Don’t Worry – Go for a Run!

Cliff Latham
www.clifflatham.com
www.askclifflatham.com
www.collegestationbootcamp.com
www.touchofelements.com/collegestation

Phys Ed: Why Exercise Makes You Less Anxious

Joubert/Photo Researchers, Inc A neuron in the brain.

Researchers at Princeton University recently made a remarkable discovery about the brains of rats that exercise.
Some of their neurons respond differently to stress than the neurons of slothful rats.

Scientists have known for some time that exercise stimulates the creation of new brain cells (neurons)
but not how, precisely, these neurons might be functionally different from other brain cells.

In the experiment, preliminary results of which were presented last month at the annual meeting of the
Society for Neuroscience in Chicago, scientists allowed one group of rats to run. Another set of rodents
was not allowed to exercise. Then all of the rats swam in cold water, which they don’t like to do.
Afterward, the scientists examined the animals’ brains. They found that the stress of the swimming
activated neurons in all of the brains. (The researchers could tell which neurons were activated
because the cells expressed specific genes in response to the stress.) But the youngest brain cells
in the running rats, the cells that the scientists assumed were created by running, were less likely to
express the genes. They generally remained quiet. The “cells born from running,” the researchers
concluded, appeared to have been “specifically buffered from exposure to a stressful experience.”
The rats had created, through running, a brain that seemed biochemically, molecularly, calm.

For years, both in popular imagination and in scientific circles, it has been a given that exercise
enhances mood. But how exercise, a physiological activity, might directly affect mood and
anxiety — psychological states — was unclear.

Now, thanks in no small part to improved research techniques and a growing understanding of the
biochemistry and the genetics of thought itself, scientists are beginning to tease out how exercise
remodels the brain, making it more resistant to stress. In work undertaken at the University of
Colorado, Boulder, for instance, scientists have examined the role of serotonin, a neurotransmitter
often considered to be the “happy” brain chemical. That simplistic view of serotonin has been
undermined by other researchers, and the University of Colorado work further dilutes the idea.

In those experiments, rats taught to feel helpless and anxious, by being exposed to a laboratory
stressor, showed increased serotonin activity in their brains. But rats that had run for several
weeks before being stressed showed less serotonin activity and were less anxious and helpless
despite the stress.

Other researchers have looked at how exercise alters the activity of dopamine, another neurotransmitter
in the brain, while still others have concentrated on the antioxidant powers of moderate exercise.

Anxiety in rodents and people has been linked with excessive oxidative stress, which can lead to cell death,
including in the brain. Moderate exercise, though, appears to dampen the effects of oxidative stress.

In an experiment led by researchers at the University of Houston and reported at the Society for Neuroscience
meeting, rats whose oxidative-stress levels had been artificially increased with injections of certain chemicals
were extremely anxious when faced with unfamiliar terrain during laboratory testing. But rats that had exercised,
even if they had received the oxidizing chemical, were relatively nonchalant under stress. When placed in the
unfamiliar space, they didn’t run for dark corners and hide, like the unexercised rats. They insouciantly explored.

“It looks more and more like the positive stress of exercise prepares cells and structures and pathways within the
brain so that they’re more equipped to handle stress in other forms,” says Michael Hopkins, a graduate student
affiliated with the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Laboratory at Dartmouth, who has been studying how
exercise differently affects thinking and emotion. “It’s pretty amazing, really, that you can get this translation from
the realm of purely physical stresses to the realm of psychological stressors.”

The stress-reducing changes wrought by exercise on the brain don’t happen overnight, however, as virtually every
researcher agrees.

In the University of Colorado experiments, for instance, rats that ran for only three weeks did not show much
reduction in stress-induced anxiety, but those that ran for at least six weeks did. “Something happened
between three and six weeks,” says Benjamin Greenwood, a research associate in the Department of Integrative
Physiology at the University of Colorado, who helped conduct the experiments. Dr. Greenwood added that it was
“not clear how that translates” into an exercise prescription for humans. We may require more weeks of working out,
or maybe less. And no one has yet studied how intense the exercise needs to be.

But the lesson, Dr. Greenwood says, is “don’t quit.” Keep running or cycling or swimming. (Animal experiments have
focused exclusively on aerobic, endurance-type activities.)

