This post was originally published on this sitehttp://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
Good beer deserves its own glass. Left in the bottle, your beer experience is limited to one thing: how the beer tastes. That’s of crucial importance, to be sure, but to really appreciate your finely crafted brew in all its glory, that beer must be liberated. Pour your beer into a glass, my friend — you’ll be rewarded with not only taste, but aroma, color, bubbles, and a foamy upper lip. Here’s what to do.
This post was originally published on this sitehttp://chriskresser.com/
This post is sponsored by the Paleo Recipe Generator, which features over 700 Paleo recipes personalized to meet your unique needs.
Type of dish: Lunch, Snack
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This post was originally published on this sitehttp://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
Two weeks ago I was in Fairbanks, Alaska, riding shotgun on a research trip with my husband, spending my days on my own work indoors while he was on rather more exciting expeditions, zooming up and down the river and measuring water levels on a major field campaign. My own contribution to science came, naturally, with dinner. We invited the crew over for a grilled salmon feast and it was my chance to whip out Diana Henry’s A Change of Appetite — a book I had been looking forward to cooking out of for months.
This post was originally published on this sitehttp://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
I’ve prepped and readied for my CSA this season, and now the real work begins: finding ways to eat everything every week before it goes bad! If it’s your first time participating in a CSA, you’ll soon learn it’s not uncommon to end up with more than double what you’d have ever bought yourself at the grocery store. Sure, you buy cucumbers, but do you buy eight at a time? Welcome to CSA life.
Sound scary? It can be, but it’s really just a lot of fun. Here are five things I try to do after every pickup to make sure those fruits and vegetables don’t swallow me up (instead of the other way around).
This post was originally published on this sitehttp://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
Q: I would like to pre-make scones that I can freeze and then later take out to bake in small batches as an easy, on-the-go breakfast for myself or my impatient toddler. What is the best way to do this and still preserve the moist interior and crisp crust?
This post was originally published on this siteOriginally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
The shoulder area is one of the most neglected areas of the body, especially when an injury occurs and therapy is implemented. Many therapists like to isolate certain muscles, especially the rotator cuffs, even though our bodies never move in such isolated ways.
This post was originally published on this sitehttp://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
For the most part, beets are pretty divisive; either you love them or hate them. Their earthy flavor can sometimes be poetically referred to as “tasting like dirt,” but when cooked correctly — aka crisping them up into crunchy, salty chips — these sweet root veggies can make even the most adamant beet-haters change their minds.
This post was originally published on this siteOriginally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
The shoulder area is one of the most neglected areas of the body, especially when an injury occurs and therapy is implemented. Many therapists like to isolate certain muscles, especially the rotator cuffs, even though our bodies never move in such isolated ways.
This post was originally published on this sitehttp://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
Have you noticed a new symbol popping up on the produce signs at Whole Foods lately?
In addition to telling you the price, where the produce was grown, and whether it was conventional or organically grown, these signs now include a Best, Better, Good, or Unrated designation.
This post was originally published on this sitehttp://www.marksdailyapple.com/
For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering two questions from readers. First comes from William, an officer in the Navy who likes lifting heavy but also needs to score well on the physical fitness assessment, which involves a 1.5 mile run, pushups, and pullups. His taste for basic 5×5 strength work has left his running performance lacking. What can he do to improve the run without eating into his strength numbers? After that, I explore whether sitting on a footstool or medicine mall in the squat position is better than just sitting in normal chair.
Let’s go:
Dear Mark,
I really enjoy your blog; you’ve exposed me to a lot of research and information that convinced me to switch to a primal eating style about 4 years ago. Thank you!
I’m a US Naval Officer, which means that I need to maintain a high level of physical fitness. I’m in good shape thanks to my diet and some experience weight lifting, but I’m not really satisfied with my exercise routine. I’ve been doing the Strong Lifts 5×5 system, which has made me stronger in all lifts (Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Overhead Press, Rows, Pull-ups and Dips), but I feel like the intensity of this lifting routine has decreased my ability to do the type of cardio I need to get an outstanding cardio score on my PFA (run time around 9:30 for 1.5 miles. I can still score in the 9s for 1.5 miles, but it’s not nearly as easy as it used to be…I think my worry is that I have a focused lifting routine that is fairly effective, but I’m not effectively training cardio.
So, I was hoping you might have a suggestion for a workout routine that includes more push-ups and pull-ups to improve my strength scores, as well as cardio to maximize my run times. Part of my concern is ensuring that I maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of my workouts so that I can maintain my strength (especially around a busy work schedule). I’m not looking to negate what I’ve gained by running too much, and I definitely want to avoid the perils of chronic cardio.
Thank you for your time and support!
All the best,
William
Great question, William.
I’d definitely recommend dropping the StrongLifts program. As you mention, it’s just such a nasty combination of intensity and volume. It’s great at making you strong, but it’s hard to improve other aspects of your fitness while you’re on it. There’s just not much left over at the end of the week.
