Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Workout of the Day:
Take approximately 10-12 minutes to work up to approximately 85% of your 1-RM deadlift;
and then,
Every four minutes, for a total of eight sets, complete the following as quickly as possible:
Deadlift x 3 reps (use approximately 85% of your 1-RM)
Box Jumps x 12 reps
Sprint 200 Meters

(Rest the remainder of the 4 minute cycle.  Record the time to completion in each of the 8 sets.)

Chanel rocked last weekend's Invictus Athletes' Challenge

Fats: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – Part One
Written by Nichole DeHart

There are lots of rumors floating around about fat. Rumors like “you must go on a low fat diet to lose weight” and “one must cut out the fat to lose fat.” These are hideous lies. Fats are our friend, in fact our best friend. Consuming healthy fats (aka, “good fats”) supports optimal function of all the systems in the body and helps one feel satisfied. But it is important to distinguish between the good, the bad and the ugly fats. What, exactly, are the bad fats?

Trans, Hydrogenated and Partially Hydrogenated Fats: These fats are very similar to each other and are toxic to the body. These fats (which are not quite the same, but are similarly destructive) are created by heating and chemically treating vegetable and seed oils. The fats are then rendered solid, thereby extending their shelf life. Here is where their destructiveness takes place in the body: these fats easily oxidize to form free radical chain reactions that actually damage cell membranes and body tissue as well as compromise immune function. Free radicals are incomplete, unstable molecules and can cause damage to the cell membrane, vessel wall and even the DNA nucleus of the cell. Since most systems of your body are composed of membranes (vascular system, nervous system) they can be severely damaged by these free radical chain reactions.

Basically, hydrogenated fats change the permeability of the cell membrane and can cause the cell to malfunction. This is something you want to avoid since the cell membrane basically runs the show. The membrane receives feedback from the outside environment and acts accordingly to the information received. Consuming these partially hydrogenated fats, however, trick your cell membranes. You are now replacing your once beautiful, natural molecules with ugly, synthetic, dysfunctional molecules and the once intricate signaling system of the cell membrane has now been compromised. Yikes. The consistent ingestion of these dangerous fats can lead to diet related cancers, inflammation, can promote aging, can lead to obesity and possibly premature death.

So how do you avoid these trans, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats?  Don’t eat processed food.

Bad fats are found in almost every processed food found at your grocery store. These include pastries, packaged snacks, frozen dinners, breakfast foods, even grain products! It is estimated that about 40% of all products in a typical supermarket contain partially hydrogenated oils. When grocery shopping, avoid going down the aisles where most of the hydrogenated fats are located. Instead, shop the perimiter of the store where you can buy real food. Make a habit of turning your item over and reading the ingredients label. If there are more than three things listed under ingredients, your best bet is to put it back on the shelf. Better yet, buy products that don’t need an ingredient label, like anything in the produce department and the deli section.

Now don’t get all crazy on me after you’ve read about these bad fats and cut fat out completely. Your body does need fats but it needs the healthy kind. On Thursday I will help provide you with a quick overview on why your body needs good fats (essential fatty acids) and what you can eat to obtain these Omega-3 fatty acids.