IOL Strength and Conditioning

Have you no time for a full workout? Do you want real lifting efficiency? Are you a fan of “Old School” lifting? If you answered “yes” to any one or all of those three questions…The Clean and Press is for you.

You don’t often see the clean and press being performed in many gyms and there are a few good reasons for this. First and foremost, the movement is hard. When it is done in sufficient sets and reps with even moderate weight, it can provide a whole body workout that will tax the most of the body. It doesn’t take much examination to see that the legs, lower and upper back, biceps, triceps and deltoids, as well as the cardiovascular system will be worked quite well by the movement, especially if you are doing the movement “full cycle.” (This means that you clean and press for each repetition.) The movement requires (and develops) strength and balance. You can’t sit comfortably in a seat and do the movement.

Second, it is not a glamorous movement. Rather, it is basic and primitive. Pull the weight to your shoulders and shove it overhead. Repeat. You can’t be casual while you clean and press. You can’t hold a conversation, talk on your cell phone, nor can you check the gym’s “eye candy.” You have to devote your full attention to struggling to overcome gravity. Simple, basic and demanding equals “not popular.”

Third and finally, the movement is perceived as dangerous. The lower back is at risk when you bend over to clean. The clean subjects your attachments to “unnatural” forces. Your shoulders and lower back are dangerously loaded while the weight is overhead. Why would anyone want to do such a dangerous movement?

Why?

Because you will be in danger of developing coordinated bodily effort and a strong, muscular physique if you devote honest effort to the clean and press. That’s why.

I recommend that you do the movement “full cycle” as mentioned above. However, that may be too taxing for a beginner so feel free to clean every second or third press if you wish. Once you’ve built up some conditioning, you can do the movement full cycle. You should start with moderate weight, especially if you haven’t done the movement before. You can use a barbell or dumbbells - though the beginner will be better served by the barbell initially. A barbell is a little easier to control than are dumbbells - which require that you divide your concentration and control each ‘bell. If using dumbbells, a good starting weight is the same weight that you use for standing lateral or front raises. (Yup, you heard me…start that lightly!)

It’s not necessary (nor even desirable) to completely lock out the elbows and shoulders each rep, since by doing so you transfer the loading from the muscles to the bones and joints. Just ensure that you completely lock out a few reps of each set, to guarantee full range of motion and to make a “complete” lift.

Give the clean and press and honest try…the movement will surprise and reward you.

Recently, I purchased a shrug bar. I’ve worked with it a number of months now and I consider it one of the more intelligent purchases I’ve made. Simply put, it allows me to squat and deadlift in greater safety and comfort than does a conventional bar. There are a couple of reasons why this is so. First, during the lift, your hands and arms are in a more natural position, just like when they are hanging relaxed by your side. Second, as you lift, the weight is free to move to the centerline of the body, rather than remaining in front of the body…lessening the stress on the lower back and making the lift more mechanically efficient. Also, since the weight is lower, there is less stress to the lower back, because the distance to the fulcrum or the movement arm is shorter. Third, the lift is safer to perform with the weight held in the hands. It is much easier to “dump” a bad lift, when the weight is near the hips and hand held, than it is when supported across the upper back. With the low center of gravity, balance is easier for me, also. The grip work is a nice bonus that goes almost unnoticed…until the latter reps of the set!

With the use of this bar, I’ve been able to incorporate into my workout what is a fairly intensive compound movement, without the disadvantages of the conventional squat and deadlift. It’s a “win, win” situation for me. Purists will decry that this is neither a “true” squat or deadlift…but there is a simple answer to those objections:

I don’t care.

The above movements are a good fit for me. I often find myself constructing “quickie” workouts using these two movements and find that they work nearly the entire body in a most pleasing fashion. Give these two movements a try and enjoy your training.

Tendons take forever to heal, and after waiting patiently with intolerance all summer for an Achilles tendon to normalize (shoe inserts, regular icing, attention to Joint Connection and fish oil supplements), by accident I stumbled upon what feels like a miracle.

Pulling out Clair Davies’ Triggerpoint Therapy Workbook to look up referred pain sites for thumb soreness for a friend, I stumbled over a triggerpoint for Achilles tendinitis located deep in the middle of the calf. Gouging away at it — hurt like the dickens! — the pain lessened over a period of a few minutes as the triggerpoint eased.

The next day, my long-suffering Achilles tendon was healed.

Now I know that sounds ridiculous and that only the triggerpoint faithful will believe it.

And to the scoffers, let me dig a bit: You *have* triggerpoints. This isn’t some hocus pocus voodoo. They may not be causing you any trouble… or maybe they are. That tendinitis you’ve been anxiously waiting out could possibly be cured today. I’m really not kidding.

Quoting Clair Davies, author of the Trigger Point Therapy Workbook, “The defining symptom of a trigger point is referred pain; that is, trigger points usually send their pain to some other site. This is an extremely misleading phenomenon and is the reason conventional treatments for pain so often fail. It’s a mistake to assume that the problem is at the place that hurts!”