You may not feel a magical reduction of stress after your first jog, if you haven’t been exercising. But the molecular
biochemical changes will begin, Dr. Greenwood says. And eventually, he says, they become “profound.”

I got this great question in my inbox this week:

Dear Cliff,

I workout at home 5 days a week but I am getting bored with my same workout.

I currently run 3 miles, do 100 regular crunches, 100 reverse crunches, 50
regular lunges, 50 backwards lunges, 50 push-ups, I do an arm workout with
5 pound dumbbells, and I do 25 squats.

I do not want to lose any more weight but I do want to get really toned.

I would like to know workouts that focus on my abs, my butt and back lower
thighs, inner thighs, and arms. My stomach is flat but now I want more definition.
I also want my butt and lower back thighs, and inner thighs tighter, I want them
to be as tight as possible lol, so when I walk around in my swimsuit I will not be
afraid of cellulite, I don’t think I have cellulite but I am always paranoid that I
will get it. I’ve heard that your arms are one of the fastest muscles to tone.

Although my arms have gotten leaner I would like more definition, like Cameron
Diaz’s arms. She has great arms!

Thanks!
Emily

Actually, that is one of the most popular questions that I receive from women.

But when I answer this question, which I will below, know that it is very challenging for
many women to accept the answer and put it into practice.

Here is my answer:

Weight training advice for women revolves around three “dirty” words that have
no real definition:

Toning
Shaping, and
Sculpting

The way that the word toning is used in magazines, means, “make your muscles
look better without making them bigger.”

Impossible.

There is no way to provide more toned muscles by lifting light weights a lot of
times.  You may lose more fat around the muscle, thus making it look better, but
that’s not a realistic way to look at your muscles.

If your muscles don’t grow, they won’t look any better than they do now, even
if you could strip off whatever fat sits on them.

Then, Shaping offers a different false promise.

Your muscle shape is determined by your genetics.  That was a done deal at
your conception.  You have to pick different parents next time around, if you
don’t like your genetics.

You can’t sculpt muscles you haven’t yet built!

Alright, you want a real world example?

Let’s look at the Boot Camp workout that we did yesterday morning in the park with
about 35-40 people:

Saturday Boot Camp Workout

Warm up Drills

Lifting CIRCUIT:
1 round of 45 seconds each, then 2nd round of 30 seconds each

1. Dumbbell Bent Over Row
2. Dumbell Snatches
3. Dumbbell Lateral Raises
   
4. Dumbbell Push Press
5. Dumbbell Hammer Curl

Exercise under Cone Drill (Round 1)
This is an exercise, where everyone runs down the hill, picks up
a cone, looks at the written exercise, comes back up the hill and
executes the exercise.

Lifting CIRCUIT:
1 round of 45 seconds each, then 2nd round of 30 seconds each

1. Dumbbell Cleans
2. Dumbbell Front Raises
3. Dumbbell Tricep Kickbacks
4. Side Squats with Dumbbell Press
5. Dumbbell Deadlift then High Pulls
6. One Leg Rocket (Lunge and jump up)
   

Exercise under Cone Drill (Round 2)
This is an exercise, where everyone runs down the hill, picks up
a cone, looks at the written exercise, comes back up the hill and
executes the exercise.

Lifting CIRCUIT:
1 round of 45 seconds each, then 2nd round of 30 seconds each

1. Bodyweight Step Overs
2. Back and Front lunge
3. Lying Dumbbell Flies with Crunch
   
4. Dumbell Swing
5. Push Up Complex (differing hand positions)
   
6. Step Ups on Picnic Bench
7. Dips on Bench

Exercise under Cone Drill (Round 3)
This is an exercise, where everyone runs down the hill, picks up
a cone, looks at the written exercise, comes back up the hill and
executes the exercise.

Ab Routine
Stretch

But I Still Want to Sculpt My Muscles!!!

If you want to ’sculpt’, ‘tone’ or ’shape’ your muscles, then you would use weights
that only allow you to do 10-12 reps during those 30-45 seconds.

If you use a 5 pound dumbbell for all the exercises, that is completely fine,
in the beginning, as you will feel better, improve your health, lose fat
(if done quickly enough through the range of motion) and get a great workout.

But you won’t tone, sculpt or shape, after a few weeks of staying at the same weight.

Emily, your answer comes in increasing your weights.

