Mechano Growth Factor

Scientists in the UK and Denmark have shown that elderly men are capable of dramatically increasing their muscle mass.

All it takes is some growth hormone and some deep knee bends (elderly man speak for squats).

Growth hormone???

Isn’t that the same stuff Barry Bonds was (allegedly) self-medicating with?

Well, yeah, but it’s okay because….because the doctor says so.

In fact, study researcher Dr. Geoff Goldspink says that this reseach “raises the question: Can age-related loss of muscle strength and increased fragility be ameliorated by the therapeutic application of mechano growth factor (MGF)?”

Question 1:

Is it morally acceptable to demonize athletes for taking GH or MGF or all manner of anabolic steroids and then turn around and put Grandpa on the juice?

Answer:

Next Question

Question 2:

What the heck is MGF?

Answer:

According to the Dr. Goldspink, MGF is a local muscle growth/repair factor (MGF).

This  means that MGF is produced locally in response to mechanical stress and acts on those muscle fibers that produce it. And once released, that local MGF pulse lasts for a few days.

It  is derived from the insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) gene by alternative splicing, but, owing to a reading frame shift, MGF has a unique C-terminal peptide. After resistance exercise, the IGF-I gene is spliced towards MGF which ‘‘kick starts’’ hypertrophy and repair of local muscle damage by activating the muscle stem cells as well as anabolic processes.

When you stretch your muscles during exercise, they start pumping out your own supply of MGF. That activates the stem cells that are already present in your muscles. And once “activated, these progenitor cells begin to divide, creating additional muscle fibres and increasing the size and strength of the muscle”.

Interestingly, loss of muscle mass in old age and in certain diseases is associated with an impaired ability to express MGF. In these conditions it seems that the muscle stem (satellite) cell pool is not adequately replenished.

Question 3: I’m young and loaded with growth hormone. Where do I get some of this MGF to kick start my anabolic process?

Answer:

• Option 1 – You can buy a synthetic version of MGF on the internet. (link is strictly for illustration purposes. I am not advocating buying MGF on the web) Currently it’s expensive, but the price is expected to drop in the coming months.
  

And yes, this stuff is already popular amongst bodybuilders, strength athletes, professional ball players, old men aching to strut their stuff on the beach… In fact, the combination of IGF and MGF is preferred by many performance enhancement gurus over the use of straight GH as an anabolic agent.

• Option 2 – Research has shown that MGF is a stretch sensitive growth factor. And not just any old 30 second static stretch. Both MGF and IGF respond much more strongly to clclic/dynamic stretching than to static stretching. This research jibes well with the research that shows eccentric resistance exercises to have a very powerful effect on MGF production. This makes sense as it combines muscle lengthening with increased mechanical stress (load).

So, what does this mean to you?

If you want to naturally increase your production of MGF and IGF and get bigger and stronger and more powerful, you need to stretch your muscles under load.

I would like to suggest 2 different methods to achieving this goal.

1. Eccentric weight training.
2. Resistence Stretching ala Dara Torres

But remember, this is bleeding edge science kind of stuff. Listen to your body and don’t do anything stupid. Also, go see your doctor for a check-up…turn and cough

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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Related Posts

• 1,000,000,001 Different Ways to Squat
• Do You Wanna Get Big and Strong?…Phase 1
• 1,000,000,001 Different Ways to Train your Chest
  
• Tabata Workouts WILL Cause Fat Loss
• Tabata Training 101
• HIIT: The Aerobic version
• 4 Steps to a Great HIIT Workout
• Power training
• Muscular strength made simple
• Components of Physical Fitness

Reference

• MGF Study 1
• MGF Study 2
• MGF Study 3
• MGF Study 4
• MGF STudy 5
• More MGF info
• MGF Study 6
• Science Daily

Obesity, Disease, Politics & Power

stock photo of anonymous obese woman - credit: Trust for America's Health

According to the most recent CDC data, America is fatter than ever.