If you’re interested in sticking with the basic heavy lifts, I’m a big fan of the 70’s Big Strength and Conditioning program (PDF). It’s got a few similarities to StrongLifts, namely the focus on the big lifts — squats, deadlifts, power cleans, overhead presses, pullups, dips, bench presses. But instead of 5 sets of 5 reps of each, 70’s Big prescribes 3 sets of 5 reps for squats and presses, 5 sets of 3 reps for the power clean, 1 set of 5 reps for deadlifts (since they’re so demanding if you go all out), and 3 sets of as many reps as possible for pullups and dips.
The format is different, too.
Mondays, you squat, press, and do pullups (or chinups, if you prefer).
Tuesdays are power cleans and dips, followed by a conditioning workout. Conditioning workouts in this program last between 6 and 10 minutes, consisting of brief but intense efforts. Think hills sprints, sled drags, any of the conditioning workouts posted on this blog. They could also be mile or 1.5 mile runs to prepare you.
Wednesdays are off days. Use these to work on skills (like practicing for a sport) and just have fun (play games, mess around on the slackline, gather pals for some Ultimate Frisbee, go for a hike, that kind of thing).
Thursdays are squats, bench press, and dips.
Fridays are deadlifts and pullups followed by conditioning.
Saturday and Sunday, just do something. Throw another conditioning workout, maybe work on your 1.5 mile time, play some more, hike again, garden — whatever. But don’t go too hard.
This plan is nice because it’s spread throughout the week, so no single day is awful. You’re not deadlifting and squatting and pressing on the same day. You’re not squatting three times a week. You don’t really dread your workouts, so you’re more likely to actually do them.
Another option is to focus on the stuff you need to improve and fit the “non-essential” lifts where and when you can. If you have access to pullup bars (or anything overhead that you can grab and use as a pullup bar) throughout the day, try the “grease the groove” method. That involves doing pullups as often as possible, using short sets and never going to failure, or even approaching it. You could do 50-75-100 pullups throughout the day in sets of 1-3 over the course of 12 hours, just kind of getting a few reps in when you can. They never feel “hard” and you’re not stressing your body much but you’re still accruing the work and getting stronger and more comfortable with the movements. This works for pullups, too; just use slightly higher rep counts but stay away from failure.
Twice a week, go for a run. Improve that 1.5 mile time.
Do something short and intense once a week. Maybe hill sprints or intervals on a bike. Tabata kettlebell swings.
Lift twice a week. Squats and bench press/dips (weighted if need be) one day, deadlifts and overhead press the next. You’ll always be doing pullups and pushups, remember, so there’s probably no need to focus on those. Don’t worry about the reduced volume. You’ll maintain your strength and even get stronger if you work hard enough.
Oh, and thanks for your service (and patronage).
Hi Mark,
I had a quick question for you. We’ve all heard about the dangers of sitting. Obviously learning to love the squat as a resting position is best, and I try to spend 10 minutes a day in a full squat. What I was wondering, however, is if it’s more beneficial to sit in a full squat position than to sit in our typical 90 degree chair or couch position? I often find myself using a medicine ball or a footstool to sit in a squat stance when I’m watching TV or doing work on my laptop. Is this actually any less harmful than just sitting in a chair, or am I simply deluding myself? Your thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks for all you do!
Best,
Kris
I suspect it’s not much better, but let’s go through the various issues with sitting and see if your full squat method counteracts them. That will give us a better idea than just relying on a hunch.
In a normal chair, your back rests against the back rest; your trunk musculature (the “core”) does absolutely no work. If the “full squat chair” you’re using is a stool or medicine ball without a back rest, your trunk is doing some work. Better.
In a normal chair, the rest of your body weight is supported by the seat; your glutes and all the other supporting musculature are completely inactive. When squatting with your butt on a stool, your weight is still supported by the stool, not your muscles. Just as bad.
Energy expenditure drops when you sit in a chair, mostly because your body is at complete and utter rest. If you’re sitting in a much lower chair, you’re still not doing much, except for the modicum of work your trunk muscles perform to keep you upright. A little better (but not really).
Sitting depresses the activity of muscle lipoprotein lipase, an enzyme necessary for proper regulation of fat metabolism, triglyceride formation, and entry of fatty acids into adipose tissue (PDF). This is caused by muscle inactivity, so your full-supported deep squat stool sit won’t be any better. Just as bad.
Sitting in a normal chair is basically like sitting in a parallel squat position, with a shortened and progressively tighter hip. Sitting in a shorter chair that makes you sit in a deep squat position probably isn’t much better. And since it places your hip in deep — yet passive — flexion, you might end up with even tighter hip flexors than you would sitting in a normal chair. Just as bad and possibly worse.
I don’t know, to be honest, and you can certainly try, but I don’t think it will be much better. The backlessness of the ball or footstool is helpful, though. Just try to find something that lets your knees lie below your hips, like a backless bar stool or the Locus Seat from Focal Upright (which I use and love).
Good luck and tell me how it goes.
Thanks for reading, everyone. If anyone else out there has additional input for today’s questions, by all means toss it in down below!
Have a great week.
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