There is no right or wrong workout, even though it should be changed on a
regular basis (everyday or at least every 2-4 weeks).

The above Saturday morning Boot Camp Workout is fine.  I have a thousand of
them, all different, all unique.

But if you did the above workout for a few weeks with much heavier weights,
you would get EXACTLY what you are looking for.

Unless your diet is “off”… and that is fodder for next week’s blog.

I am heading out for a run in the rain… 73 degrees and light rain.  Not a bad morning
to head out.

]]> http://askclifflatham.com/259/259/feed/ 2 http://askclifflatham.com/236/healthy-e-blast-exercise-doesnt-work/ http://askclifflatham.com/236/healthy-e-blast-exercise-doesnt-work/#comments Sun, 16 Aug 2009 11:29:19 +0000 Cliff Latham http://askclifflatham.com/?p=236 New Look

We have updated the look of this blog.

But the links on the right aren’t updated yet.
Coming soon…

Time Magazine Ruffled
a lot of Feathers This Week.

Time Magazine published an article called
Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin this
week.

The authors main assertation is this:
“The basic problem is that while it is
true that exercise burns calories and
that you must burn calories to lose
weight, exercise has another effect:
it can stimulate hunger.

That causes us to eat more, which in
turn can negate the weight-loss benefits
we just accrued.

Exercise, in other words, isn’t necessarily
helping us lose weight.  It may be
making it harder.”

We already knew that!

Look at a linebacker in the NFL.  Big,
strong, fast, but often extra fat on them.

Why?

Because they eat like horses, no matter
how hard they workout.

Remember…

Exercise is just the stimulus that tells our
nutrition plan what to do.

Exercise alone will make us stronger,
faster, more fit, healthier, more vibrant,
more energetic, and less stressed.

And yes, thinner, IF your nutrition plan
is proper.

You cannot outwork a sub-par diet, no
matter how good or ingenious your
exercise plan is.

A proper eating plan can be up to is 80%
of your success, IF your goal is weight loss.

American College of Sports
Medicine Chimes In…

The American College of Sports Medicine
released a statement last Friday saying it
takes “strong exception” to the Time story’s
conclusions.

“Physical activity is one of the most important
behavioral factors in enhancing weight loss
maintenance and improving long-term weight
loss outcomes,” said John Jakicic, who chairs
the ACSM’s committee on obesity prevention.

One expert quoted in the Time piece, Dr. Timothy
Church, said his professional opinions were
misrepresented, according to the ACSM statement.

Another ACSM member, Dr. Janet Rankin, said:
“A practical response to the claim that exercise
makes you eat more and gain weight is to look
around. If this were the case, wouldn’t those who
regularly exercise be the fattest? Obviously, that
isn’t the case.”

Time Magazine was Correct,
But…

CLICK HERE and tell me that exercise isn’t a part
of a successful plan.

If it is true, then we should be able to sit in a chair
all day, never move, eat perfectly and have healthy,
vibrant, fit bodies.

Try it and see how you feel.

You may be skinny, but is THAT a goal?  To have no
energy, but be skinny?

It is a proper balance and combination of both.

It always has been.

Have a GREAT Weekend!
Cliff Latham, M.S.
979-695-6400

Fitness Together Personal Training Studio
Voted BCS’s #1 Trainer Eight Years in a Row 2002-2009
www.clifflatham.com

Elements Therapeutic Massage Studio
3 Locations – College Station, Bryan & Lake Conroe
www.etmBCS.com

We have updated the look of this blog.

But the links on the right aren’t updated yet.

They will be, but I wanted to at least get this out to you this today
before I procrastinated and the day got away from me.

Menopause and Aging Survey

I have a quick survey that I would love help with.

If you are experiencing menopause or are beyond the age of 55, would you mind helping?

I am trying to discover the needs and wants within the realm of fitness, functionality and
nutrition in these categories.

I can guess at them answers, but being a 41 year old male, I am sure I am missing some
information that you would provide.

CLICK HERE to fill out the survey.  Thank you for helping!

Keeping It Simple

I had planned to write an article today called, “How Exercise Works”.

It was getting too lengthy and too complicated.

Too many big words that don’t make a difference in how we exercise.

