Mobility and Mood

Alright, this article won't be heavily referenced (yet) to the hilt with all sorts of sciency stuff. I know some of you are disappointed and others are thrilled.

After discussions with Dr. Cobb, Frankie Faires, Aaron S and a bunch of other super smart people and tons of observation on my own, I am convinced that your movement quality (how well you move) is directly related to your mood!

Think of when you have an injury (like a messed up ankle in the past, um, not that I know anything about that from a certain snowboard incident) that makes it hard to move (or drive a car, or much else for that matter, so I've heard). How do you feel most of the time? I know from too much personal experience--not very well at all compared to normal.

How do you feel when you are really sick with a cold? Hung over for you crazy college kids? Like dog poo! How would you rate your movement at that point? For most, it is just above cat crap also---most walk around in a slumped posture and look like they are dragging a third leg.

Even beyond that, how do you know when Fido or Fee Fee the cat is ill (ok cats are moody bastards, bad example). You notice that they mope around and seem to lack energy---their movement sucks! Does Fido bark at you in morse code like a Lassie episode to tell you he is sick? If he does, call me up and we can make lots of money. You inferred how Fido feels from his less than stellar movement.

So, if your movement goes in the hopper when you are sick, what happens if do the reverse and improve your movement? Correct, you should FEEL better and your mood should improve! Sound insane?

Mobility training (like Z Health) is a great way to improve your movement and thus improve your mood! Does this work in every case? Of course not, but a vast majority of the time it works beautifully. I've seen it happen time and time and time again.

When an athlete comes to my place, my whole entire goal is to have them leave moving better than when they came in. I know to some hardcore strength trainers/coaches that seems insane and before your mind wonders too far I don't have them doing squats on a BOSU with pink foo foo weights either. Everyone works hard, but that does not automatically involve heavy weights and four letter words at EVERY session (although that happens too and loud music a great thing about the garage gym).

I know that if I can improve their movement, they will be one step closer to becoming a better athlete, gaining more muscle or vanquishing that muffin top. This may involve proprioceptive work (precise joint mobility drills like Z Health), eye/visual work, vestibular work (inner ear balance, so various head positions), kettlebell, tire flips, deadlifts, or even a lesson about why eating only 50 grams of protein a day is not the best. It all depends on what the athlete needs at that point.

It is a long term process and while there are some neurologic "tricks" you can employ for amazing changes in just seconds, the athlete still has to put in their reps with perfect form day in and day out and this include reps with the ole' fork and knife at the dinner table and counting sheep at night too.

I also know that if everyone leaves feeling like they got hit by a Peterbuilt and just as they got up just as the dump truck hit them too, at some point they are NOT going to want to come back day in and day out. If they know that it will suck to drive out and show up, but they know they will feel better once they leave--much more likely to make it each time.

The whole point is to ensure that your movement quality is ALWAYS good! You should get to the point that at the drop of a hat you can do virtually any exercise. Now, this does NOT mean to load up the bar to 400 lbs and start their for your first deadlift, it means to make sure you are moving well.

Moving well = feeling well along with increased performance. The best of both worlds.

Training should ENHANCE your life.

Thoughts/comments?

Update on Energy Drinks--Caffeine experts call for warning labels for energy drinks

Here is another story (below) fresh off the news front from today once again on our friend the energy drink. Be sure to check out my last post on this topic for more details and background.

As a side note, caffeine as you all know has been around for a LONG time. Manufacturers of energy drinks love it since it gives consumers something they can feel and it is dirt cheap to add to the drinks also. The safety record of it is also quite good since the LD 50 (the lethal dose to kill 50% of a population) is actually quite high. This is a good thing as in a perfect world you want the effective dose to be as far from the LD50 as possible (to minimize side effects). I will save you the pharmacokinetics talk!

Again, like all things moderation is going to be the best approach. I view the use of caffeine for most people as living on borrowed time and you will need to pay it back at SOME point.

If you are interested in more info, here is a great review on in Sleep Med Rev from April 2008 entitled "Caffeine: Sleep and daytime sleepiness by Roehrs et al"

If you are college student and want to know if you should have a cup of Joe during that boring lecture (not my lectures or labs of course!) check this out

"Influence of caffeine ingestion on perceived mood states, concentration, and arousal levels during a 75-min university lecture"

Here is the full article below

Enjoy and any comments, let me know.
Mike

Caffeine experts call for warning labels for energy drinks
Source: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and posted at PhysOrg.com

Caffeine experts call for warning labels for energy drinks

Johns Hopkins scientists who have spent decades researching the effects of caffeine report that a slew of caffeinated energy drinks now on the market should carry prominent labels that note caffeine doses and warn of potential health risks for consumers.

"The caffeine content of energy drinks varies over a 10-fold range, with some containing the equivalent of 14 cans of Coca-Cola, yet the caffeine amounts are often unlabeled and few include warnings about the potential health risks of caffeine intoxication," says Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., one of the authors of the article that appears in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence this month.

The market for these drinks stands at an estimated $5.4 billion in the United States and is expanding at a rate of 55 percent annually. Advertising campaigns, which principally target teens and young adults, promote the performance-enhancing and stimulant effects of energy drinks and appear to glorify drug use.

Without adequate, prominent labeling; consumers most likely won't realize whether they are getting a little or a lot of caffeine. "It's like drinking a serving of an alcoholic beverage and not knowing if its beer or scotch," says Griffiths.

Caffeine intoxication, a recognized clinical syndrome included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases, is marked by nervousness, anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, gastrointestinal upset, tremors, rapid heartbeats (tachycardia), psychomotor agitation (restlessness and pacing) and in rare cases, death.