And from the painful conditions list on the triggerpointbook.com website, it’s no joke; from tendinitis, ankle sprains and back pain, to carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, rotator cuff, runner’s knee and sciatica, the list of potential favorable treatments by triggerpoint therapy is long.

Aside from how quick and miraculous this is, the second-best thing? You can perform this on yourself. There’s no need to find a therapist, wait for an appointment and hope the attendant knows his or her stuff, then line up to pay the big bucks. Using your ingenuity and a tool or two, you can hit every part of your body. I’m not saying a visit to a practitioner for an initial treatment wouldn’t be a good idea, quite the opposite. But in many areas, you simply won’t find a knowledgeable therapist, and heck, for the cost of a couple visits, you can stock up on all those choice therapy tools.

In fact, I broke down and sprung for the full triggerpoint therapy kit, and am using it faithfully, daily. This is one outstanding toolkit, highly recommended, and at least until they run out, you can get a set from Elite Fitness for $119. Or you can pick up individual parts of the set at the manufacturer’s site, TPTherapy.com.

Surprise! Rolling my foot over the smaller unit fixed the dropped metatarsal problem I was griping about all summer. Bodyparts aren’t working fully optimally yet, but things are a whole lot better. If you’re aching all over, check this stuff out. And if you aren’t — you lucky dog — check it out anyway and save yourself some future trauma.

One negative aspect of home training: equipment limitations. The fact is, there are a few exercises that are hard to do. We makeshift all the time, but at my great pal Mindy Mylrea’s FitFest a couple weeks ago, I came across a simple tool that provides a lot of options for bodyweight exercises: a pair of mobile but stable dipping bars called the Lebert Equalizer.

Here’s a quick video of Mark Lebert, the designer, running through a variety of exercise possibilities; here’s the same guy doing some playful and extremely difficult over and unders.

Another trip over to YouTube will get you running woman (what looks to be an pretty intense gut effort), leg up vertical rows, and an example of circuit training using the Lebert bars.

You’ll find a listing of some of the exercises you can do with the Equalizers here, and this pdf combines the exercise suggestions and photos into a simple, printable format.

At $99 ($117 including freight) for a pair of bars that you can do a whole slew of exercises with, that price is not too bad. Some of you can make a set of your own certainly, but when you get done, will they work that well and be significantly cheaper? I’m not so sure about that part.

You know why Weight Watchers works? Public accountability. That’s it. Sure, they’ve got a good eating plan that most people will lose weight on, but it’s the accountability that keeps the successful dieters on track. We discovered that for ourselves a few years ago during a winter workout challenge that kept a large group of IronOnline forum members on track through the holiday season and consistent through the depths of winter.

Now we’re back for a return engagement with our 2007 End of Year Challenge. And guess what? You’re invited. Bring your self esteem to the project, and bring intended, purposeful optimism because we can — you can — succeed.

Your choices are wide. Whatever you need to address, be it fat loss, not missing a scheduled workout, adding cardio to your training program, quitting smoking, increasing protein intake, decreasing alcohol during the party months… you get to choose your challenge, determine it… own it.

Describe what success feels like to you. Pick something reasonable, something you can get done. This is not shooting low; this is creating a target you can actually hit. Be honest with yourself — losing 40 pounds by the first of January ain’t gonna happen. We’re looking for success here.
Let’s get something fixed over the next ten weeks… everybody here has one thing that needs attention. Some have flaky workout compliance; some drink too much, or smoke; some need more cardio, others need more weight workouts, more protein or fewer carbs in their diets…. better sleep habits, some stretching or maybe planned rehab work.
For you, it’s that thing that’s giving you a little flush at the back of your neck — yeah, that one, right there. Let’s get after it. I’m talking to you there. This isn’t a ridealong.

If you need help planning a workout or getting your diet in order, we’ll give you a hand.

Get on this now, before the chaos of November feels impossible and you get swept up in everyone else’s plan, which nearly always includes missed workouts and sloppy eating.

We’ll start on Monday, October 15 and wrap this up Monday, December 31 — 10 weeks to take us confidently and aggressively through the food and layoff holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

What one thing is really nagging at you? Are you ready to take control and fix it?

WE CHALLENGE YOU TO JOIN US, right here, right now.

Late edit after seeing the comments below: You’re welcome to post your challenge participation here in the blog, however if you’d like feedback and support, you’ll want to join the group in the IOL Forum by clicking here. 

The list of bodily functions regulated by the thyroid hormones is long, really long. And it includes more than the well-known thyroid symptoms such as weight gain, fatigue and sensitivity to cold. The rest of the symptom list is equally common, yet not usually recognized as low-thyroid symptoms. Let’s look at the list:

Fatigue, Headaches and migraines, PMS, Irritability, Fluid retention, Anxiety and panic attacks, Hair loss, Depression, Decreased memory and concentration, Heat and/or cold intolerance, Abnormal swallowing sensations, Insomnia, Constipation and irritable bowel syndrome, Easy weight gain, Low motivation and ambition, Muscle and joint aches, Dry skin and hair, Hives, Asthma, Allergies, Brittle nails, Slow healing, Sweating abnormalities, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Raynaud’s Disease, Itchiness, Irregular periods, Acne, Low sex drive, Easy bruising, Ringing of the ears, Flushing, Bad breath, Elevated cholesterol, Dry eyes or blurred vision, and the rest of the symptom list

There are dozens of causes for those ailments, but not too many things will cause multiple problems, and that’s exactly what low thyroid does. Many of us can see ourselves woven throughout that ugly list, so what do we do next?