I remember being at a conference several years ago, listening to one of the geniuses in the
training field.  His speech was on the biomechanics of human movement and although fascinating,
quite complicated.

His take-home-point at the end of the speech was that to improve, you simply have to work
on the movements to the best of your ability.

Huh? 

That was it? 

After an hour of listenting to joint angle movements and limiting muscles?

That seminar flashed back to me when I was writing about “How Exercise Works” this
morning and it was boring!

So I scrapped it and decided to write about Keeping It Simple.

If you keep it simple, you are more apt to do it over a longer period of time.

Go for a run. 

How hard?  Well, how hard can you go?  We could quantify THAT.
BUT, how hard are you willing to go?  How far do you have time to go?
Are you willing to do it everyday? 

That is harder to quantify and the much bigger
reason that we do or don’t do something.

It isn’t because we don’t know that we should go, it is simply because often we don’t want to go.

If you keep the formulas as simple as:  Go Do Something Consistently, then quantifying
speed and progress, isn’t necessary.

Skip the equipment, new watch, new shoes or the perfect weather to go.

I could tell you exactly what to do and the best workout to get the best results.
But are you going to show up to do it?

Keep it simple, because THAT is what matters.

Have a GREAT Weekend!
Cliff Latham, M.S.
979-695-6400

Fitness Together Personal Training Studio
Voted BCS’s #1 Trainer Seven Years in a Row 2002-2008
www.clifflatham.com

Elements Therapeutic Massage Studio Bryan Location NOW Open!
www.etmBCS.com

Would you VOTE FOR US?
The Best of the Brazos is online and you can
vote for 100’s of your favorite local business’.

Please take time to go and place your vote.
I believe voting ends TODAY (I thought it was last week), so
click on the link today….

Do You Have Strength Stamina?

If you move your washing machine away from the wall
to find that elusive sock, you are strong.  Even if it takes you
two hours to move it.

If you move your washing machine away from the wall 
and you can move it quickly, within a matter of seconds,
you have power.

If you happen to have to move the washing machine away from
the wall a half a dozen times, you have strength stamina.

Why does this matter?

Because unless you utilize all three of these energy systems,
in your training, you are going to:

1.  plateau too quickly, lose motivation and quit,
2.  enhance only one aspect of your training,
3.  not get the full compliments of training to reach your goals.

Here is a LOWER BODY workout that combines all three energy
systems, that is a toughie!

Leg Blaster Workout!

Do a total of 5 rounds of the following
No rest in between each exercise
2 minute rest in between each round

1.  STRENGTH – Heavy Barbell Squats – 6 reps (the last one should be a challenge to get up)
2.  STAMINA – Medium weight Barbell Squats – 12 reps (take off 1/2 the weight of the above set)
3.  POWER – Bodyweight Squat Jumps – 20 reps
4.  BALANCE - Bodyweight Squats on a BOSU ball – 20 reps
5.  Sit and flex your quads for 30 seconds

CONGRATULATIONS TO AMANDA LAMPTON!

One of our Fitness Together clients competed in her first Physique Competition
yesterday in Conroe, TX.

To say her changes have been amazing, are an understatement.

I will get pictures and an interview by next week.  It will be worth reading!

Don’t Forget to VOTE by CLICKING HERE!

Have a GREAT Weekend!
Cliff Latham, M.S.
979-695-6400

Fitness Together Personal Training Studio
Voted BCS’s #1 Trainer Seven Years in a Row 2002-2008
www.clifflatham.com

Elements Therapeutic Massage Studio Bryan Location NOW Open!
www.etmBCS.com

Did you know that the average American eats over
2400 calories at a typical barbeque?

That’s alright, it was our nation’s holiday, but now
it is time to work it off… 

Vote For Your Favorite Business
in Bryan/College Station!

 Would you VOTE FOR US?
The Best of the Brazos is online and you can
vote for 100’s of your favorite local business’.

Please take time to go and place your vote.
I believe voting ends at NOON, Monday, July 6th, so
click on the link today….

Success = Longer, Harder or More Often???

I was asked the other day, (as I often do), “I have these
last 10 pounds to lose and I can’t seem to do it, no matter
what I do.”

The answer is simple, the steps are challenging:
Add more intensity, frequency or duration.

Duration:  Go longer?  Maybe, but this is usually my last
choice unless you are training for a marathon. 