Reports to U.S. poison control centers of caffeine abuse showed bad reactions to the energy drinks. In a 2007 survey of 496 college students, 51 percent reported consuming at least one energy drink during the last month. Of these energy drink users, 29 percent reported "weekly jolt and crash episodes," and 19 percent reported heart palpitations from drinking energy drinks. This same survey revealed that 27 percent of the students surveyed said they mixed energy drinks and alcohol at least once in the past month. "Alcohol adds another level of danger," says Griffiths, "because caffeine in high doses can give users a false sense of alertness that provides incentive to drive a car or in other ways put themselves in danger."

A regular 12-ounce cola drink has about 35 milligrams of caffeine, and a 6-ounce cup of brewed coffee has 80 to 150 milligrams of caffeine. Because many energy drinks are marketed as "dietary supplements," the limit that the Food and Drug Administration requires on the caffeine content of soft drinks (71 milligrams per 12-ounce can) does not apply. The caffeine content of energy drinks varies from 50 to more than 500 milligrams.

"It's notable that over-the-counter caffeine-containing products require warning labels, yet energy drinks do not," says Chad Reissig, Ph.D., one of the study's authors.

Griffiths notes that most of the drinks advertise their products as performance enhancers and stimulants – a marketing strategy that may put young people at risk for abusing even stronger stimulants such as the prescription drugs amphetamine and methylphenidate (Ritalin). A 2008 study of 1,253 college students found that energy drink consumption significantly predicted subsequent non-medical prescription stimulant use, raising the concern that energy drinks might serve as "gateway" products to more serious drugs of abuse. Potentially feeding that "transition" market, Griffiths says, are other energy drinks with alluring names such as the powdered energy drink additive "Blow" (which is sold in "vials" and resembles cocaine powder) and the "Cocaine" energy drink. Both of these products use the language of the illegal drug trade.

Source: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

This news is brought to you by PhysOrg.co

Red Bull Will Give You a Stroke! What?

Ok, articles like this one by Dr. Mercola entitled "Red Bull Will Give You a Stroke" drive me absolutely nuts! I spent over an hour trying to find the source of the article and the only thing I can find is the researcher was quoted in Reuters, but no study (in fairness to the researcher perhaps it is not published yet).

Currently, data on Energy Drinks is sparse. Most will agree that you should not go out and slam back 3 of them in a row and believe that you are doing yourself a good thing; but how "bad" they are is also unknown.

After hours of searching, one of the only studies I could find that directly looked at safety (below) stated, "Four documented case reports of caffeine-associated deaths were found, as well as four separate cases of seizures associated with the consumption of energy drinks. "

Considering how often and the amount of this drinks consumed, this seems very low. Here is the study:

Safety issues associated with commercially availab...[J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2008 May-Jun] : ": J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2008 May-Jun;48(3):e55-63;

Safety issues associated with commercially available energy drinks.
Clauson KA, Shields KM, McQueen CE, Persad N.

College of Pharmacy-West Palm Beach, Nova Southeastern University, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410, USA. clauson@nova.edu

OBJECTIVE: To describe benefits and adverse effects associated with the consumption of energy drinks.

DATA SOURCES: Searches were conducted using Medline, IPA (International Pharmaceutical Abstracts), EMBASE, and MANTIS; databases such as Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, Natural Standard, ALTMEDEX, and AltHealthWatch; and Google (range 1980 to September 2007). Search terms included energy drink, Red Bull, caffeine, glucose, ginseng, guarana, taurine, and bitter orange.

DATA SYNTHESIS: Most energy drinks contain natural products such as guarana, ginseng, and taurine. As much as 80 to 300 mg of caffeine and 35 grams of processed sugar per 8-ounce serving are commonly present in energy drinks such as Cocaine, Pimp Juice, Red Bull, and Spike Shooter. No reports were identified of negative effects associated with taurine, ginseng, and guarana used in the amounts found in most energy drinks. Commonly reported adverse effects seen with caffeine in the quantities present in most energy drinks are insomnia, nervousness, headache, and tachycardia. Four documented case reports of caffeine-associated deaths were found, as well as four separate cases of seizures associated with the consumption of energy drinks.

CONCLUSION: The amounts of guarana, taurine, and ginseng found in popular energy drinks are far below the amounts expected to deliver either therapeutic benefits or adverse events. However, caffeine and sugar are present in amounts known to cause a variety of adverse health effects.

Here is one of the studies they refer to on Red Bull

Reversible postural tachycardia syndrome due to in...[Clin Auton Res. 2008] : "Clin Auton Res. 2008 Aug;18(4):221-3. Epub 2008 Aug 5.Click here to read Links
Reversible postural tachycardia syndrome due to inadvertent overuse of Red Bull((R)).
Terlizzi R, Rocchi C, Serra M, Solieri L, Cortelli P.

Dept. of Neurological Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Ugo Foscolo 7, 40123, Bologna, Italy, rossanaterlizzi@libero.it.

Postural tachycardia syndrome associated with a vasovagal reaction was recorded in a young volleyball player after an excess intake of Red Bull((R)) as a refreshing energy drink. Considering the widespread use of Red Bull((R)) among young people who are often unaware of the drink's drug content, this case report suggest Red Bull((R)) be considered a possible cause of orthostatic intolerance."

My thoughts again

The effect of caffeine (the main ingredient in the drinks) in relation to blood pressure has more data, but notice the amount and that it was usually studied in those at an increased risk high blood pressure (see the studies pasted below). This does not guarantee that those with normal blood pressure will respond in the same way!

In summary, we can say more research is needed and I would agree with that; although energy drinks with the current available data do not seem as deadly as portrated in the media. For a good read, check out Dave Barr's article on a similar topic HERE.

