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Hey folks! In this week’s Ask a Health Coach, Erin is answering your questions about how to fuel on race day, why overdoing cardio is linked to burnout, and how to squeeze more (effective) exercise into an already busy day. Post your questions over in the Mark’s Daily Apple Facebook group or down below in the comments.

Dean asked:
“I’m walking a 10K a week from today. I can do it fasted, and have so before, but is there any benefit to having some carbs, protein, or fat before my event?”

It’s never a good idea to try something different on your event day. This is the day you’re putting all your hard work to the test, so don’t be tempted to introduce anything new. That goes for what you put on your body and what you put in it.

Here’s Some Food for Thought

Sure, there’s tons of info about fat-adapted athletes who follow the train low, race high school of thought. The difference is, they’ve practiced it before they get up to the starting line. These athletes know how different sources of fuel feel in their stomach, if it makes them nauseous once they start moving, or if it makes them feel energized. They’re definitely not grabbing a few dates or a pack of almond butter on their way out the door, crossing their fingers, and hoping it works.

If you typically exercise fasted (and are fat adapted), eating before your race may decrease performance. And really, seeing as you’ll be moving at a low-ish intensity, I’d doubt that any kind of carb-protein-fat mix would move the needle too much anyway.

But the bigger question here is, if you’ve trained fasted and with fuel, why wouldn’t you choose the method you’ve found works best for you? Why would you totally discount something you’ve tried — and seen the real-time results — in lieu of advice that may or may not work for your body?

Why We Don’t Trust Our Gut

Maybe you’ve seen others carb-it-up before a race and constantly crush their goals. Or they swear by slower-burning sources of fat or protein. Deep down, you know what your body requires. You might not think you do, but you do. And usually, when you doubt your own inner knowing, it’s because you’re comparing yourself to other people and questioning your own ability to live up to the challenge at hand.

A certain level of self-doubt can be healthy though. It indicates that you understand what you need to improve upon to reach your goal, whether it’s getting a PR on your 10K or moving away from the Standard American Diet. But too much self-doubt can derail you. That’s why it’s important to trust yourself and your decisions. Check the negative self-talk (that we all have, mind you), and start reinforcing your strengths. For instance, here are three things I already know to be true about you:

• You can complete a 10K
• You’ve trained fasted
• You’ve trained with fuel

Focus on your strengths and do whatever makes you feel most confident. If you’re happy with what you’re doing in your training, stick with it. If you think you’ll get a little boost — even a mental one — with fuel, add some in. Just make sure it’s something you know your body can handle.

Anette asked:
“I work out 5-6 days a week and do a lot of cardio, mostly spin classes. This is usually such a great stress relief for me, but I notice myself feeling more run down lately. Got any advice?”

Chronic cardio, in my book, can be a recipe for total burnout. And it’s not just because it goes against the principles of the Primal Blueprint. For decades, we’ve been force fed the idea that the more cardio we can do, the more calories we’ll burn, and the *healthier* we’ll be. This wisdom, unfortunately, has created a generation of overtrained, immune-compromised exercise-aholics. I was one, so I feel qualified to say this.

The Curse of Chronic Cardio

I love that it’s been a stress reliever for you in the past, but when it starts to bring on more stress than it relieves, it’s time to rethink your exercise strategy. Because now, instead of reducing cortisol in your body, you’re encouraging it. ??An increase in cortisol can lead to all sorts of fun stuff like:

• Weight gain or weight-loss resistance
• Sugar cravings
• Aging faster
• Trouble sleeping
• Risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes

Getting past the idea of what chronic cardio used to do for you is key here. While it was your go-to stress-busting method, it’s no longer serving that purpose. As a seasoned health coach, I see this fairly often. Clients clinging to how things used to be — a number on the scale, a pant size, the ‘calories burned’ displayed on their cardio machine-of-choice.