Traditional medicine treats low thyroid first based on a blood test to measure Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH). This is a measurement to see if the pituitary gland is releasing TSH to trigger the hormone process. The Thyroxine (T4) is often included in the introductory panel.

Pretty often the tests will come back “normal” and no further action is pursued.

Alternative medicine finds two major flaws with traditional treatment. Thyroid hormones don’t work in the bloodstream, they work at the cellular level. What’s happening in the blood, where it can be measured, may not be representative of what’s happening in the cells. Whether TSH is high or low does not reflect if the thyroid hormone T4 is converting well to the working hormone, T3. Perhaps it’s not converting at all, or it may be converting to the inactive form of thyroid hormone, Reverse T3 (RT3).

A breakdown can occur at several points during the process from the glands of the thyroid system to the cellular level where the action happens. That’s why docs who have stepped out from under the umbrella of med school teaching are often treating thyroid based on a combination of symptoms and the patient’s temperature.

When the temperature is consistently below normal and the symptoms point to thyroid — even if the thyroid blood tests look normal — there’s a high likelihood of a poorly functioning thyroid system.

If you found yourself nodding at more than one or two of the ailments above, here’s what to do next:

1) Get your average temperature. If it’s consistently below the norm of 98.6, you’re a candidate for Step 2.

To get your average, take your temperature three times a day for three days. Take it every three hours beginning three hours after getting up; add the numbers together and divide by three to get the average. Women shouldn’t use the three days prior to starting their monthly periods as these are generally higher temperature days.

Come up with a low number? Take the next step.

2) Grab the free Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome ebook, or spring for the print version if you like to read at the kitchen table.

3) While you’re sorting out your next move, you may be interested in a little test. If your temperature average was low, order up a bottle of Iodoral, a high potency iodine supplement, and take a tablet with breakfast. Check your temperature later in the afternoon and see if it came up a bit. If it did, there’s a chance you’re simply low in iodine, which I was startled to discover is quite common. (Apparently our higher sodium diets don’t translate into high iodine, silly me for jumping to conclusions.) Iodine is needed in the thyroid hormone conversion; if you’re low, the fix is about $25 and a few days away.

4) Find a doc who can guide you, who will perhaps look a little deeper into the bloodwork by ordering free T3, free T4 and thyroid antibodies, which were possibly not ordered in a traditional medical setting, and if needed, prescribe T3, the working hormone.

If you love your doctor, but he or she isn’t familiar with Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome, click on this pdf link, print it out and take it with you. Perhaps more information will get you off to a better start.

Don’t worry, going on T3 is not a life sentence of prescriptions. In fact, it’s often used to re-set the patient’s thyroid over the course of a few months, then weaned off to re-test. But heck, let’s say it *is* a life of T3. Wouldn’t you prefer that over feeling half-lousy, low energy and dully motivated for the rest of your life? Uh… yeah, maybe.

The guy who contributed the most to this low-temperature method of thyroid treatment, Dr. Denis Wilson, bases his theory on enzymes. His book, Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome, a Reversible Low Temperature Problem, explains it thus,

“The function of the entire metabolism depends on the body temperature, because it dictates the shape and therefore the function of the body’s enzymes. The metabolism is the sum of all the chemical reactions in the body, virtually all of which are dependent upon enzymes.

“How an enzyme functions depends on its shape, or conformation. An enzyme’s shape depends on its temperature. When enzymes are too cold, they are too tight. When they are too hot, they are too loose. When they are just the right temperature, they are just the right shape, and function with the most ease.

“When the temperature is too hot, too cold, or unsteady, the enzymes will spend less time in their optimal shape-which simply translates into having a less than optimal metabolism.”

Quoting again from Dr. Wilson:

“The bad news of a low body temperature is also the good news. Although a low temp can cause many debilitating complaints, correcting it can also make them go away. Some people with low temperatures get worse all at once, and some can get better all at once. Others get worse in stages after successive stresses, and they tend to get better in stages also. People whose symptoms appeared gradually, tend to improve more gradually. Getting rid of a lot of severe symptoms may just be a matter of fixing the problem instead of treating the symptoms.”

As a co-sufferer, let me add this: The coolest part is once you get on track, it doesn’t take long to see if this is your answer, like a day or two in many cases, or at least a nudging of success in a couple of weeks. You may have been suffering from something that you didn’t address with a doctor, maybe you felt it was to small to complain about, even though it’s been nagging at you for years.

Or perhaps you instinctively knew the complaint would lead to a dozen medical tests resulting in no solid answer. If that’s you, and the problem is a malfunctioning thyroid system, this is going to feel like magic. No kidding.

Let’s get after this one, ’cause that dull nag’ll drag the life out of ya, you know it.