Additive pressor effects of caffeine and stress in...[Am J Hypertens. 2000]

Am J Hypertens. 2000 May;13(5 Pt 1):475-81.L

Additive pressor effects of caffeine and stress in male medical students at risk for hypertension.

Shepard JD, al'Absi M, Whitsett TL, Passey RB, Lovallo WR.

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, USA.

The effects of caffeine on blood pressure (BP) and cortisol secretion were examined during elevated work stress in medical students at high versus low risk for hypertension. Among 31 male medical students who were regular consumers of caffeine, 20 were considered at low risk for hypertension (negative parental history and all screening BP <> or = 140 mm Hg. This combined effect of stress and caffeine on BP suggests that it may be beneficial for individuals at high risk for hypertension to refrain from the use of caffeinated beverages, particularly at times when work demands and attendant stressors are high. For the same reasons, recent intake of caffeine should be controlled in patients undergoing BP measurement for the diagnosis of hypertension.

Caffeine and behavioral stress effects on blood pressure.... Health Psychol. 1996 Jan;15(1):11-17.Click here to read Links
Caffeine and behavioral stress effects on blood pressure in borderline hypertensive Caucasian men.
Lovallo WR, al'Absi M, Pincomb GA, Everson SA, Sung BH, Passey RB, Wilson MF.

Veterans Affairs Medical Center and University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City 73104, USA. bill@oubsci6.vahsc.uokhsc.edu

Caffeine in dietary amounts raises blood pressure (BP), and its use increases during work stress; however, caffeine combined with behavioral stress has not been tested in borderline hypertensive (BH) men. Accordingly, this study tested a psychomotor stressor plus caffeine (3.3 mg/kg, equivalent to 2-3 cups of coffee) using a double-blind, crossover design in 24 BH men (140/90 mmHg < or = BP < or = 160/95 mmHg) and 24 controls (BP < or = 135/85 mmHg). BH men had modestly larger BP increases to the task and showed a greater combined effect of caffeine plus the task (+15/+11 mmHg) than controls (+10/+6 mmHg). BH men maintained response to the stressor in the face of an exaggerated BP response to caffeine, suggesting that use of caffeine during.....

Adrenocortical effects of caffeine at rest and dur...[Int J Behav Med. 1995] : "Int J Behav Med. 1995;2(3):263-75.Links
Adrenocortical effects of caffeine at rest and during mental stress in borderline hypertensive men.
al'Absi M, Lovallo WR, Pincomb GA, Sung BH, Wilson MF.

Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Oklahoma Sciences Center, Oklahoma City 73104, USA.

We examined the effect or dietary doses of caffeine (3.3 mg/kg, equivalent to 2 to 3 cups of coffee) on adrenocortical responses to behavioral stress in borderline hypertensive (BH) men using a randomized, double-blind, caffeine-placebo crossover design. Cortisol levels were assessed in BH men and matched normotensive (NT) controls at rest and in response to 35 min of continuous work on a psychomotor task alternating with mental arithmetic. Caffeine at rest elevated cortisol among BHs hut not among NTs. Both groups showed significant cortisol responses to caffeine combined with the tasks. These findings may have implications for the dietary use of caffeine in persons at risk for hypertension when faced with stressful situations."

Effects of caffeine on vascular resistance, cardiac ...[Am J Cardiol. 1985] "Am J Cardiol. 1985 Jul 1;56(1):119-22.Click here to read Links
Effects of caffeine on vascular resistance, cardiac output and myocardial contractility in young men.
Pincomb GA, Lovallo WR, Passey RB, Whitsett TL, Silverstein SM, Wilson MF.

The mechanisms by which caffeine typically elevates blood pressure (BP) in humans have not been previously examined using a placebo-controlled design. Accordingly, oral caffeine (3.3 mg/kg body weight, equivalent to 2 to 3 cups of coffee) was given on 2 days and a placebo was given on 1 day to 15 healthy young men using a double-blind, crossover procedure. All 3 test sessions were held during a week of caffeine abstinence. Multiple measurements were made on subjects at rest (baseline values) and over a 45-minute interval after ingestion of caffeine for BP, heart rate, systolic time intervals and thoracic impedance measures of ventricular function. Baseline measurements were highly reliable for each subject across all sessions and yielded means for placebo vs caffeine days that were not different. Caffeine increased systolic and diastolic BP (p less than 0.01) and decreased heart rate (p less than 0.05). The pressor effect was....."

Myth Busting--Fasted Cardio

Time to crack heads and bust some more myths!

I need to thank Layne Norton for pointing this one out! The big take away is that doing your cardio in a fasted (no food) state is probably not the best approach, and a min is not more effective despite all the articles you read about targeted fat loss with early AM cardio. Others will argue that if they have some protein or branched chain amino acids in the AM, then do cardio it will help protect muscle and target fat more. Well, they did not look at during this study and not to split hairs but that is not technically fasted cardio now is it?

I am not the first to point this out and others like Alwyn Cosgrove have been saying this for years, but it is cool to see a study on it.

To go one step further, I would recomend some high intensity work first. Kettlebells work great for high intensity work and they are WAY cheaper than horrible treadmills. Drop me a line if you are interested.

J Appl Physiol. 2008 Apr;104(4):1045-55. Epub 2008 Feb 14.
Effect of training in the fasted state on metabolic responses during exercise with carbohydrate intake.
De Bock K, Derave W, Eijnde BO, Hesselink MK, Koninckx E, Rose AJ, Schrauwen P, Bonen A, Richter EA, Hespel P.

Research Center for Exercise and Health, F.A.B.E.R. - K.U.Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, B-3001 Leuven Heverlee, Belgium.