Why Intervals Work

I’m not saying you should give up spinning; just change up your routine. It’s possible to get leaner and more fit with higher quality, more explosive, and less physically taxing workouts that are easier to recover from. Short, high-intensity intervals can actually provide more benefit with less burn out and risk of disease.¹ Physiologically, you’ll notice an increase in VO2 max (that’s the max amount of oxygen your body can take in and use), and mentally, you won’t feel so drained.

Benefits of interval training include:

• More muscle fiber strength
• More aerobic capacity
• Increased insulin sensitivity
• Increased growth hormone production
• Decreased burnout

Try this basic 30-minute interval workout next time you’re on the bike:

• 0 to 5 minutes: Warm up with an easy-to medium spin.
• 5 to 25 minutes: Pedal at a high resistance at full effort for 15 to 20 seconds, followed by low resistance and easier pedaling for 1:15 to 1:40 seconds. Repeat ‘til clock hits 25 minutes.
• 25-30 minutes: Cool down with an easy, low resistance spin.

The low resistance parts aren’t meant to be a workout, they’re designed for recovery, so make it easy and comfortable. Remember, rest is a major part of fitness, so don’t forget to take time off in between sessions. Your days away from the bike are the ones when your body is doing the most growth.

Samuel asked:
“We’re going back into the office in a few weeks, so I’ll have less time for my usual workouts. What exercises will give me the biggest bank for my buck, so to speak?”

Conventional wisdom says we’ve got to do more to get the desired results. More reps. More steps. More time at the gym. But your new schedule (and your lack of free time) might actually work to your advantage.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

What if you could get fitter, stronger, and leaner by doing less? The researchers in this study found that shorter bursts of exercise, like 15 minutes’ worth, was enough to double the endurance capacity of participants. And another study showed that three 20-second sprints at an almost-all-out-effort, three times a week could boost aerobic capacity by 15%.

Even the pros are figuring out that they can train less and reap bigger rewards, learning that pounding the pavement day in and day out won’t necessarily make you faster, but it will make you more fatigued.

Nearly everything you do on a daily basis can be classified as exercise (running back up the stairs because you forgot your coat, bringing groceries in from the car, pulling weeds in the garden). When you start tuning into the fact that every kind of movement delivers a health and fitness benefit — that’s when the magic happens.

Exercise Essentials

I’m a huge fan of these essential movements: planks, push-ups, pull-ups, and squats. These four simple exercises are movements humans have performed for millions of years. Millions. And you know what? They don’t take hours to do — you can likely crank out a set or two while your coffee is brewing. They also don’t require a trip to the gym. See this post for tips on proper form.

If you desire more structure, look into microworkouts. These are quick strength moves you do throughout the day. And honestly, they don’t feel like much when you’re doing them, but the effects compound over time. They can take a few seconds or a few minutes and can be done anywhere.

Think calf raises every time you walk by the stairs, holding a plank while you’re waiting for the next Netflix episode to load, cranking out tricep dips on the corner of your desk after each Zoom call. You get the idea. The key is to fit them into your day instead of carving out an hour before or after work. Now that your schedule is changing, there’s no better time to shake up your workout routine.

Now it’s your turn. Do you agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts below.

The post Ask a Health Coach: Fasted Exercise, Chronic Cardio, and Microworkouts appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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Time-restricted eating (TRE) is the bright shiny toy everyone wants on their diet list these days. Yeah, you can call it intermittent fasting. Salk scientists studying TRE in mice, looked into how it promotes multiple health benefits besides weight loss.

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Watching Seb Ostrowics over at Weightlifting House on YouTube is one of my guilty pleasures. A bowl of Frosted Flakes, ice cold milk, and the droopy, sonorous musings of a weightlifting nerd are all it takes to reduce my cholesterol and keep me away from Real Housewives of Atlanta.

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The War on Meat has begun. Every day, new missives come out against meat for its supposed impact on human health, the climate, the environment. Lone Star ticks across the country are triggering red meat allergies, hot new companies are making meat “replacements” out of lab-grown cells, pea protein slurries, and bug pureé. Politicians are talking about meat taxes and respected medical journals are publishing anti-meat research. None of these are good reasons to stop eating meat, nor are they legitimate meat replacements, nor will they successfully get humans to stop eating the food they’ve eaten for millions of years, but part of the fight against these campaigns comes down to you and what kind of meat you purchase and consume.