And, according to the CDC and the media and the Trust for America’s Health, things are only getting worse:

And, as I reported in a previous post, by 2048, researchers have projected that ALL Americans will be overweight or obese.

Wow!

This obesity epidemic sounds pretty dire.

So, what are we going to do?

Do we go it alone as individuals or do we come together as a community and try to whip our collective selves into shape?

In previous posts, I have discussed how some progressive public officials have used public funds to equip public parks with outdoor fitness equipment.

And on a personal level, I have also begun discussing my plans for no-cost / low-cost public fitness classes with various levels of government up here in Canada……frustrating, mind-numbing discussions full of  political B.S., but what can you do, they’re politicians.

But what about the big boys?

The guys with the connections and the money and the influence. What do those guys think we should do about America’s (the world’s) Obesity Epidemic?

In their annual report (F as in Fat), the Trust for America’s Health has:

1. A series of recommendations to make preventing and reducing obesity a central objective of health reform, and
2. It also calls for a National Strategy to Combat Obesity.

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1.   The Recommendations for Preventing/Reducing Obesity

Alright, sounds great…if you believe in publicly funded health care

2.   National Strategy to Combat Obesity

pdf version

Once again, sounds great to all of those people who voted for Pres. Obama.

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So, why do I feel apprehensive about this national strategy to combat obesity?

• Does America really need a national strategy to combat obesity?
• Does the USDA need expanded powers over national nutrition standards?
• Does Medicare require additional funding for obesity-related coverage?

At present, the USDA heavily subsidizes the very foods that have driven the rise in obesity.

Instead of giving them more power, perhaps they could be encouraged to shift their funding away from corn, wheat, rice, soy & sugar and towards fruits, vegetables and animal proteins that provide a better nutrient to calorie ratio.

Instead of classifying obesity as a disease and increasing medicare funding to include more obesity drug prescriptions and surgeries, perhaps the government could shift some money away from obesity treatment and towards obesity prevention.

Those are the types of big government initiatives that I could get behind.

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Thus endeth the rant.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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Related Posts

• Tabata Workouts WILL Cause Fat Loss
• Omega 3s – Why you need them and how to get them
  
• Is Your Diet Giving You Alzheimer’s Disease?
• Why Are Omega 3s Better Than Statins?
• High Carb Diet = Heart Attack
• HIIT is your best choice for burning off Belly Fat
• The status-quo is broken…We need a new model for burning fat and getting fit

Reference

• Full Report pdf
• Executive Summary – pdf

Happy Canada Day

Happy 142nd birthday Canada!!!

High Carb Diet = Heart Attack

IHOPs Butterscotch Rocks Pancake....mmmmmm distended brachial arteries

For the first time in medical history, researchers have been able to visualize what happens inside our arteries before, during and after eating high carb foods.

And it ain’t a pretty sight.

Looking inside the arteries of students eating a variety of foods, Dr. Michael Shechter ( Tel Aviv University)  visualized exactly what happens inside the body when the wrong foods for a healthy heart are eaten.

He found that foods with a high glycemic index resulted in distended brachial arteries for several hours.

Dr. Shechter continues:

Elasticity of arteries anywhere in the body can be a measure of heart health.

But when aggravated over time, a sudden expansion of the artery wall can cause a number of negative health effects, including reduced elasticity, which can cause heart disease or sudden death.

So, let’s recap:

High GI foods (bread, sugar, desserts, pop, pizza, cereal, 99% of the food sold at any fast food restaurant…) leads to distended brachial arteries which can lead to heart attacks which can lead to death.

The Science

Using 56 healthy volunteers, the researchers looked at four groups.

1. Group One ate a cornflake mush mixed with milk,
2. Group Two ate a pure sugar mixture,
3. Group Three ate bran flakes,
4. Group Four was given a placebo (water).

Over four weeks, Dr. Shechter applied his method of “brachial reactive testing” to each group. The test uses a cuff on the arm, like those used to measure blood pressure, which can visualize arterial function in real time.