Skeletal muscle gene response to exercise depends on nutritional status during and after exercise, but it is unknown whether muscle adaptations to endurance training are affected by nutritional status during training sessions. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of an endurance training program (6 wk, 3 day/wk, 1-2 h, 75% of peak Vo(2)) in moderately active males. They trained in the fasted (F; n = 10) or carbohydrate-fed state (CHO; n = 10) while receiving a standardized diet [65 percent of total energy intake (En) from carbohydrates, 20%En fat, 15%En protein]. Before and after the training period, substrate use during a 2-h exercise bout was determined.

During these experimental sessions, all subjects were in a fed condition and received extra carbohydrates (1 g.kg body wt(-1) .h(-1)). Peak Vo(2) (+7%), succinate dehydrogenase activity, GLUT4, and hexokinase II content were similarly increased between F and CHO. Fatty acid binding protein (FABPm) content increased significantly in F (P = 0.007). Intramyocellular triglyceride content (IMCL) remained unchanged in both groups. After training, pre-exercise glycogen content was higher in CHO (545 +/- 19 mmol/kg dry wt; P = 0.02), but not in F (434 +/- 32 mmol/kg dry wt; P = 0.23). For a given initial glycogen content, F blunted exercise-induced glycogen breakdown when compared with CHO (P = 0.04).

Neither IMCL breakdown (P = 0.23) nor fat oxidation rates during exercise were altered by training. Thus short-term training elicits similar adaptations in peak Vo(2) whether carried out in the fasted or carbohydrate-fed state. Although there was a decrease in exercise-induced glycogen breakdown and an increase in proteins involved in fat handling after fasting training, fat oxidation during exercise with carbohydrate intake was not changed.

Pain and Performance

Pain and Performance

Melzack defined the Neuromatrix of pain as “pain is a multidimensional experience produced by characteristic ‘neurosignature’ patterns of nerve impulses generated by a widely distributed neural network-the ‘body-self neuromatrix’-in the brain (3).”

Anyone still there? Wow, that does sound like something right out of the movie the Matrix with big fancy words like “multidimensional” “neurosignature” “neural network” are we still talking about physiology today or in 2050? The above quote was actually from 2001, so coming up on seven years ago now, but you would be hard pressed to find a ton of acceptance to the theory
(although momentum for it gaining steam).

But how does this relate to me? I just want to perform at a higher level?
A brief tangent about pain

The old school view of pain was that when you stuff that hot cream cheese puff from the Chin Young buffet in your cake hole, the signal travels from your tongue into the pain center in your brain. The hunt was on as scientist spent years trying to find this elusive, Bigfoot like creature in the brain. Let’s try the cortex, maybe that is it? Nope. Thalamus? Not it again (10). On the search went, but to no avail (9). The thought was that once we find the pain center, we can cut it out, ablate it, drug it and bammmm-o, no more pain. While this fantasy sounds awesome, it is just that---a fantasy as physiology is not quite that simple. We now know that there is no pain center. Drat, so much for the trying the easy stuff first. We know that pain does live in the brain, but it is multidimensial (there is that word again); most likely stored away in the nooks and crinkles just like a squirrel hiding nuts for the winter in your lawn.

Pain is produced when the brain perceives that danger to body tissues exists and that action is required as a survival response. Back to our friend at the buffet with the hot cheese puff in his mouth. What happens next? He either tries to dump the said cheese puff on to the plate in a very non conspicuous way (can you give me a “good luck buddy” shout), or add some cold water perhaps. Either way, it is highly unlikely he will sit there as it smolders into his tongue and pollutes the room with the smell of burning flesh. Pain is an action signal-do something!
The brain and the nervous system control ALL muscle movements. When pain occurs it inhibits the nervous system as a protective mechanism. Remember that the body only cares about survival and does not give a hairy rat’s butt about performance. If I injure my elbow, my nervous system will start to shut down the muscles around that joint as a protective mechanism to try to prevent further damage (ala arthrokinetic reflex).

The Neurosignature
Pain is a specific interpretation of the brain, or as Melzack calls it a “neurosignature” (no that is not how Neo from the Matrix signs his name, that would be the neosignature). This neurosignature is dependent on many imputs (multidimensional). The main inputs into the brain are proprioceptive, visual, and vestibular. Remember that proprioception is the body’s 3D map of itself and allows you (ok your friend) to touch their nose with their eyes closed when they get pulled over by the Smokey along the road. Everyone is familiar with vision, as we are highly visual creatures (some would argue males more so than females, but I won’t go there). Vestibular refers to the function of the inner ear and balance. With every step we take (yes even with every breath you take for all you Police fans), the brain is receiving inputs from each of these systems and combines them to form a neurosignature. I hear some academics in the back shouting “where is the data” so here you go.

Phantom Limb Pain
Many times those who have lost a limb, will complain of pain coming from their lost limb! At first blush, the thought “they must be insane” runs through my head, but several studies have shown this to be true in very sane people; and the pain is real (5). How can this happen? So the very same inputs that provide the brain with signals interpreted as pain, can run amok in the brain and actually produce pain!(4) So it is not just a one way system, as the brain it seems can produce pain that feels like it was coming from the lost limb-kind of like working for a double agent. Imagine you are a super top secret agent (inputs from the body) hired by Emilio the Shark (the brain) to get info on those sneaky Russians (lost limb). Yeah those Russians are sneaky, so watch out Pavel, But you then learn that Emilio the Shark has sold you out and is just creating information for the Russians! Dang it. So the brain appears to create pain from the lost limb.

The pain can many times be induced by a conflict between visual feedback and proprioceptive representations of the amputated limb (8). If this is true, it should be fixed by reversing this and presenting a “working limb” to the brain, right? By using a mirror box, you can create an image (from the good limb) to appear where the lost limb would normally be in space. This can “trick” the brain into believing there is a limb there, and many times the pain will diminish (1).

