This Weeks Top Tip

Applying a forward lean when performing the Seated Leg Curl will help to make this exercise more effective by recruiting a higher proportionate of muscle fibers and allowing for a greater stretch at the top of the movement.

12 Reasons Gluten Should Be Eliminated From Your Diet

The following article was written by world renowned health and strength coach Charles Poliquin. I explain to all my clients why they should ideally eliminate gluten from their diet.

Charles Poliquin has written 12 reason why it should be eliminated if you're sensitive to gluten.

"Gluten is a protein found in most grains eaten in America and all over Europe. For most people gluten intake will come from wheat products, but as well from barley, triticale, rye, oats, spelt. Oats are supposed by nature to be gluten free, however, they get cross-contaminated by being carried in trucks that also carry wheat. You should also know that American strands of wheat have the highest content of gluten in the World.

Gluten has been isolated as a risk factor is so many diseases, that is almost impossible to count them all. At the time of writing this blog, the functional medicine circle has isolated at least 55 diseases linked to it.

I have to pick 12 main reasons to eliminate gluten from your diet:

1. Gluten inflames the brain. The auto-immune response to ingesting inflames the brain. It deposits a type of plaque that interferes with proper communication between cells. Gluten is so bad for brain function that I know of at least one Formula One stable who bans their pilots from eating it.

2. The glutamate content in gluten kills brain cells. Glutamate is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites brain cells, which either damages or kills them. Its docking station in the brain is called the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor). Excessive excitation of this receptor is linked to many psychiatric disorders.

3. Gluten has been linked to autism. EVERY single client who came in for a consult to help their autistic child, have seen that the removal of gluten that the most influential factor to heal their child. They can also see how reintroducing gluten by accident, such as birthday cake consumption at a friend’s place immediately flares up all behavioral changes associated with autism.

4. Gluten is associated to osteo-arthritis. Removal of gluten from the diet, immediately attenuates pain levels.

5. Gluten can induce depression. The inflammatory responses associated with gluten consumption can induce depressive symptoms. No amount of meditation or talk therapy will get you off depression if you are gluten sensitive. Fixing your biology is crucial before undergoing any psychotherapy.

6. Gluten will ramp down your thyroid. Food intolerance to gluten has been shown negatively affect thyroid function.

7. Avoid developing celiac disease. In order to develop celiac disease, you need three things 1) genetic predisposition 2) an environmental trigger such as surgery, excessive stress, or a virus 3) a diet that contains gluten. If you avoid gluten, you cannot develop celiac disease.

8. Gluten aggravates menopausal symptoms.  All functional medicine practitioners will agree that removing gluten from the diet lowers dramatically the frequency and severity of the symptoms traditionally associated with menopause such as night sweats, hot flashes, headaches, mood swings, and fatigue.

9. Gluten is associated with accelerated aging. For example, dermatologist Nicholas Perricone M.D., points that the inflammation associated with wheat leads to faster wrinkling processes, and avoidance of wheat leads to faster skin regeneration.

10. Gluten exacerbates auto-immune diseases symptoms. Multiple studies have shown that removal of gluten from the diet lowers all symptoms commonly seen with auto-immune diseases.

11. Gluten weakens tooth enamel and leads to cavities. Consumption of gluten has been linked to more frequent tooth decay and loss of tooth enamel.

12. Gluten negatively affects body composition. When one stops eating gluten, BioSignature practitioners see immediate drops in subscapular, mid-axillary, umbilical, and supra-illiac sites. That is because gluten raises insulin dramatically and since it is also a strong allergen raises cortisol. The combination of raising both hormones leads to central obesity." - Charles Poliquin

This Weeks Top Tip - Leaner Legs

 For women who store excess fat on their legs, adding watercress into the diet can have a dramatic impact on leaning out the legs. The legs are a fat storage site for those people who have problems with high circulating levels of estrogen. 

Watercress is heavily rich in indole-3-Carbinol (I3C) and B-phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) two compounds that help to detoxify estrogen out of the body.

I recommend consuming a bag (60-75g) to two bags per day of watercress for 8 days then to take 8 days off, then repeat.

I've had great success using watercress and had one client drop her quadricep skinfold by 10mm in a week and another drop 9.6mm in 9 days!!

Start adding watercress to your meals to see the benefits for yourself

This Weeks Top Tip

According to a new study reported last Friday in the Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society, daily doses of raw or heat-treated ginger effectively relieved muscle aches and discomfort - and that includes even severe pain following strenuous exercise.

The scientists worked with 74 student volunteers who were divided into three groups. One group was given raw ginger, one group received heated ginger and the third group received a fake ginger placebo.

