NEW SITE ----> Go to http://www.miketnelson.com < -----for all my latest info a this site below is from about 5-8 years ago. Michael T Nelson, MS CSCS, RKC is a PhD
Candidate in Kinesiology (Exercise Physiology) at the U of MN and Fitness Consultant in White Bear Lake, MN. Ramblings here about research, training, nutrition, exercise phys, Z Health, joint mobility, and whatever else I want
I apologize for the delays here, but I have been working on the new blog like a crazy man and it is almost done! It will be live some time on Monday, so check back here for all the info. I have tons of great stuff lined up too!
Jodie and I are off to a friends cabin up north tomorrow as soon as I complete my last test for the Monster Energy Drink study in the lab that AM.
Wow, I can't wait for that. I started testing subjects in early January and to date I will have completed 50 tests, each one taking about 2.5 hours or so. Lots of data to analyze now and I am over half way through it. I will be sure to update everyone on the results as soon as I can.
Special HUGE thanks to all the volunteers for the study, as I could not have done it without you.
Have a great weekend everyone and here is a hint on the new site coming on Monday
Extreme human performance powered by kettlebells, strength, mobility, and muscle through neurology
I am really excited to get the site up and going and get lots of killer info out to everyone!
I recently had a question about what I doing for my research and what a typical day is like for me, so I thought I would republish here for all of you.
What are my research projects like/what are my teaching responsibilities?
I am investigating the concept of Metabolic Flexibility. For a full literature review, see the link below
We know that as people get closer to say a diabetic condition, their body has a harder time processing carbohydrates. The opposite of this should also be true, as they are closer to a "healthy" state, they should be able to efficiently use carbohydrates, fats and perhaps protein.
In my study I am looking at the effects of a commercially available Energy Drink to alter Heart Rate Variability (measure of heart health), Flow Mediated Dilation (measure of vessel health), changes in Respiratory Exchange Ratio (amount of carbs and fat burned during exercise) and is it an ergogenic (does it enhance exercise performance). I am also working on two other papers related to Metabolic Flexibility and Heart Rate Variability (HRV).
I am a Teaching Assistant (TA) for KIN 3385 Human Physiology and KIN 4385 Exercise Physiology labs. I also do a lecture on occasion for both.
What is a typical day like? Day to Day varies quite a bit. Here is a recent Tuesday
5:40am--get up, head to the lab Too early to think, so I make sure to set everything out the night before.
6:30am prep and then subject testing. Have a bowl of oatmeal and protein shake with Biotest super food (fruit/veggie supplement). Normally at home I have eggs and spinach.
9:00am finished subject testing
9:10-11:10am Human Physiology labs (TA)
11:10-12:30 email, review study for meeting Grilled chicken breast with veggies and olive oil.
12:30-1:30pm, U of MN staff meeting
1:30-2pm change clothes, drive to work
2-5pm work in Technical Services at Boston Scientific I've been working there for 9 years now and I started after I spent 7.5 years in college on the "first go round". I was able to drop to 24 hours a week 2 years ago in order to finish my PhD.
A snack made with organic whole plain yogurt, protein powder and a bit of sugar free pudding mix, with berries.
5:45pm get home, unpack, change and get ready for client Chicken breast with veggies and olive oil
7-9pm training a client in my garage gym I also train at this time. This time we were working on some bench, rows using gymnastic rings attached to the power rack and KB snatches. Warm up is Z Health Neuro Warm Up and any other special Z Health drills to get his movement up to par before we lift.
Here is a video on how to do a neutral bench press shot in my garage gym.
9pm prep food for the next day, shower, etc Post training meal of grilled salmon, broccoli and sweet potato with butter and cinnamon. Tasty!
10pm off to bed, rinse and repeat
Tuesdays tend to be a busier day, but most days are pretty packed lately although what I am working on tends to vary.
The key is to plan ahead. I like to do all my food prep on Sunday (or lately it has been Wed evenings) so that I am good to go before the weeks starts.
What tips do you have to get through your busy weeks? Post them in the comments section.
Here is another tip for you--a video on how to cook salmon in just minutes!
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 topicfor 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 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
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.