Placebo Effect
Everyone has heard of the placebo effect by now. While there are many different flavors of it, it is believed that the brain (and perhaps the spinal cord) play a key role! Obvious I know. Pain depends on both biological and psychological factors (2). Matre et al. (2) did an experiment where they heated up a small patch of skin on volunteers (always read the fine print) and the only difference was that one group was told that this special magnet (which was not even a magnet, just a lump of iron to look like a magnet) would reduce the pain. Sure as heck, it did just as predicted with the placebo group reporting less pain! Other studies have shown similar results (6), and it is common place to include a placebo group in almost any experiment.

Seriously man, how does ANY of this help me?
Ok, so we know that changing the inputs to the brain via proprioception, visual, and even vestibular inputs can alter the perception of pain. Even the context of the event (placebo effect) can even alter it (7). So how goes this help you increase performance?

Pain and Performance
Pain becomes a huge priority in the body and if you are not sure, then ask anyone in pain! Remember that we are a survival based organism and while pain works great to keep us alive at certain times, if you are dealing with pain you will not have peak performance. Still don’t believe me? Go out and run your fastest 100 meters. Now have Emilio the Shark kick you square in the nut sack and try it again. I can guarantee your second performance will not be as stellar.
Just as in the mirror box example, we can alter the brain’s perception of pain via proprioceptive, visual, and vestibular input! Injury is a big event and it carries a pretty hefty neurosignature. I worked with a client that had sprained his left ankle pretty bad at a fun house and we used these principals. As he was walking through the fun house, minding his own business, a super scary dude jumped out at him as he turned his head to catch a glance of him. Unfortunately at the same time, he stepped wrong with his left foot and rolled his ankle. So I set out to use some Z Health “voodoo” on him. Actually Z Health is a system based on the principals discussed here for altering the inputs into the brain to reduce pain and increase performance (Z Health in MN ); so I need to credit Dr. Cobb the creator of Z Health for all of his efforts.

Back to our fun house friend and I had him do a specific Z Health joint mobility drill to increase the proprioceptive input (this was a wrist up and down motion), with his eyes up and to the right (visual input) and in his case also with his head rotated to the right and up (vestibular input); and within a few motions we were able to get his pain from a 6/7 on a 1-10 scale to less than a 1. I was in essence recreating this event for his brain, but in a safe environment this time (I left my clown suit in the closet). Another way to explain it is that we just gave the brain the correct inputs to alter its perception of pain. Amazing.

Conclusion (aka read this part for sure)
In conclusion, from our good buddy Melzack (who also had help from Patrick Wall) defined the Neuromatrix of pain as “pain is a multidimensional experience produced by characteristic ‘neurosignature’ patterns of nerve impulses generated by a widely distributed neural network-the ‘body-self neuromatrix’-in the brain (3).” Definitely a mouth of futuristic Matrix-like words, but we know that pain lives in the brain and it can be modified by changing proprioceptive, visual, and vestibular inputs. Decreasing pain will have you on the fast track to enhanced performance!

References
1. Chan BL, R Witt, AP Charrow, et al. Mirror therapy for phantom limb pain. N Engl J Med. . 2007; 357(21):2206-7.
2. Matre D, KL Casey, S Knardahl. Placebo-induced changes in spinal cord pain processing. J Neurosci. . 2006; 26(2):559-63.
3. Melzack R. Pain and the neuromatrix in the brain. J Dent Educ. . 2001; 65(12):1378-82.
4. Melzack R. From the gate to the neuromatrix. Pain. . 1999; Suppl 6:S121-6.
5. Melzack R. Labat lecture. Phantom limbs. Reg Anesth. . 1989; 14(5):208-11.
6. Oken BS. Placebo effects: clinical aspects and neurobiology. Brain. . 2008.
7. Quevedo AS, RC Coghill. Attentional modulation of spatial integration of pain: evidence for dynamic spatial tuning. J Neurosci. . 2007; 27(43):11635-40.
8. Ramachandran VS, D Rogers-Ramachandran. Synaesthesia in phantom limbs induced with mirrors. Proc Biol Sci. . 1996; 263(1369):377-86.
9. Shaw KA, VK Srikanth, JL Fryer, L Blizzard, T Dwyer, AJ Venn. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry body composition and aging in a population-based older cohort. Int J Obes (Lond). . 2007; 31(2):279-84.
10. Spiegel EA, HT Wycis. Present status of stereoencephalotomies for pain relief. Confin Neurol. . 1966; 27(1):7-17.

Performance Research for August: Protein Synthesis

Update
As you know I took my PhD Preliminary Oral exam this past Friday. For those that are unfamiliar with the process, they lock you in a room with your committee for 2 hours where they can ask you any question and you present your proposed research.

Overall it went well, and I passed!! I have some revisions I need to work on to better outline the hypotheses, but that is work I will need to do at some point and the more I do up front the better it will be long term. I will submit my study this week and hopefully I will have approval and start up in mid Oct. The feedback I got was great and much appreciated.

I will be looking at several things, but overall it will be the effect of energy drinks on performance and how it relates to Metabolic Flexibility. Energy drink usage is on the rise, the media declares them to be evil and there currently is not much data to support either side.

Thanks to all for their support and understanding of my lateness on emails.

New Studies on Protein Synthesis
More brand new studies for ya! In short, more evidence to show that using a protein/carb beverage around your training time is a good thing!


Resistance exercise decreases eIF2Bepsilon phosphorylation and potentiates the feeding-induced stimulation of p70S6K1 and rpS6 in young men.