Muscle pain was induced in the volunteers by having them perform 18 eccentric muscle exercises. Then the research subjects were tested on 11 consecutive days to see if those taking the ginger had reduced muscle aches and pains. And they did -- dramatically. 

The results showed that both raw and heat-treated ginger lowered muscle pain intensity by 25 and 23 percent, respectively. 

Source: New Study Reports Ginger Effective For Muscle Pain Relief

This Weeks Top Tip - Squatting

The squat is an excellent exercise for adding size and strength to the lower body. It also has a fantastic carry over for most sports and will help improve performance in just about any lower dominate sport.

However having said that you need to earn the right to squat. 

Squatting isn't as simple as placing a barbell on your back and bending down with the knees. It's about engaging the whole body and for the body to move as a unit. I see people day in, day out placing the squat in their workout and the truth is, only about 2% of these people are able to squat with proper technique.

For the other 98% of you I strongly suggest leaving the squat for a few months to focus on structural balance and remedial work.

I structural balance every client of mine to see what imbalances both tension and muscular they have. To date I've only seen two people who have demonstrated proper technique for squatting. In most cases people will be tight in the hips causing them to lean forward. Many people have tight calves stopping them from keeping their heels on the floor and almost certainly, people have one leg stronger than the other - performing a squat with imbalances only increases the risk for injury and limits the training effect.

For those of you who are unsure of correct technique when it comes to performing a squat, ask any well qualified personal trainer and they should be able to help. Alternately you can locate a PICP 2 qualified strength coach and they'll be able to test for lower body discrepancies, recommend advice and have you squatting within about 8-10 weeks.

For locating a PICP Strength Coach please visit the following site:
http://www.charlespoliquin.com/TrainerDirectory/FindaCoach.aspx

This Weeks Top Tip

When Performing any pressing movements using dumbells, such as the flat dumbell press, it's best to take a semi supinated grip (palms facing in towards the body) instead of a pronated one (palms facing away from the body).

There are several advantages to this grip:

1. A semi supinated grip places less stress through the should joint. i.e it's safe for the shoulder
2. It allows for a greater stretch in the bottom position and greater range of motion
3. It recruits a higher percentage of muscle fibers of the chest and studies have shown it to develop quicker strength gains than using a pronated grip.

 

When teaching clients any dumbell pressing movements I always teach them the benefits of a semi supinated grip. Although some are reluctant, within a week they can all see an improvement.

Training Built Upon Science

Fish oil was shown to decrease symptoms of depression when supplemented by adolescent boys who were experiencing depressive states. 

This is the latest study to demonstrate the anti-depressive qualities of supplementing fish oil.

Source:  Kentaro Murakami, Yoshihiro Miyake,  Satoshi Sasaki, Keiko Tanaka, Masashi Arakawa, Fish and n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intake and Depressive Symptoms: Ryukyus Child Health Study, PEDIATRICS (doi:10.1542/peds.2009-3277)

Now Writing For MyProtein.com

Over the last month I've been given the opportunity to write for a large UK based supplement company, My Protein. This is a great step for my future career as a strength coach and personal trainer.

The article is on the topic of Omega 3 and the importance it has on our health. It has been featured in their September news letter and been sent out to over 250,000 readers

You can check it out at the following link - Amazing Omega

This Weeks Top Tip

A recent study suggests by drinking four cups of an inexpensive, readily available green tea may help strip excess body weight. The study found that green tea as capsules or tea significantly reduced 2.5kgs of body weight over 8 weeks.

Source: Hursel R, Viechtbauer W, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. The effects of green tea on weight loss and weight maintenance: a meta-analysis. Int J Obes (Lond). 2009 Sep;33(9):956-61.

Top Tip For Tricep Training

The tricep muscle is comprised of three different heads - the long, lateral and medial head. It's impossible to purely isolated a single head of the tricep, however by the orientation of the upper arm in relation to gravity and to the body, you can affect the percentage of recruitment of each head.

For Example:

From Incline to Perpendicular - the further away your arms are from your navel, the greater the recruitment of the long head of the triceps.
E.g Seated French Presses, Overhead Tricep Extension w/rope.

Flat - Exercises in a flat position tend to recruit more the lateral and long head of the triceps.
E.g Close Grip Bench Press, Lying EZ Bar Tricep Extensions

Decline - The closer your arms are to your torso the greater the contribution of the medial head of the triceps at the top position. At the bottom position the lateral head does most of the work.
E.g Decline Close Grip Bench Press, Decline EZ Bar Tricep Extension.

You may also want to consider hand position. As a general rule, pronating the grip (palms down) increases recruitment of the the lateral head and a supine grip (palms up) increases recruitment of the medial head.

Knowing this information will hopefully add value to your workouts and place new size and strength onto your triceps!