And in the off chance meat is banned or severely curtailed sometime in the future, they can’t sever a connection between you and a local farmer or another small beef producer. If someone wants to sell a cow to you, and you want to buy that cow, it’s going to be awful hard to stop it. They might be able to exert some control at grocery stores, but they won’t be able to stop a consumer from buying one-on-one from a local producer.

In addition to that, buying from small beef producers means you can get high quality organic, grass-fed animal products at wholesale prices, particularly if you’re willing to buy with friends, neighbors, and family—or have a freezer large enough to handle it yourself.

So, how do you find a small beef producer?

There are several routes to try, none of which are mutually-exclusive. I’m confident that almost everyone reading this can find a small beef producer near them.

Try Craigslist

Craigslist.org is an online classified service that hasn’t changed in 20+ years for one simple reason: it just plain works. While most people use it to buy used cars or find apartments for rent, you can also use it to score high quality local meat and other animal products. Just choose your region/city/state and do a search.

Check out this listing in Southeastern Florida. I typed “beef” in the search box and got an option for grass-fed and -finished organic beef for $6/lb.

Or this listing in Portland, Oregon. I searched for “beef” and got an option for locally-raised, locally-processed pastured beef at $4.40 a pound.

Or this listing in Las Vegas. $8 a pound for grass-fed, organic beef cut to order.

The list goes on. Search in every region and I bet you’ll find something.

When you find a listing that looks promising, start a conversation. Behind that listing is often an individual, usually the person responsible for raising the animals. Usually the owner. You can get the inside scoop directly from the source on how the animals are raised, fed, and cared for.

My point is not to aim you toward any specific listing. My point is that wherever you are, you can probably find someone selling high quality local beef on Craigslist. The same goes for other meats and animal products like lamb, chicken, backyard eggs, raw milk, even fruit or other produce. Need some good lemons? There’s probably someone with a tree in their backyard who doesn’t need any extra. Want pastured eggs? There’s probably a hobby farmer who has too many to know what to do with them.

Google “[your area] grass fed beef producer.”

This reliably returns results. Just google grass fed beef producers in your local area.

Try Eatwild.com

EatWild has been around for 20 years now.

Not only is it a directory of small beef (and other animal food) producers broken down by state, it’s a fully-vetted directory of websites, phone numbers, and email addresses of small meat producers. The staff at EatWild don’t just admit anyone. To make it onto the website, a producer must satisfy certain requirements. If they’re listed on EatWild, you can rest assured that the producer raises, feeds, and treats their animals the right way. You won’t see a “small-time” feedlot producer make it onto Eatwild.

However, you will have to make the phone calls and the emails and peruse the websites to arrange the purchase. Some of the listings may be inaccurate or defunct. But either way, EatWild gives you a great place to start.

Farmer’s Market

These days, every farmer’s market I ever attend has at least one small meat producer in attendance. Usually they’re selling individual cuts, but you can also strike up a conversation and make larger wholesale purchases.

There’s something special and comforting about looking the rancher in the eye, shaking the hand, and knowing exactly where (and whom) your meat comes from.

Visit small butcher shops.

Smaller more personable butcher shops are making a comeback, and many of them offer meat from smaller local producers. This is a great way to obtain local meat from producers raising their animals the right way without having to buy an entire cow. The butchers will usually have a close relationship with the farms and can tell you all about their methods.

Check out this Twitter thread.

A couple days ago, I asked my followers on Twitter to give me their favorite small meat producers. I also asked any producers who were following me to drop their information so other customers could find them. As of the time of my writing this post, I’m up to 130 responses. Go take a look at the thread and scroll down to read all the replies. If there’s anything near you and you want some beef, give them a try!

But really, it’s hard to mess this up. This is easier than ever to do. More and more consumers are interested in buying direct from small beef producers, and more and more small beef producers are interested in selling direct to consumers. Using one or two of the methods linked in this post will almost certainly give you a good lead or five.