But how long is enough?  There is no answer, because it
depends on your goals.  But leave this one till last.

Frequency:  Are you going everyday?  Should you go
twice/day?  A lot of people do.  Is it necessary to go twice/day?
No, but if you are training once everyday, that 2nd workout
can take you to the next level quickly.

Intensity:  This is my favorite.  I used to ride 70+ miles
every Saturday morning (4+ hours) with the local bike
racing team.  I enjoyed the ride immensely.

But not having the time anymore, I opted for a 1.5 hour workout
with a much higher intensity yesterday.

Research shows that 30 minutes or 12 minutes or even 2
minutes at a crazy intensity can almost have the same affect.

So How Would I Train You?

There are many answers and if the top 100 trainers and coaches
wrote an answer, you would have 100 different answers.

And I bet they would all work.

Here is my answer:

Assumptions:  you are relatively fit, injury free and willing to
work hard.  You want to lose those last few stubborn pounds,
so you are willing to work hard.  With that in mind…

Cardio:  Six days/week for 30 minutes max.
Three days of one mode (running), three days of another (biking is great)
Work hard and do intervals.  Mix them up.  Here are three examples:

1/4 mile repeats:  Start with 4 and slowly work your way up to 10 of them.
Each one should tough enough to take you to your individual limit.
Keep the rest periods to one minute.

1 mile repeats:  Start with 2 of them and work until you can do 4.
Keep the pacing even and rest for 3 minutes in between.

Longer, steady state:  between 3-5 miles of steady work at a level
that is challenging, but not over bearing.  Start slowly and build into
a good solid pace.

Make sense?

What Do I Do On The Other 3 Days?

Change your mode.  You could run more, but many people would be
cruising for an injury.  Unless you are an accomplished runner, get on
your bike or in the pool.  And do the same three workouts above, using 
that mode of exercise.

My Strength Training Answers Next Week…

Don’t Forget to VOTE by CLICKING HERE!

Insulin resistance nearly always goes hand-in-hand with a big fat belly.

In fact, the “low-tech” test for insulin resistance is this: If you walk towards a wall, does your belly hit the wall before you do? A guy with a waist over 40 inches and a woman with a waist over 35 inches nearly always have insulin resistance.

Now obviously, it’s not just sugar and carbs that make you fat, but they do send insulin — also known as the “fat storage hormone” — into overdrive. You could eat 10,000 calories a day from coconut oil and you’d be fat as a horse, even though there aren’t any any carbs in it. And you could conceivably get fat and carry most of that fat on your back or your thighs, hips, and butt.

As for beer bellies: Although a lot of beers don’t have a ton of carbs, the belief is that beer may contain estrogenic compounds that cause the fat to accumulate on your body in a pattern that makes you look like Rosie O’Donnell — or Rosie Greer.

Should I Use Pam or Butter?

When I wrote that first newsletter, I promised
that it would be packed full of useful information,
rather than just trying to market or sell.

My gosh has life changed a lot since 1999!

We now have over 13,000 subscribers all over the
world and I still refuse to use this forum to market,
even though I get requests from outside entities to
do so all the time.

I just want to help YOU create the best life
possible, so that you can live the way you were
meant to live.

Having said that…

I would be remiss, if I didn’t share everything that
we are now doing in Bryan and College Station…

New KIDSfit Exercise Program
www.CollegeStationBootCamp.com/kids

Fitness Fashion Show - Coming Soon – stay tuned

New Elements Therapeutic Massage
OPEN in Bryan
www.etmbcs.com $49 Grand Opening Special

Fitness Cruise Challenge
www.clifflatham.com/challenge

EZ8 Running Club – Coming Soon – stay tuned

______________________________________

THINK ABOUT THIS…

You know what is strange?If you have a machine,
any machine, and you use it too much, it breaks
and you have to replace it.Your body?  We have
to use it hard enough to make it better.  Otherwise
it breaks down. 

Within reason, the more we use it, the better it
becomes.

But there becomes this fine balance between
what is not enough and what is too much, in
order to reach your individual goals.

 So how do you know how hard you are suppose
to go?

_________________________________________

IS SPLENDA BAD FOR YOU?

Splenda contains chlorine, which is a proven carcinogen.
Before sucralose was formally approved, research showed
that it caused shrunken thymus glands (up to 40% shrinkage)
and enlarged liver and kidneys.

