalapeno ranch to your favorite sandwiches; it looks awesome. Problem is that looking over the nutritional values on the Runza website it's one of the worst things they offer.  The sandwich as 760 calories, 40 grams of fat, 2370mg of sodium, 68 grams of carbs and 28 grams of protein.  The number of calories and fat are overwhelming but the sodium numbers really jump out. To give you an idea the Mayo Clinic recommends keeping your sodium intake to under 2300mg per day.  Don't worry the Spicy Jack Runza takes care of that in one sandwich.  Let's put this information in the context of a whole meal; a Spicy Jack Runza, medium fries and a drink.

Spicy Jack Runza: 760 calories, 40g fat, 2370mg sodium, 68g carbs, 28g protein
Medium Fries: 320 calories, 15g fat, 430mg sodium, 41g carbs, 4g  protein
Medium Pepsi: 210 calories, 0g fat, 40mg sodium, 59g carbs, 0g protein
Meal Total: 1290 calories, 55g fat, 2840mg sodium, 168g carbs, 32g protein.

Instead let's have a deluxe grilled chicken sandwich, small fries and an iced tea.

Deluxe Grilled Chicken sandwich: 360 calories, 11g fat, 1420 mg sodium, 37g carbs, 30g protein
Small Fries: 220 calories, 11g fat, 310mg sodium, 29g carbs, 3g protein.
Medium Iced Tea: 0s across the board
Meal Total: 580 calories, 22g fat, 1730 mg sodium, 66g carbs, 33g protein.

What you'll be saving: 710 calories, 33g fat, 1110mg sodium and 102g carbs

One of the common themes you are going to find is that chicken sandwiches are gonna be usual substitutions.  Chicken is a leaner meat and has less calories, less fat and more protein.  If you can't stomach another grilled chicken sandwich then get a burger.

1/4# Burger: 360 calories, 18g fat, 730mg sodium, 25g carbs, 25g protein.
1/4# Cheeseburger: 410 calories, 22g fat, 1030mg sodium, 27g carbs, 28g protein.

1/4# Cheeseburger, Small Fries and Iced Tea

You can see that eating out doesn't mean and endless barrage of chicken sandwiches.  In fact hamburgers my actually be the better option for some.  It's in the same ballpark for calories and protein, has less carbs and sodium.  The big negative for the cheeseburger is it has twice the amount of fat as the chicken sandwich.  As far as the regular Runzas go they are not the best option on the menu.  If you have to get one though I would suggest getting the original Runza and avoid adding all the extra toppings and flavors as these things really pack on the sodium, fat and calories.  There are hundreds of menu combinations that you can search through online.

Nutritional info on back; does the grease say it all???

Heart Awareness Testing

 We got a couple of cool events coming up at LPD in May. On Thursday May 2, there will be a presentation by cardiologist Dr. Matt Johnson at noon at 575.  For two weeks after the presentation there will be an online assessment tool on the LPD website. During the week of May 20-24 there will be Bryan nurses available for 30 minute appointments in LPD classrooms B and D. All three of these events are free, well somebody pays but it ain't you.

 In June, dates TBA, Bryan will be bringing a semi truck to LPD with some more sophisticated testing available. The point of going through the online assessment and 30 min appointment with a heart nurse is to determine your risk factor. The number of tests you do on the truck is entirely up to you but will range in price from $10-$120. You don't 'have to' do the lunch presentation, appointment or online assessment to do the truck testing but it does help provide a better overall picture of your heart health.

 Here's a couple stats I got from the CDC website:
http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

• First of all, heart disease is the #1 killer in the United States.
• 1 in every 4 deaths is due to heart disease, that's 600,000 deaths a year.
• Every year 715,000 Americans have heart attacks. 
• Heart disease costs $108.9 billion in health care expenses and lost productivity.

These are just numbers but what it fails to account for is the human cost.  Unfortunately, this is not a far fetched scenario or hypothetical for us but very much a reality.  I know I have said this before but you owe it to your families and friends to take your health seriously.  LFR recently did this training/testing and as a result at least two employees found out they had potentially life threatening conditions that were treated before they got out of hand.

 But we need LPD employees to show up so we don't waste Bryan's time.  If this still sounds like something you'd like to do please e-mail lpd1143 so we can gauge interest.

 Bonus points if you like this show ..............................

