Is Building Muscle Bad For Your HEALTH?

"That can't be healthy!"

"But that's bad for your health!"

These are probably the 2 BIGGEST scare tactics anyone
can use to derail you in the chase for the body you want.

And in fact, they can be used by ANYONE, no matter their
current physical status, and no matter if the person is
400 lbs or not, you'll still think twice about what you're
doing.

So, we think it's way past time to give you a way
to get an accurate snapshot of your overall HEALTH
(from a medical standpoint).

Don't you agree?


Revisiting this "Rule Of 3" from the other day, We've wrapped our
heads around the best way to keep a finger on the pulse of your overall,
total health, pun totally intended.

In Rule Of 3, we talked about the 3 basic controls of "health":

1. Work output
2. Substance Input
3. System Stress

From that, and doing some quick fact checking, it looks like you
can get a good idea of your overall "health" from these 3 metrics:

* Blood Pressure
* Height-to-waist ratio
* Shoulder-to-waist ratio

... in which there's a sweet spot for all of these.

For example, aiming for a maximum shoulder to waist, would
mean drug use, which leads to high blood pressure. Going for a super
low height-to-waist ratio would mean no lifting work and likely low
blood pressure due to a prolonged lack of food and blood thinning.

We were thinking of using "pulse rate" instead of blood pressure,
but blood pressure gives you insight into so much more, including
cardiac output AND gives you an idea of the EXTERNAL stressors in
your life (work, family, etc)

Some physical factors of blood pressure are:

* Heart rate
* Volume of fluid or blood volume
* Resistance. (plaque in vessels, diameter of vessels)

Shoulder-to-waist gives you insights into bone health, muscle
tone, coordination, joint health, and probably more. (our best guess
would be the sweet spot here is 1.5-1.7... mainly because you need
a narrower waist to achieve the 1.5)

Height-to-waist gives you insights into "metabolic syndrome"
such as the self-administered portion of high blood pressure,
diabetes, risks of heart disease, high cholesterol, etc

Current research supports a waist-to-height ratio of under 0.5
or a height-to-waist of over 2 for reduced risk of "metabolic
syndrome".

Blood pressure readings are pretty standard and known for "health":

Systolic (Top Number) ==> 90 - 120
Diastolic(Bottom Number) ==>60 - 80

Obviously, you still get your checkups for blood work to
determine other things that could be wrong, but for metrics you can
CONTROL... We can't think of a better 3.

Now, obviously, we're still looking to get the IDEAL body
size and shape, with appropriate leanness and muscularity...

... so don't forget that.

Here's to your Health & Wellness!

Tips For Effective Interval Training

Posted by Bootcamper

You don't have to be a professional athlete to reap the benefits of interval training, where you alternate between bursts of intensive effort and slower recovery periods. In fact, by doing interval walking for a mere 20 minutes every other day, you can boost your metabolism into high gear so that you burn more calories and fat in less time than if you were working out at a steady pace.

And there's another benefit: With interval training, the higher the intensity of the exercise, the longer the afterburn; that is, you will continue to burn more fat and calories even while at rest! Below are eight tips to help you get the most out of your interval training session:

1. Wear shoes that will give you proper support: walking shoes, cross-training shoes, or running shoes. And choose synthetic athletic socks over cotton ones because they wick away moisture and keep your feet dry and blister-free.


2. Begin each session with a short walk at a slow or moderate pace. This allows your muscles to warm up before you start doing your intervals.


3. Be mindful of maintaining good posture while you're walking.


4. Hold your abdominal muscles in tight.


5. Keep your chest lifted and your chin parallel to the ground (leading with your chin while walking can result in neck and back pain).


6. With each step, strike the ground from heel to toe and feel your buttocks(glutes) contract. This will help strengthen your buttocks and the backs of your legs as you walk.


7. Wear a watch or carry a stopwatch to keep track of time so that you can complete the designated number of intervals per session in about 20 minutes.


8. Remember that doing a little is better than nothing. Do what you can at first, and then gradually increase your periods of intensity and total distance.

Once you've mastered interval training and enjoyed the results, you may be tempted to push yourself to do even more. Don't do so, as your body needs to rest and recover on alternate days of the week.

On the days that you're not doing higher intensity interval training, be sure to do a 15- to 20-minute recreational walk when you have the time.