If you have any other suggestions, let me know down below in the comment section. If you have a favorite producer, list them down below. If you are a producer of beef or other animal products, drop your info down below (or visit the Twitter thread and mention yourself there).

Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care, and happy hunting!

The post How to Find Small Grass-fed, Ethical Beef Producers appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss

Whether you are an athlete, are going to be king of your gym or show natural ability in certain types of physical fitness activities, genetics have been suggested as playing a role in the capacity for greater performance.

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A couple weeks ago, I answered 20 of your burning questions about collagen. Today I’m back for part two of this series with 20 MORE questions.

Before starting, let me make a general disclaimer so I don’t have to sound like a broken record: To offer an optimal supplementation strategy with any confidence, you need a fairly substantial body of evidence to draw upon. While collagen is a hot topic, there really isn’t a ton of research on collagen supplementation yet, particularly not studies done in humans. That’s not to say we’re shooting blind here. We know that collagen used to be abundant in the human diet, and we need collagen to balance out the methionine we get from meat. Plus, there is a growing (but not yet extensive) literature on collagen supplementation, as well as a fair number of studies aimed at understanding the effects of specific amino acids—glycine in particular—that are found in collagen.

All this is to say, while I can provide my educated opinion about best practices, some of the nitty-gritty questions you submitted require data we simply don’t have yet. I’m hopeful that it’s forthcoming. In the meantime, here’s what I’ve been able to glean from the available science.

What types of collagen are best for joints and skin?

Skin contains mostly type I and type III collagen. Cartilage is type II. However, collagen supplements all contain the same basic amino acid building blocks. There’s no evidence that one formulation is better than another for achieving specific goals. You probably don’t need to worry about micromanaging.

How does collagen supplementation relate to the use of glucosamine and chondroitin for joint health? Do we need both?

They serve different functions. Glucosamine and chondroitin are used to prevent cartilage breakdown and relieve joint pain, though evidence regarding their effectiveness is mixed. Collagen provides amino acids necessary to build collagen in the body. I don’t know if you need both, but you can take them together.¹

Does topical collagen work?

Collagen peptides are too large to penetrate the skin effectively, and there’s virtually no evidence that topical collagen products have anti-aging or other cosmetic benefits.² Some medical applications are quite promising, though. Specifically, I’m keeping my eye on research into collagen-based biomaterials to help speed wound healing. ³

Is collagen good for gut health? Does collagen “heal the gut?”

“Heals the gut” may be too strong a promise, but the available data suggests that collagen does support gut health. In particular, studies show that glycine—the primary amino acid in collagen peptides—exerts anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective effects in the gut. Glycine protects against endotoxemia and ulcers as well.^{4 5 6}

For joint health, is there a specific collagen supplementation protocol you recommend? How much do I have to take, how often, and in what form to support joint health?

As I said up top, we don’t have the fine-grained studies we’d need to answer this question. The few available human studies suggest that 10 grams of collagen peptides or 10 mg of undenatured type II collagen can be enough to yield some benefits.^{7 8}

Does collagen supplementation help when doing prolotherapy?

I like this hypothesis, but I don’t know that anyone has tested it. With prolotherapy, doctors inject an irritant around injured connective tissue, supposedly triggering the deposition of new collagen tissue. It seems like you’d want as many available amino acids as possible in this situation. Why not try?

Do collagen peptides speed wound healing, and if yes, in what quantity?

Based on available evidence, I’m fairly confident the answer is yes. However, a 2019 review found only eight studies of collagen peptides worth considering—not nearly enough to answer the second part of this question.⁹ Topical collagen treatments continue to show promise as well, but they’re still experimental at this point.¹⁰

Can collagen speed recovery time for broken bones, cancer metastases, or other major injuries?

Another good hypothesis that needs to be tested. Here’s what we know: Bone is predominantly type I collagen. Collagen supplementation appears to improve bone mineral density and protect against age-related bone loss.¹¹ Vitamin C, an important cofactor for collagen production, helps bones heal after injury.¹² I’d try it, personally.