 

  

Eat This Not That

There is a police saying that if you want a boring night just bring a ride a long ("I swear I do more than just drive around") but if you want something exciting (read: reportable) then get something to eat.  Of course the more involved the meal the messier the call. Just eating a PB&J its just an accident.  You sit down someplace to eat and its a 3 car pile up with injuries, nobody speaks English and everbody is high on dope. Eating in peace is not guaranteed in this job. No wonder that cops are regularly eating out, particularly fast food.  We can drive a police cruiser, talk on the radio, listen to the 'other' radio, be on the cellphone, read the MDT etc. We want to be able to eat on the run too.

 So we're going to spend some time looking at eating out on duty. In the end I want to give people some basic knowledge to help them make the right choices when they have to eat out, particularly fast food.  This will include actual foods available in Lincoln.  Admittedly, I stole this idea from the editors of Eat This Not That. If you are not familiar, the ETNT books are fantastic resources from Men's Health magazine. The concept essentially is damage control or harm reduction. The books assume you are going to eat pizza, burgers, ice cream etc. so the books focus on swapping out unhealthy foods with their more healthy counterparts. It is as if the authors are saying 'if you are going to eat brownies eat this one instead of this other, more calorie laden version'.

                  Vs.






 I use the words 'more healthy' cautiously though.  Just because a food is listed as a 'eat this' food doesn't mean it's a health food.  As an example ETNT suggests  eating Twinkies are a better choice then Cosmic Brownies. It  saves you 130 calories and reduces the amount of sugar and fat you'd be taking in. This does not make Twinkies a food that you should be eating everyday.

 Restaurants are putting alot more information out there about the nutritional content of their food; either online or in brocures inside. If you eat someplace regularly you should take a look at what you are putting in your body. Despite all the resources and information available to help customers make better choices when eating out there is nothing that can beat preparing your own food and bringing it to work for two main reasons.

 1) You control and know what's going into your food

 2) Eating out is expensive

 Eating out on duty is often a matter of convenience and all of us from time to time are going to have to do it. It's much better to eat out then to starve yourself. But if you can make the healthier choice a couple a times week you'll probably be surprised how leaned out you can get. Stay tuned for more on your favorite restaurants.


  

Why do I think this is not an American magzine at all???

  

  

Mud Runs

The latest rage in racing are all the mud/adventure runs.  Overall, these have grown out of fitness industry's newest theme of functionality training.  The races have their roots in military type training in which recruits going through basic training or boot camp would have to complete obstacle courses such as rope climbs, scaling walls, crawling through mud etc.  The courses were not only tests of physical and mental strength but also were intended to imitate battle conditions.  Conventional training such as pushups, situps and road running do get people in shape but they lack that realistic edge/spark of a full blown obstacle course which combines a bunch of different skills.

No surprise the original civilianized mud or obstacle runs required the participants to wear BDU style pants and combat boots.  In today's corporate version people wear your typical runner's gear or sometimes bizarre costumes and stupid Fred Flinstone hats (see below).  The races do have some fun looking obstacles like slides and jumping over flames.  Not surprisingly a lot of the finishers get to drink beer and all kinds of merriment following the race, something I'm sure military participants would have enjoyed.

Be sure to note the each of the races has you fill out a waiver if you get injured during the race.  I'd expect a lot of rolled ankles.  Not to be a downer but there was a death during one of these events in Texas in 2012.

Here's a couple of links to a few of these races in SE Nebraska.  If you know of any other mud runs you can post a link to the race as a comment.

Warrior Dash
Location: Tekamah, NE
Date: June 8, 9 2013
Fee: $55-$80
http://www.warriordash.com/register.php?loc=Nebraska&yr=2013

Spartan Race
Location: Lincoln, NE (Abbott Sports Complex)
Date: October 12, 2013
Fee: $60-$100
http://www.spartanrace.com/nebraska-obstacle-racing-spartan-sprint-2013.html

5k the Hard Way
Location: Fremont, NE
Date: April 20, 2013
Fee: $45
http://5kthehardway.com/

NSC Mud Run
Location: Lincoln, NE (Lancaster Event Center)
Date: August 24, 2013
Fee: $35-50
http://www.nscevents.com/index.php?module=cms&page=15

Said Hats

Don't believe the hype

 In April of 2012 the FDA released a warning letter to ten manufacturers who produce dietary supplements that contain dimethylamylamine (DMAA) that their products may not be safe and possibly no longer be sold.  DMAA is essentially a stimulant and has effects that mimic other popular stimulants such as ephedra and caffeine.  Typically stimulants increase heart rates, blood pressure and have effects on the central nervous system aka 'focus'.  These products are marketed to increase energy levels, burn extra body fat and otherwise get your motor running in the gym.