Glover EI, Oates BR, Tang JE, Moore DR, Tarnopolsky MA, Phillips SM. Department of Kinesiology, Exercise Metabolism Research Group, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. West, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8S 4K1.

We investigated the effect of resistance exercise and feeding on the activation of signaling proteins involved in translation initiation. Nine young men (23.7+/-0.41 yr; BMI=25.5+/-1.0 kg/m2; means+/-SE) were tested twice after they performed a strenuous bout of unilateral resistance exercise, such that their contralateral leg acted as a nonexercised comparator, in either the fasted and fed [1,000 kJ, each 90 min (3 doses): 10 g protein, 41 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat] states. Muscle biopsies were obtained 6 h postexercise from both legs, resulting in four experimental conditions: rest-fasted, rest-fed, exercise-fasted, and exercise-fed. Feeding increased PKB/Akt (Ser473) phosphorylation (P<0.05),>0.14). In summary, feeding resulted in phosphorylation of Akt, while resistance exercise stimulated phosphorylation of Akt, p70S6K1, rpS6, and dephosphorylation eIF2Bepsilon with a synergistic effect of feeding and exercise on p70(S6K1) and its downstream target rpS6.

Conclusion: We conclude that resistance exercise potentiates the effect of feeding on the phosphorylation and presumably activation of critical proteins involved in the regulation of muscle protein synthesis in young men.

Acute milk-based protein-CHO supplementation attenuates exercise-induced muscle damage.

Cockburn E, Hayes PR, French DN, Stevenson E, St Clair Gibson A. Division of Sports Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK.

Exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) leads to the degradation of protein structures within the muscle. This may subsequently lead to decrements in muscle performance and increases in intramuscular enzymes and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Milk, which provides protein and carbohydrate (CHO), may lead to the attenuation of protein degradation and (or) an increase in protein synthesis that would limit the consequential effects of EIMD. This study examined the effects of acute milk and milk-based protein-CHO (CHO-P) supplementation on attenuating EIMD. Four independent groups of 6 healthy males consumed water (CON), CHO sports drink, milk-based CHO-P or milk (M), post EIMD. DOMS, isokinetic muscle performance, creatine kinase (CK), and myoglobin (Mb) were assessed immediately before and 24 and 48 h after EIMD. DOMS was not significantly different (p > 0.05) between groups at any time point. Peak torque (dominant) was significantly higher (p < style="font-weight: bold;">
Conclusion: At 48 h post-EIMD, milk and milk-based protein-CHO supplementation resulted in the attenuation of decreases in isokinetic muscle performance and increases in CK and Mb.

Differential effects of resistance and endurance exercise in the fed state on signalling molecule phosphorylation and protein synthesis in human muscle.

Wilkinson SB, Phillips SM, Atherton PJ, Patel R, Yarasheski KE, Tarnopolsky MA, Rennie MJ. Exercise Metabolism Research Group, Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8S 4K1.

Resistance (RE) and endurance (EE) exercise stimulate mixed skeletal muscle protein synthesis. The phenotypes induced by RE (myofibrillar protein accretion) and EE (mitochondrial expansion) training must result from differential stimulation of myofibrillar and mitochondrial protein synthesis. We measured the synthetic rates of myofibrillar and mitochondrial proteins and the activation of signalling proteins (Akt-mTOR-p70S6K) at rest and after an acute bout of RE or EE in the untrained state and after 10 weeks of RE or EE training in young healthy men. While untrained, RE stimulated both myofibrillar and mitochondrial protein synthesis, 67% and 69% (P < p =" 0.05)." style="font-weight: bold;">Conclusion: Chronic RE or EE training modifies the protein synthetic response of functional protein fractions, with a shift toward exercise phenotype-specific responses, without an obvious explanatory change in the phosphorylation of regulatory signalling pathway proteins.

Impact of nutrient intake timing on the metabolic response to exercise.

Stephens BR, Braun B. Department of Kinesiology, Energy Metabolism Laboratory, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA. Effects of nutrient intake timing and exercise on carbohydrate (e.g. insulin sensitivity), protein (muscle protein synthesis), and fat (circulating triacylglycerols) metabolism are reviewed in this paper.

Conclusion:Altered nutrient intake timing relative to exercise can modulate the metabolic response, which is relevant for individuals seeking to use exercise to enhance health.

FUN Training! Saturday Strongman Sessions in White Bear Lake MN

Question:
I hear that you do strongman type exercise on Saturdays. What does a typical session look like? Can anyone do it?

Here is some video from a few weekends ago of yours truly at the Nelson Training Center on a Sat AM. 32 kg Kettlebell (KB), light trap bar farmers walks at 225 lbs, 400 lb tire and small 8 lb sledge hammer.

Second half of the circuit



Charles came out and did a great job for his first time through!

Second half of the circuit

Yes, most can do it in some form, but you need to make sure you know how to perform the exercises correctly. Any time you are attempting to lift heavy objects there is some risk involved; so find a local fitness professional. You also want to make sure your movement is good to decrease your risk of injury. If they never watch you move, do any basic tests and just let you jump into it with little instruction, go somewhere else fast!

Most can start with farmers walk at a very light weight and progress from there. Kettlebells work great too and the swing is the first basic exercise most will learn.

The other part is that this type of training is FUN! The days are getting short here in Minnesota, but if you are interested in a training session like this, drop me a line. Be sure to check out my You Tube Channel also.

Enjoy!

Myth Busters-Painful Soft Tissue Work

Q and A Time!
You ask, I answer. Here is a very common question I get and thought I would address here. Any future questions you want answered, please post them in the comments section and I will add them to the list.
Thanks!

Question
You seem to be a proponent of non painful soft tissue work, but very few do this and yet they get results. How can non painful tissue work even work? I thought the point of tissue work was to get in there to break up scar tissue, adhesions, etc? Please explain.