Research conducted since then documents numbness of male
rats’ hind legs, as well as negative effects on the livers,
spleens and kidneys of laboratory animals.

Additional research has shown that artificial sweeteners,
including sucralose, may actually stimulate appetite.

That’s a real blow to anyone trying to lose weight by using
these sugar substitutes!

_________________________________________

TRY THIS WORKOUT!

3 rounds of 1 minute each

Dumbbell High Pull
Dumbbell Good Mornings
Dumbbell Squats
Dumbbell Swan Dives

1 x 800 meter repeat as fast as possible

1 round of each: 40-30-20 reps of…
Dumbbell Heavy Pants
Dumbbell Push Press
Dumbbell Cleans

Have a GREAT Weekend!

Cliff Latham, M.S.
979-695-6400

Fitness Together Personal Training Studio
Voted BCS’s #1 Trainer Seven Years in a Row 2002-2008
www.clifflatham.com

Elements Therapeutic Massage Studio
Bryan Location NOW Open!
www.etmBCS.com

A young lady walked through the front studio door a couple
of weeks ago literally beating herself up.

“I have to lose weight NOW,” she said.

I aked her why she had to lose weight NOW.

“Are you kidding me? Look at me. I just have to get
rid of this stuff,” as she grabbed her stomach.

This girl didn’t have much, if anything, to lose, I promise you.
I suppose she could have toned up a little if she wanted;
she certainly could improve her performance in a sport if
she played one, heck, she could get “ripped” if she really
wanted to.

But only if she really WANTED to change.

There’s a BIG difference between wanting to do something
and having to do something and we pressure ourselves
into believing that we HAVE to:

• Look perfect
• Lose every ounce of fat
• Look like someone else that we know.
  

What do you WANT to do?

I mean, what do you really enjoy? Because if you don’t
really want it, you’ll never get it.

And if you do begrudgingly get it, it won’t last.

Runners run because they like to run. And weight loss is
just a side benefit. So become a runner because you like to run.

Bodybuilders lift often and diet insanely because they want
an amazing body. They’d never get there if they felt like they
had to.

If you want to get a phenomenal six-pack set of abs, improve
your health, decrease your marathon time or lose 50 pounds,
the steps are simple. But you have to really want to do it first,
not because you felt like you had to.

And then you need to take all the necessary steps to get
there. The hard part, true, but it always works. Everytime.

 
Announcing the Summer Fitness
Cruise to the Caribbean!

We are hosting a 12-week contest, starting June 1st 
that is based on accountability and actions, rather
than  just results.

One hard working winner and their spouse will
win a Caribbean cruise WITH all the FT
trainers in September.

And EVERYONE else is invited to join
us as well!

Click HERE for all the details!

Quote of the Week
“Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection
is demoralizing.”
~Harriet Braiker~

Have a GREAT week!

Cliff Latham, M.S.
www.clifflatham.com
979-695-6400

If you dress in a certain outfit, you do so because
it brings you pleasure.

In ANY number of ways.

If you drive a car, it is the car you chose because
it brings you pleasure.

Because it was affordable, practical or stylish.

If you eat broccoli, it isn’t because you DIDN’T want pizza.

It was because you felt the postive outcome would be
more pleasurable.

Everything that we do in life is to gain pleasure
and to avoid pain.  That is how we are made.

If you associate short or long term pain with an
action, you will eventually avoid it.

I have yet to ever see success in someone who
routinely claimed, “I hate exercise”.  Further
drilling the painful connection to exercise into
your mind will never allow a positive outcome.

Final exams in school were painful.
But we did it for the final outcome, which was
a diploma which brought us pride, a career and
a sense of accomplishment that was worth the
years of pain.

Fitness Cruise

Want to REALLY enjoy Life?
Announcing the Summer Fitness
Cruise to the Caribbean!

We are hosting a 12-week contest, starting June 1st 
that is based on accountability and actions, rather
than  just results.

One hard working winner and their spouse will
win a Caribbean cruise WITH all the FT
trainers in September.

And EVERYONE else is invited to join
us as well!

More details are coming next week once
the website is up and final plans are
arranged

STAY TUNED…

Cliff Latham, M.S.
www.clifflatham.com
979-695-6400