The results were dramatic. Before any of the patients ate, arterial function was essentially the same. After eating, except for the placebo group, all had reduced functioning.

Enormous peaks indicating arterial stress were found in the high glycemic index groups: the cornflakes and sugar group.

“We knew high glycemic foods were bad for the heart. Now we have a mechanism that shows how,” says Dr. Shechter. “Foods like cornflakes, white bread, french fries, and sweetened soda all put undue stress on our arteries.

We’ve explained for the first time how high glycemic carbs can affect the progression of heart disease.”

During the consumption of foods high in sugar, there appears to be a temporary and sudden dysfunction in the endothelial walls of the arteries.

Endothelial health can be traced back to almost every disorder and disease in the body.

It is “the riskiest of the risk factors,” says Dr. Shechter.

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So how come my doctor tells me to eat cereal for breakfast?

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Sadly, Mikey never made it past his 25th birthday.

Damn you Life brand cereal, damn you.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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Related Posts

• Obesity, Diabetes, Insulin Resistance and Vitamin K
• Omega 3s – Why you need them and how to get them
  
• Is Your Diet Giving You Alzheimer’s Disease?
• Why Are Omega 3s Better Than Statins?
• Sexy Supplement of the Month: Vitamin D
• Atkins Diet for Vegans
• The status-quo is broken…We need a new model for burning fat and getting fit

Reference

• Journal of the American College of Cardiology
• Press Release – American Friends Tel Aviv University

Biggest Loser + Dancing with the Stars + Big Brother = Dance Your Ass Off

Coming to a tv set near you…. twelve contestants weighing nearly 3,000 lbs…..with one common goal….. “to go from an eating machine to a dancing machine…. in Oxygen’s new dance/weight loss competition series Dance Your Ass Off, hosted by TONY Award®-winning actress Marissa Jaret Winokur“.

Marissa Jaret Winokur

Bringing dance and diet together, Dance Your Ass Off features talented, full-figured contestants who will have to lose to win.

Each contestant is paired with a professional dance partner who will train him or her for weekly stage performances — ranging from Hip Hop, to Ballroom and even Pole Dancing!

Then they shake and rattle their rolls in front of a live studio audience and a panel of expert judges.

The judges score the routines, and then the contestants weigh in to reveal their weekly weight loss. The dance score and the weight loss are combined for an overall score, which determines who is sent home each week.

….and the winner of the show gets $100,000

Of course, in addition to their professional dance partner, the contestants are provided with their own individual lofts, a doctor, nutritionist, fitness trainer, choreographer, costume designer, Photoshop expert and a “well-stocked common room that features an “eat” cabinet full of fruits and healthy snacks, and a “cheat” cabinet full of doughnuts, potato chips and candy bars.

So, here’s my question:

As the contestants “shake and rattle their rolls” towards health, fitness and $100,000, are we supposed to be laughing with them….

….or laughing at them?

hahahahahahahaha….white people dancing

Anyway, the show starts tonight on the Oxygen network.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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Related Posts

• Ryan Seacrest and Jamie Oliver take on America’s Obesity Epidemic
• The Evolution of Health Habits
• The Politics of Obesity
• A Better Way to Health & Fitness
• Obama’s stimulus bill and Health Care
• Fat babies become fat kids become…
• HIIT: The Cure for Obesity

Reference

• DYAO
• Boston Herald

CHICKEN TARRAGON BURGERS

On my recent travels I had a great time exploring and enjoying all the delicious French food. If you saw Top Chef Master’s on Wednesday night last  you got a taste of how serious French chefs are. Their training is like the military; structured, no-nonsense, all about technique, full of pride. A lot of my meals in France contained tarragon, a classic French cooking favorite. No stranger to Irish cuisine, it’s taste is similar to anise and licorice and is often combined with fresh parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil, otherwise known as fines herbes. Besides its unique taste, tarragon has a long history of health benefits, such as treating stomach cramps as a digestive aid while promoting a healthy appetite. Gotta love it when your food does double duty.