Answer
Thanks for the question. You are absolutely correct that I am not a fan of painful soft tissue work at all as wrote in my Get Off the Foam Roller post for the reasons outlined there.

Your question about how can other get results is a good one. My thoughts are that they are simply providing a new "stimulus" to the nervous system and probably also altering the "perception" by the nervous system. This is based off of the Neuromatrix of Pain by Melzach and Wall. The premise is that pain can be from all sorts of stuff and since pain lives in the brain, our options are to alter either the stimulus or the perception of it. Even though some work is painful and I feel that this has consequences elsewhere in the body in terms of OVERALL function, it does work in some cases to change the stimulus and perception.

Biomechanical Approach
I do feel that thinking in terms of only a biomechanical approach (this muscle is tight/short, locked long, weak, etc) will eventually run into a ceiling as it is the nervous system that controls the show; so we should shift our thinking towards neurological solutions to neurological "movement problems". I know this was a longer transition for me as I did the biomechanical route for many years and even went to graduate school for biomechanics during my first go round. Does this mean that those using a biomechanical approach can not get results? Of course not, but I don't feel it is optimal and at some point you may be back to where you started as you chase things around the body. Remember that the body is HIGHLY INTEGRATED and complex. Physiology is messy.

Myth Busters to the Rescue!
Here is an analogy--ever watched the show Myth Busters? I love that show, and there is an episode where they put money into a very expensive safe and then proceeded to use a cutting torch to get into the safe. They got in, but found that they vaporized all the money in the process! Crap! I think painful, high force tissue work is like breaking into a safe with a cutting torch. Does it work many times? YES, of course! Does it result in OVERALL better function--sometimes yes and sometime no. I think by using the correct combination on the lock (propricoptive, visual, vestibular and even hands on work via Z Health) you can get into the safe in a much safer and effective method.

What is too Painful?
If you have to change the tone of your face (look like you were sucking on a lemon ya sourpuss or any extra tension) or change your breathing (this counts breath holding), it is too much pressure/pain. Either way, you want to test it and see if there was the desired result.

Hope that helps!

Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate Ingestion on Performance-Ergogenic?

Can something that you have in your fridge help your athletic performance? No, I am not talking about that fungus growing on the mystery meat in the back. I am talking about baking soda (aka sodium bicarbonate).

The short answer is that it may serve to help decrease that burning sensation from high levels of muscle work (see an older blog post on it and beta-alanine HERE on it) . The downside is that an effective dose may cause stomach issues in some, so be sure to do a trial before your next big event. It it hard to win the big race with your head in a trash can!

This study in the lab, did not show any performance changes though. Where else can you get studies they literally just came out days ago, so stay tuned here for more cutting edge performance tips!

Effectsof Sodium Bicarbonate Ingestion on Performance and Perceptual Response in a Lab Simulated BMX Cycling Qualification Series .[J Strength Cond Res. Sept 22 2008]

Zabala M, Requena B, Sánchez-Muñoz C, González-Badillo JJ, García I, Oöpik V, Pääsuke M.

1Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; 2Faculty of Sport, Pablo de Olavide University, Sevilla, Spain; 3Institute of Exercise Biology and Physiotherapy, University of Tartu, Estonia; and 4Spanish Cycling Federation, Madrid, Spain.

Zabala, M, Requena, B, Sánchez-Muñoz, C, González-Badillo, JJ, García, I, Oöpik, V, and Pääsuke, M. Effects of sodium bicarbonate ingestion on performance and perceptual responses in a laboratory-simulated BMX cycling qualification series. J Strength Cond Res 22(5): 1645-1653, 2008-

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3-) ingestion on performance and perceptual responses in a laboratory-simulated bicycle motocross (BMX) qualification series. Nine elite BMX riders volunteered to participate in this study. After familiarization, subjects undertook two trials involving repeated sprints (3 x Wingate tests [WTs] separated by 30 minutes of recovery; WT1, WT2, WT3). Ninety minutes before each trial, subjects ingested either NaHCO3- or placebo in a counterbalanced, randomly assigned, double-blind manner. Each trial was separated by 4 days.

Performance variables of peak power, mean power, time to peak power, and fatigue index were calculated for each sprint. Ratings of perceived exertion were obtained after each sprint, and ratings of perceived readiness were obtained before each sprint.

No significant differences were observed in performance variables between successive sprints or between trials. For the NaHCO3- trial, peak blood lactate during recovery was greater after WT2 (p < p =" 0.07),">

PhD Written Exams and MMA Training Product

THANKS!
Thanks to all for the warm wishes and I did pass my PhD Written Exams now after submitting one revision. Yeah!!!

Next up, PhD Preliminary Orals on September 12, so blog posts may be more intermittent until that point as I have a protocol due and a poster for the North American Society of Pediatric Exercise Medicine due too.

To all those that have sent me emails, I did not forget you and will be in touch very soon! Thanks for your patience--much appreciated!

Attention all MMA Athletes!
I am lending some research support to a killer project for all of those with an interest in Martial Arts that will be released this Fall. It is going to be AMAZING and I am super excited to be part of it. I promise it will NOT be the same as the current MMA training items that are currently out there.

Stay tuned and if you want to me on my email list to be notified first, sign up on the right hand side of this blog and you will be added to my newsletter list also or click HERE and select the "join newsletter" box below my smiling face. No set release date yet, but it will hopefully be very soon! My newsletter will be back up and running in mid Sept also.

Rock on
Mike N

Neural Priming--Does What You Think Affect Your Actions?

The whole concept of neural priming (aka subliminal priming) is fascinating! I first heard of it in Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink, which I highly highly recommend.