Can pregnant women take collagen? Should they?

I see no reason why not, nor do any of the major (American) medical associations seem to have any issue with it. Some sources recommend avoiding marine collagen during pregnancy due to potential sensitivities, but this may be an abundance of caution. Talk to your doctor if you’re concerned.

Can women who are breastfeeding use collagen supplements?

Same as above. Pregnant and breastfeeding women need those amino acids. Moreover, collagenous bone broth, soups, and stews made from meat on the bone are traditional postpartum foods around the globe. Ancestral wisdom at its finest! Always select reputable brands that test their collagen for contaminants. (Yes, Primal Kitchen does.)

Should you take more collagen as you get older? Are different forms of collagen better for people of certain ages?

Older folks require more protein to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. Specifically, they need more of the amino acid leucine. Although collagen contains some, meat is a better source.¹³ That said, older folks should consider adding collagen for bone health. Any collagen peptides will do.

Benefits for endurance athletes to support ultra running and other endurance events? Are there other benefits for endurance beyond joint health?

This is a slam dunk, in my opinion. Check out the “Collagen for Performance” section in this post. Besides joint and connective tissue health, collagen supplementation may positively influence body composition and, according to one study, improve muscular strength and endurance.^14
15 Glycine also supports sleep, which is critical for recovery.¹⁶

I believe collagen powder is rather high in oxalates. For those of us who have to minimize our oxalate intake, is there a decent alternative?

The amino acid hydroxyproline is a precursor to oxalate production in the liver.¹⁷ All collagen supplements (and bone broth) contain hydroxyproline. Talk to your doctor before supplementing if you’re prone to calcium oxalate kidney stones. You might be ok taking smaller servings. Standalone glycine supplements are another option (see below).

Can you be allergic to collagen? My 16-year-old daughter gets an itchy throat when she uses collagen powder.

That certainly sounds like an allergic reaction. There have been a couple documented cases of collagen allergies, though they seem quite rare. Folks with fish and shellfish allergies should steer clear of marine collagen. Does the powder in question contain other ingredients? In any case, she should stop taking it.

Do I need to worry about heavy metals like lead in collagen supplements?

With any supplements, you want to make sure you buy from a trustworthy source that follows best safety practices. At Primal Kitchen, our quality standards include testing each lot of collagen produced for compliance with regulatory standards for heavy metals.

Does adding collagen to your coffee (but nothing else) officially break your fast? Does it matter?

I have a whole post about what supplements do and do not break a fast. To quote myself: I’m going to say “technically yes,” but “realistically no, collagen doesn’t break the fast.” There’s a small possibility that glycine might inhibit autophagy, but I’m not overly concerned about it.

If I’m tracking macros, should I track collagen peptides toward my total protein?

No. Collagen is considered an incomplete protein because it lacks tryptophan, one of the essential amino acids. It’s also a relatively poor source of leucine compared to meat or whey protein. Your food tracking app will count collagen toward your daily protein total, so you’ll need to mentally subtract it.

I’ve heard that collagen can lower serotonin levels and cause increased anxiety in some people. Any truth to that?

Collagen peptides lack tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin. If you don’t consume enough complete protein sources, it’s true you could end up deficient in tryptophan. Collagen doesn’t deplete tryptophan, though, so supplementing collagen shouldn’t cause low serotonin. Just don’t replace other protein sources with collagen.

Glycine powder is much more cost-effective than collagen, and is actually quite tasty (naturally sweet). Do you think supplementing 10-15g of glycine can approximate most of the benefits of collagen supplementation?

I have a post on this, too. The short answer is: I’m all for supplementing glycine if you want, but it won’t net you all the benefits of collagen. Consider that collagen is the only meaningful dietary source of hydroxyproline, which is crucial for collagen synthesis in the body.

The post 20 More Questions about the Benefits of Collagen Supplements appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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We praise what matters. In a famous study, Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck found that students were far more likely to persevere through challenging problems and bring those problems home to work on more when they received praise for working hard rather than being smart. 

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