I was inspired by the tastes of France to liven up an American staple, the burger. These are made with ground chicken, an excellent low-fat alternative to high-fat mince. Having a barbecue this 4th of July? Try them as sliders. Don’t stop there–continue the Mediterranean journey with a mixed green & fennel salad. Can you tell I’m ready to go back?

BURGER RECIPE:
Serves 4
4 x 4-6 oz burgers (approx 1-1½ lb) ground chicken
¾ cup red onion – small dice
1 large garlic clove – minced
2 tbsp fresh tarragon – chopped
½ lemon – zested
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
low-fat cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
In preheated (medium low heat) sauté pan, sauté red onion in 2 tbsp olive oil for 1 minute, stirring. Add minced garlic and cook for another minute. Remove from heat and let cool.

Once cooled add onions to chicken along with chopped tarragon, lemon zest, mustard and S&P.
With clean hands, mix well. Roll burgers into 4-6 oz sized burgers.

This can be done ahead of time and refrigerated.
Remove burgers from fridge 30 minutes before cooking to let them return to room temp.

Preheat a large griddle and cook each burger for 3-4 minutes each side until cooked through. Of course you can fire up your grill for these as well. Serve with low-fat cheese on top and you’re off to the races.

NOTE:
This is also a great party idea or if you’ve got a group of friends coming over.
Simply sear the burgers for 1 minute each side and then finish in 425F/220C oven for 4 minutes until cooked through. By doing the burgers this way you can feed more people at one time and keep them sweet!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients.

THEHEALTHYIRISHMAN.COM

SUBSCRIBE to the NEW Healthy Irishman Newsletter!

Fueling your body with healthy food. Fueling your mind with the wealth of health.

Copyright © 2009 The Healthy Irishman. All rights reserved.

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Related Posts

• Mediterranean Chicken
• Lamb Burgers with Cucumber Mint Raita
  
• Spinach & Mushroom Frittata
• Red Snapper Veracruz
  
• Smothered Chicken

Sorry for going AWOL

Sorry for the disappearing act folks…it’s been a week since my last real post.

Life just got waaayyy too crazy.

Anyway, I will be back tomorrow with a new post.

Hopefully the wait will be worth it.

Doug

Today’s Workout – June 20, 2009

Warm-up

• 10 min of Joint Mobility exercises & Dynamic Stretching

Workout

Superset #1

• Roll-Outs – 10 sets of 10 –   supersetted with
• Jumping Lunge – 10 sets of 20 reps

No rest between sets– 1 min rest between superset 1 & 2

Superset #2

• 1 Arm Pulldowns – 21x tempo – 160×5/175×5/190×5/205×5/220×5/235×5/250×5/250×5/250×5/250×5, supersetted with
• GH Raise – 21x tempo – 10 sets of 5 reps

No rest between sets

60 sec rest between superset 2 & 3

Superset #3

• Lateral Raise – 40 lb DBs – 8 sets of 8 reps – 211
• Straight Arm Pushdowns – 145×15/160×15/175×15/190×15/205×15 x 4 sets
• Alternating DB Curls – 40 lbs – 8 sets of 10 reps

No rest between sets

60 sec rest between superset 3 & 4

Superset #4

• Cybex Kneeling Leg Curl – 90×5 / 180 x 5 reps x 5 sets – 41x tempo, supersetted with
• Bulgarian Squat – BW x 15 reps x 6 sets – tempo 21x, supersetted with
• Face Pull – Green Jumpstretch band – tempos 21x – 6 sets of 12/12/12/10/10/9 reps

No rest between sets

120 sec rest between superset 4 & 5

Superset #5

• Cybex Overhead Press – 110×12/130×12/150×9/170×8/190×6/205×4/220×4 – 41x tempo, supersetted with
• 1 Leg Squat – BW x 5 reps x 7 sets – tempo 21x