The basic idea is that what we see, read, hear, subconsciously effect our actions. The formal definition in one form is "Unconscious exposure to written words facilitates the subsequent conscious processing of the same stimuli, a behavioral phenomenon known as subliminal priming (1)."

Here is a great study done in conjunction with the University of Minnesota (go Gophers!!) here and an article written about it on Mind Matters. Very cool stuff!

References
1. Forster KI, Mohan K, Hector J (2003) in Masked Priming: State of the Art, eds
Kinoshita K, Lupker SJ (Psychology Press, Hove, UK), pp 3–37.

Free Will versus the Programmed Brain

If our actions are determined by prior events, then do we have a choice about anything—or any responsibility for what we do?

By Shaun Nichols

Many scientists and philosophers are convinced that free will doesn’t exist at all. According to these skeptics, everything that happens is determined by what happened before—our actions are inevitable consequences of the events leading up to the action—and this fact makes it impossible for anyone to do anything that is truly free. This kind of anti-free will stance stretches back to 18th century philosophy, but the idea has recently been getting much more exposure through popular science books and magazine articles. Should we worry? If people come to believe that they don’t have free will, what will the consequences be for moral responsibility?

In a clever new study, psychologists Kathleen Vohs at the University of Minnesota and Jonathan Schooler at the University of California at Santa Barbara tested this question by giving participants passages from The Astonishing Hypothesis, a popular science book by Francis Crick, a biochemist and Nobel laureate (as co-discoverer, with James Watson, of the DNA double helix). Half of the participants got a passage saying that there is no such thing as free will. The passage begins as follows: “‘You,’ your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules. Who you are is nothing but a pack of neurons.”
The passage then goes on to talk about the neural basis of decisions and claims that “…although we appear to have free will, in fact, our choices have already been predetermined for us and we cannot change that.” The other participants got a passage that was similarly scientific-sounding, but it was about the importance of studying consciousness, with no mention of free will.

After reading the passages, all participants completed a survey on their belief in free will. Then comes the inspired part of the experiment. Participants were told to complete 20 arithmetic problems that would appear on the computer screen. But they were also told that when the question appeared, they needed to press the space bar, otherwise a computer glitch would make the answer appear on the screen, too. The participants were told that no one would know whether they pushed the space bar, but they were asked not to cheat.

The results were clear: those who read the anti-free will text cheated more often! (That is, they pressed the space bar less often than the other participants.) Moreover, the researchers found that the amount a participant cheated correlated with the extent to which they rejected free will in their survey responses.

Varieties of Immorality

Philosophers have raised questions about some elements of the study. For one thing, the anti-free will text presents a bleak worldview, and that alone might lead one to cheat more in such a context (“OMG, if I’m just a pack of neurons, I have much bigger things to worry about than behaving on this experiment!”). It might be that one would also find increased cheating if you gave people a passage arguing that all sentient life will ultimately be destroyed in the heat death of the universe.

On the other hand, the results fit with what some philosophers had predicted. The Western conception idea of free will seems bound up with our sense of moral responsibility, guilt for misdeeds and pride in accomplishment. We hold ourselves responsible precisely when we think that our actions come from free will. In this light, it’s not surprising that people behave less morally as they become skeptical of free will. Further, the Vohs and Schooler result fits with the idea that people will behave less responsibly if they regard their actions as beyond their control. If I think that there’s no point in trying to be good, then I’m less likely to try.

Even if giving up on free will does have these deleterious effects, one might wonder how far they go. One question is whether the effects extend across the moral domain. Cheating in a psychology experiment doesn’t seem too terrible. Presumably the experiment didn’t also lead to a rash of criminal activity among those who read the anti-free will passage. Our moral revulsion at killing and hurting others is likely too strong to be dismantled by reflections about determinism. It might well turn out that other kinds of immoral behavior, like cheating in school, would be affected by the rejection of free will, however.

Is the Effect Permanent?

Another question is how long-lived the effect is. The Vohs and Schooler study suggests that immediately after people are made skeptical of free will, they cheat more. But what would happen if those people were brought back to the lab two weeks later? We might find that they would continue to be skeptical of free will but they would no longer cheat more.

There is no direct evidence on this question, but there is recent evidence on a related issue. Philosopher Hagop Sarkissian of the City Univeristy of New York and colleagues had people from Hong Kong, India, Colombia and the U.S. complete a survey on determinism and moral responsibility. Determinism was described in nontechnical terms, and participants were asked (in effect): whether our universe was a deterministic universe and whether people in a deterministic universe are morally responsible for their actions.

Across cultures, they found that most people said that our universe is not deterministic and also that people in the deterministic universe are not responsible for their actions. Although that isn’t particularly surprising—people want to believe they have free will—something pretty interesting emerges when you look at the smaller group of people who say that our universe is deterministic. Across all of the cultures, this substantial minority of free will skeptics were also much more likely to say that people are responsible even if determinism is true. One way to interpret this finding is that if you come to believe in determinism, you won’t drop your moral attitudes. Rather, you’ll simply reverse your view that determinism rules out moral responsibility.

Many philosophers and scientists reject free will and, while there has been no systematic study of the matter, there’s currently little reason to think that the philosophers and scientists who reject free will are generally less morally upright than those who believe in it. But this raises yet another puzzling question about the belief in free will. People who explicitly deny free will often continue to hold themselves responsible for their actions and feel guilty for doing wrong. Have such people managed to accommodate the rest of their attitudes to their rejection of free will? Have they adjusted their notion of guilt and responsibility so that it really doesn’t depend on the existence of free will? Or is it that when they are in the thick of things, trying to decide what to do, trying to do the right thing, they just fall back into the belief that they do have free will after all?