Can you still get results when only working out for 30 minutes or less?

The Roles hormones and the Central Nervous System play during your workouts.

Who are Roger Bannister and Jordan Jovchev?

Not bad for a couple of guys who only worked out for 30 minutes a day.

Autumn is probably one of my favorite seasons.  Unfortunately if you’re like me its also the time of year I start to be a little more loose wit my eating habits.  I’m a big fan of Halloween myself.  So for all the other computer geeks out there interested in shedding a couple pounds before the upcoming fat season, Ive decided to present to you Warp Speed Fat Loss.

First off, Warp Speed Fat Loss is a very cool concept. The idea that you have in your hands the exact step by step rapid weight loss blueprint that can help you lose 8lbs in the first week and up to 21lbs in just 28 days is very exciting.

Warp Speed Fat Loss is broken up into two main parts - diet and training. The good thing is you can be a complete idiot in both areas and still lose as boatload of weight since everything is laid out for you.

In regards to the diet. It is put together by nutritionist and fat loss master Mike Roussell. Mike has created a ton of different “diet levels” so all you need to do is 1. Know your body weight and 2. Print out the 28 day diet plan for that body weight. If you don’t like the foods Mike picked out that is okay as he made some really easy to follow videos that show you how to add your favorite foods to his diets.

The training part of Warp Speed Fat Loss isn’t a walk in the park; but if anyone told you that you could lose 20lbs of fat in just 4 weeks without a solid exercise program they’d be telling you lies. It isn’t like you have to spend your whole day in the gym either as each of the workouts are over in less than 57 minutes.

The Warp Speed Fat Loss program has already given hundreds of people results were nothing short of phenomenal. If you are looking for a brain dead simple guaranteed way to lose weight fast then definitely check out Warp Speed Fat Loss. You can pick up your copy at Warp Speed Fat Loss.

One of my most favorite events in the Olympic games has to be Gymnastics.  Probably because it is a perfect example of mastering the human body and what it can do.

When it comes to Men’s Rings Yibing Chen and Wei Yang are the two best in the world right now.

If you watched the Rings finals you may have noticed that every single competetor was, for lack of a better adjective, “jacked”.

How do they get these completely developed physiques?

They don’t do biceps curls or triceps push downs.

They do not have a “shoulders” day.

In fact, when it comes to their training, the asthetics of their physique is the last thing they are concerned with.  They train completely to be the best at what they do.  When you train to be the best at something you can not afford to waste time.  You can not afford to waste energy.  Everything useless gets tossed and only the truly important and effective techniques are used.

It’s something to think about next time you take to the gym.  Could you be doing something more effective with your time and energy.

Anyway, if you’re interested in doing some bad ass ring training go here.

BBC news revealed a shocking discovery earlier this week.  A group of crazy "scientists" have now discovered that exercise may in fact be good for the elderly.

Running can slow down aging

 "The work tracked 500 runners for more than 20 years, comparing them to similar groups of non-runners.  All were in their 50s at the start of the study.  Nineteen years into the study, 34% of the non-runners had died compared to only 15% of the runners".

Truly amazing.  Next thing you know they’ll be trying to tell us that exercise can improve sports ability or lower your cholesterol.

In one of his most recent blog posts uber geek Kevin Rose highlighted Olympic athlete Darra Torres and her secret weapon; Resistance Stretching.

I admit, I haven’t done much reading into Resistance Stretching but it looks to be based on some sound principals of human movement and physiology.

I’ll keep my eye open for any continuing research on the subject.  Until then Im happy with the results I get from a combination of SMR, Dynamic Flexibility, and Static Stretching.

The Blog of Kevin Rose

I recommend watching the accompanying video as well. 

Ok, so last time I went over a few of the "lo-tech" strategies for dealing with knee pain so naturally today I will progress to the more "mid-tech" approach.

 This means toys and tools.

 Let’s take a look.

This is what we’ll call a foam roller.  It looks innocent enough doesn’t it?

This one is simply called "the stick".  Not glamorous sounding but it will get the job done.

   And finally we have a plain old tennis ball.  Cheap and effective.

As I mentioned in the previous installment, knee pain is mostly a symptom of what is going on in the tissues above and below the joint itself.  Using these tools will help us penetrate and alleviate some of the overactive muscles associated with this type of pain.

I like self massage because it’s cheap and it allows you to do it more frequently than you would when dealing with a massage therapist.  The two types of self massage I will be going over are scanning/holding and basic full stroke massage.

1.  Scanning and Holding:  You’ll use this technique to scan your muscles for any "trigger points".  A trigger point is essentially a knot that will prevent the muscle from performing its function normally.  You’ll scan the entire length of the muscle, once a trigger point is found, you want to hold pressure on that spot for no less than 30 seconds (this can be very painful).  Any of the three tools mentioned above can be used for this method.  

2.  Full Stroke Massage:  Getting rid of trigger points can take several days or even weeks.  If you’ve eliminated all trigger points within a muscle it is then time for some tissue quality maintenance.  Here you’ll use either the stick or the foam roller to perform long smooth strokes from the top of the muscle to the bottom.  It’s best if you perform from 8 - 10 strokes.

If we’re dealing with knee pain the main muscles we’ll want to manipulate are the …

• Quadriceps
• IT Band (long sheath of fibrous tissue that runs the outside length of your leg)
• Calves/Peroneals

Quadriceps                                                      IT Band

Calves/Peroneals

Tips

• Trigger points often return.  Become aware of your trouble areas.
• Although the technique is expected to be a little painful.  Do not push yourself past your own threshold.
• The more often you perform self massage the better.  Frequency is key.
• Combine self massage before stretching for even better results.  (see first article)
• Try to incorporate some self massage before your regular workout routine.

Being able to bend at the hips is extremely crucial if you want to avoid future back or knee pain.

Using the One Leg Dead Lift teaches your body to decelerate (lower) your trunk using the strong efficient gluteus muscles and hamstrings.  This is the natural pattern your body was designed to do. 

It may be hard to do at first but keep practicing.  Years of sitting can do some pretty bad damage to the proper motor patterns your body should follow.  The more you repeat this movement the more you’ll groove back those primitive neural pathways that allow you to do this without thinking.

Tips:

1.  If you can, do the exercise without shoes on.  Shoes tend to put you into a foot forward flexed position which is what you don’t want when trying to learn primitive motor patterns. Think caveman.

2.  Brace your abs but keep your breathing natural. (also takes practice)

3.  Shift your weight back and keep your heel down.

4.  Keep your low back flat and your hips level with each other.

5.  When you come back up try and squeeze your butt cheeks at the top.

Primary muscles worked.

• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Spinal Erectors (stabilizing)