No rest between sets

10 min of stretching & joint mobility

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Today’s Workout – June 19, 2009

Friday’s Workout

Warm-up

• 10 min of Joint Mobility exercises & Dynamic Stretching
• 5 min of  kicking & punching the heavy bag

Workout

Superset #1

• Cybex Leg Press – 61x tempo – 13 sets of 10 reps @ 90lbs, 180lbs, 270 lbs, 360 lbs, 450 lbs, 540 lbs, 630 lbs, 720 lbs, 810 lbs, 810lbs, 810 lbs, 810 lbs, 810 lbs  supersetted with
• Incline DB Fly – 611 tempo – 55 lb DBs – 13 sets of 5 reps

30 sec between sets to load plates onto Leg Press– 1 min rest between superset 1 & 2

Superset #2

• 1 Arm Cable Standing Row – 21x tempo – 8 sets of 5 reps @ 135/150/165/180/195/210/210/210 lbs, supersetted with
• Woodchop – 21x tempo – 8 sets of 5 reps @same weight as above, supersetted with
• Jumping Lunges, 8 sets of 30 reps – BW

No rest between sets

60 sec rest between superset 2 & 3

Superset #3

• BW Row on Smith Machine – various grips – 21x tempo – BW – 9 sets of 8/8/8/8/8/8/7/6/4 reps,  supersetted with
• Pushups – 21x tempo – 9 sets of 8 reps

No rest between sets

120 sec rest between superset 3 & 4

Superset #4

• Standing 1 Arm Band(Green Jumpstretch) Chest Press – 6 sets of 15 reps – 21x tempo, supersetted with
• Standing Band Face Pulls (Green band) – 6 sets of 15 reps – tempo 21x, supersetted with
• Dragon Flags – BW – tempos 41x – 6 sets of 5 reps

No rest between sets

120 sec rest between superset 4 & 5

10 min of stretching & joint mobility

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Lamb Burgers with Cucumber Mint Raita

This Sunday is Father’s Day for us here in the States as well as Argentina, Antigua, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Myanmar, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom, us–United States, Ukraine, Venezuela, Zimbabwe.

Bet you didn’t know that did you?

In honor of my Irish Dad there was only one dish I was going to cook this weekend and that’s the old reliable Irish staple……lamb.

Sunday also marks the official start of summer so I thought I’d give you a great recipe if you plan on cracking out your grill this weekend. You don’t obviously need the grill, a grill pan works just as well but the flavor you’ll get from the barbecue is definitely worth it. Don’t have a grill yet? Makes a great Father’s Day gift!

RECIPE:
Serves 6

1 1/2 lbs. minced lamb (6 x 5-6 oz burgers)
3 tbsp fresh mint – chopped
1 large shallot – minced
1 garlic clove – minced
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1 egg white
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Put all the above in a large mixing bowl and (with clean hands) mix thoroughly incorporating all the ingredients together. Roll each burger into 6 oz burgers and lay on foiled tray until ready to cook. Preheat indoor grill pan or outdoor grill on high for 5 minutes.

RAITA RECIPE:
6 ozs fat free plain yogurt
1 tbsp fresh mint – chopped
1/4 cup peeled, diced cucumber
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
pinch of S&P

Mix all Raita ingredients together in bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To finish: Grill burgers as normal to desired temperature and serve with mint raita.

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients.

THEHEALTHYIRISHMAN.COM

SUBSCRIBE to the NEW Healthy Irishman Newsletter!

Fueling your body with healthy food. Fueling your mind with the wealth of health.

Copyright © 2009 The Healthy Irishman. All rights reserved.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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Related Posts

• Mediterranean Chicken
• Spinach & Mushroom Frittata
• Red Snapper Veracruz
  
• Smothered Chicken
• Grilled Wild Salmon with Braised Lentils & Orange Balsamic Reduction