Eric

Eric is a fitness enthusiast, science, comedy and health podcast junky who enjoys eating, lifting and drinking. Workouts include CrossFit and calisthenics.

Keto Criticisms: The Pros and Cons of the Keto Diet

Many of you have heard of “keto diet” and have already hopped on the bandwagon. Ketogenic “keto” diet is a diet that allows the body to use ketones and fat as fuel while under a strict low-carb and high-fat diet. The science behind it is that instead of your body using glucose (produced by carbs), it uses ketones (produced by fats) as an alternative energy source. Ketones are made if you consume very few carbs, moderate amounts of protein, and high fat. For most people, the keto diet is healthy, though it has been noted that those who take medications for diabetes, high blood pressure, and breastfeeding women should consult their physicians first before doing this.

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Hip Thrusts Are For Men Too

Aside from strengthening their hips and glutes, some women want to show off their big, rounded, attractive butt. Those bottoms are to die for and some, if not most men, drool whenever they see them. But what about men? Do we still need to include hip thrusts in our workout routine even if we already have squats and deadlifts which are great for our glutes? Apparently, we do, and not just because some women find men more attractive if they have well-formed butts, of course.

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Hiking Prescription, Parkinson’s Disease Prevention, Grip Strength on Heart Health, Old Age, and Workouts

Many of us might lose hope when it comes to treating or managing our illnesses or conditions, especially if it’s chronic. We get convoluted by so many drugs that most doctors prescribe. But what if there’s a way, something more natural, for us to manage our condition by not only relying on medications?

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Taubes vs. Guyenet on Rogan, Cardio vs. HIIT and Psychedelics

Many people fall into the camp of HIIT (High intensity Interval Training), demonizing LISS (Low Intensity Steady State) exercises. Why choose a side? There are benefits to both.

Here are some benefits of steady state cardio

  • Burn extra calories and fat
  • Low impact compared to heavy lifting or HIIT which gives your body time to recover from high impact work
  • Helps promote more blood flow, reducing inflammation and soreness and improving cardiovascular function, mitochondrial and cellular health
  • Reduce stress and cortisol levels

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Things That Helps Improve my Sleep Quality

You can only train as hard as you can recover

People have different ways they believe assists them in their recovery process. This includes protein shakes, massage devices, ice baths, sauna and more. Some methods of recovery may have more of a placebo effect than anything else.  

One undisputed fact today is the importance of sleep for physical and mental performance and recovery.

A couple points to note about sleep and recover:

  • Most of the natural human growth hormone is produced during sleep.1
  • Lack of sleep seriously impacts athletic performance, mental errors, injury rates, reaction time, and overall health2.
  • Athletes and those who work out more above average require above average sleep.3
  • While you sleep, your body creates more white blood cells to assist you in attacking viruses and bacteria.4

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My Lower Back Injury: Should You Workout When Injured?

Not too long ago, for one of our daily WOD + strength workouts at our CrossFit gym, we started off the strength portion of the workout with a 5×5 squat. After a brief warm up of 2-3 sets of 135 pounds, I felt that I was ready to begin increasing the weight. At around 205 lbs. at the bottom of the descent of the squat, I felt a sudden pain on the lower back. It was an acute pain and caused my legs to weaken and give out. Luckily, I was able to bail out and dropped the barbell behind me.

After about an hour, I was able to slowly get up with assistance and “walk it off”. The next couple of days would be very difficult in terms of just getting out of bed. After 7 days of the injury, I was still having issues sitting up without pain.

This acute injury was caused by my impatience to not warm up properly as well as increase weight too quickly. When faced with an injury like this, there’s a few things to keep in mind during your recovery.

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Skepticism over the “Hangover Free” Wine: A Dry Farm Wines Review

Drinking whiskey and beer when I’m out socializing and a few glasses of wine when I’m eating dinner or relaxing at home is something I thoroughly enjoy and regularly indulge in. The problem is that overdoing alcohol can give you hangovers and have negative effects on your training, fitness gains and overall health. Alcohol consumption is linked to a multitude of chronic diseases, not to mention the additives, preservatives, and sugars that are often found in many alcoholic beverages. That’s where Dry Farm Wines come in. They claim to be one of the healthiest options when it comes to indulging in wine.

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Drinking Alcohol Will Destroy your Sleep Quality

I’ve been tracking my sleep for quite some time now using the Apple Watch. I used to use the now-defunct Zeo Sleep Tracker, a device worn on the head using EEG signals to track your sleep. I’ve also ordered the Oura Ring, one of the more accurate consumer devices to track sleep.

Using the Apple Watch’s Sleep Watch app, I can only estimate my “restful sleep”. The app does not claim to know when you are in REM or deep sleep, very important sleep cycles. Hopefully, the Oura Ring can provide more insights into those cycles of sleep.

Although the iOS app doesn’t detect REM or deep sleep, I rely on it to detect my heart rate during sleep. A dip in heart rate during sleep is healthy and indicates more restful sleep. Studies correlate a lack of a heart rate dip with all-cause mortality, with findings state that “those with very small or no dips in sleeping heart rate were about 2½ times as likely to die in the next 7 years as those with normal or large dips during sleep”.5

 

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Cheating Should Be Part Of Your Overall Diet Plan

Despite differences in the protein and fats I choose to eat and the seasoning I use, I can get bored of eating similar style meals every day (eggs, meat, veggies etc..). That’s why I allow myself to have cheat meals where I eat basically whatever the hell I want.

Cheat meals can involve drinking copious amounts of alcohol and eating appetizers, desserts, and fried foods, all of which can be pretty unhealthy and damaging. I’m not on a mission to be unhealthy but if unhealthy dishes is what the menu has and what people recommend, that is what I will try.

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First Progress Video: Deadlift, Power Clean and Snatch, Handstand Walk

This is the first of many video posts of my workout progress for specific movements. I am trying to improve not only the amount of weight, repetition or distance for these movements but most importantly for me, the correct technique and form.

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"Healthspan is the period of life spent in good health, free from the chronic diseases and disabilities of aging."