 Unfortunately, DMAA has been in the news as the cause of about five deaths. Notably there was a 22 year old US Army solider and a 30 year old marathon runner among the deceased.  In the 2012 FDA press release reported that "The agency has received 42 adverse event reports on products containing DMAA. While the complaints do not establish that DMAA was the cause of the incidents, some of the reports have included cardiac disorders, nervous system disorders, psychiatric disorders, and death". In response  to the recent reports several governing bodies have banned DMAA, including Major League Baseball (they're already a mess when it comes to drugs), the World Anti-doping agency, and the NCAA. Additionally products containing DMAA have been removed from all military base stores. 

 What I'm not here to do is bash the sports supplement industry and claim there is some big conspiracy.  We are a drug obsessed culture and the manufacturers are giving us what we want.  We need pills to wake up and pills to go to sleep. Also of the handful of deaths there are thousands of people who take these supplements reportedly symptom free.  Even the Army is not fully convinced saying it is 'too soon' to tell the relationship between DMAA and these deaths.  Finally, people take these supplements because it gives them the results they want.  

 The point here is people should be reading the back of supplement labels as much they read the front.  The sports supplement industry is a multi billion dollar business and they spend a lot of time and money marketing and defending their products.  (Admittedly, most of their ads are laughably stupid. "Are you ready to declare war on the weight room?" and 'Do you want monster extreme totally rad barely legal guns bulging out of your shirts??!!" Um, I guess so.....) I'd suggest talking with your doctor and reading up something before you start any supplementation.

Do You Even Lift Bro?

Sit Right for Your Type Training

Quick announcement for all LPD employees.  Dr Steve Krivolavek of Wellness One here in Lincoln is putting on a training for employees who have to spend most of the day sitting down or driving a car.  Dr Krivolavek will discuss proper posture, seating and hand positions as well as stretching exercises you can do during the shift to eleviate discomfort.  This could be especially helpful if you have to wear a bulletproof vest, a heavy belt on your waist and spend a lot of time in front of a computer tackling that mountain of reportables your beat buddies didn't jump for you.  The training is scheduled for Fri, March 22nd, 1400 to 1530, in LPD Classroom B.  Currently, this training is not available on-line so please send lpd1143 an email if you are interested.

And now a fun cop video that has nothing to do with back injuries

C'mon Torii Hunter

 

In and Out in 4 minutes

Everyone complains that they don't have enough time to workout but the truth is you can get an awesome workout in about 10 minutes of total work. It's called the Tabata Protocol. In 1996, Dr. Izumi Tabata published a study based on research for Japan's Olympic speedskating team. Dr. Tabata had the speedskaters using an interval pattern that required them to exercise at short bursts followed by a quick rest before doing another high intensity interval. What Dr. Tabata found was this type of training improved both the aerobic and anaerobic capacities of the athletes better than your typical 45-60 min steady state cardio. 

To grasp the strengths of Tabata (or any other interval training approach) you need to understand aerobic and anaerobic respiration (that's breathing geniuses). The basic difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise is oxygen, aerobic means with oxygen and anaerobic is without. Aerobic exercise is typically lower intensity but for longer periods of time, think swimming and running longer distances such as 5ks and marathons. Anaerobic exercise is typified by short intense bursts of energy such as powerlifting and sprinting 100m. Neither type is better than the other they simply address different needs. There is a lot more to understanding aerobic/anaerobic exericse (VO2 max, glycogen levels etc.) so Google it some time.

The regminen is simple but brutal: 20 seconds of intense exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest, that's one round or set, to do a complete 'Tabata' is to do 8 rounds of this interval pattern (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off) for a total of 4 minutes. That's one 'Tabata'. In the original research the athletes were using stationary bikes but you can do anything you want. Best advice is to focus on exercises like burpees, squats, pushups, and jumping rope. The goal is that you should doing your 20 sec work intervals at 100%. If you are not panting you ain't doing it right. DISCLAIMER: It will suck.

Of course with any workout you need to warm up for at least 5 minutes to prepare your body. Going from sitting on your bum to 100% can have devastating results on your heart and muscles. So that's how you can get a quality workout in only 10 minutes.

Lastly, there are some cool Tabata timer apps you can download for your iPhone and Android devices. I like this one .  

After titling this post I immediately thought of In N Out burgers, the greatest burgers on earth. They are totally worth doing extra Tabatas and throwing up for. Boom!