In 2003 Terry Wahls, M.D., was diagnosed with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis and soon became dependent upon a tilt-recline wheelchair. After developing and using the Wahls Protocol™ (Basically a Paleo diet), she is now able to walk through the hospital and commute to work by bicycle. She now uses intensive directed nutrition in her primary care and traumatic brain injury clinics. Dr. Wahls is the lead scientist in a clinical trial testing her protocol in others with progressive MS.

Dr. Terry Wahls learned how to properly fuel her body. Using the lessons she learned at the subcellular level, she used diet to cure her MS and get out of her wheelchair.

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One important contributing factor to the pathogenesis of OA is diet: nutritional deficiency and imbalance, obesity and diabetes (resulting in hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia) can result in metabolic and systemic disturbances that in turn increase susceptibility to OA directly due to effects on cartilage. Recent studies suggest that cartilage damage in OA occurs coincident with metabolic dysfunction, nutrient imbalance and diabetes mellitus (Rosenbloom and Silverstein, 1996; Denko and Malemud, 1999; Okma- Keulen and Hopman-Rock, 2001). Furthermore, high carbohydrate diets and generalized vitamin deficiency cause metabolic damage to cartilage (Willhelmi, 1993b). Vitamins E, B2, and C have been shown to exert an inhibitory effect on OA in animals. Chondrotoxic damage may result from food contaminants and fluoroquinolones (Stahlmann et al., 1995, 2000;Shakibaei et al., 1996; Forster et al., 1998). Equally, mineral deficiency (i.e. calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium and boron) can provoke skeletal damage in humans and animals.

Another joint disorder, which has a dietary component, is osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). In this disorder articular cartilage fragments separate from the articular surface and break off into the joint space (Williams et al., 1998). OCD in food-producing animals is caused by over-nutrition from excess protein and carbohydrate consumption and over supplementation (Slater et al., 1992). The overwhelming majority of musculoskeletal problems in companion animals and rapidly growing food-producing animal species are linked with a possible nutritional-related aetiology.

Read the full article here.

2. No matter what the issue you start with you will pick up other problems along the way.

3. You might might have to accept less range of motion.

4. Soft tissue work is very important.

5. Stretching is very important, but take it slowly. Little and often. On a pain scale of 1-10. Never let a stretch hurt more than a 4. If you do your tendons will become inflamed again and just put you back.

6. Find out where yo are weak and build up slowly. Start with light weights (or no weights) reps of 15-20 then gradually build up to higher weight/lower reps. There will be some pain, but again on a scale of 1-10 no more than a 4.

7. Don’t give up.

Training for strength means lifting heavy weights – typically 85%+ of 1RM with reps in the 1-5 range. This doesn’t mean that all the work has to be in this range, but certainly the majority.

The key things to remember when training for strength are:

1. Focus 80% of your effort on large compound movements (dead lifts, squats, bench press, rows etc).

2. Add more weight (not necessarily EVERY session, but consistently).

Some people will say “don”t do any cardio when training for strength or it will hold you back”. Whilst there is some truth in this, I think it is vastly over stated. Sure if you want to get big, then lots of high impact cardio is going to slow your progress (the basic reason for this is that muscles can only really adapt in one way so if you asking them to increase strength and endurance at the same time, you are not going to get the maximum adaptation n any one direction – something will have to give). However, maximum strength training whilst recruiting al the muscles fibres, will primarily change the type 2b fibres. Endurance training on the other had will work the type 1 and type 2a fibres. The key however if you want to do some cardio whilst training for strength is to make sure you only it the type 1 fibres and not the type 2a.

It might be useful at this point to give a quick overview of the different type of muscle fibres.

Type I Red fibers.

Slow oxidative (also called slow twitch or fatigue resistant fibres). Contain:

Large amounts of myoglobin.

Many mitochondria.

Many blood capillaries.

Generate ATP by the aerobic system, hence the term oxidative fibers.

Split ATP at a slow rate.

Slow contraction velocity.

Resistant to fatigue.

Found in large numbers in postural muscles.

Needed for aerobic activities like long distance running.

Type IIa Red fibers.

Fast oxidative (also called fast twitch A or fatigue resistant fibers). Contain:

Large amounts of myoglobin.

Many mitochondria.

Many blood capillaries.

High capacity for generating ATP by oxidation. Split ATP at a very rapid rate and, hence, high contraction velocity

Resistant to fatigue but not as much as slow oxidative fibres.

Needed for sports such as middle distance running and swimming.

Type IIb White.

Fast glycolytic (also called fast twitch B or fatigable fibers). Contain:

Low myoglobin content.

Few mitochondria.

Few blood capillaries.

Large amount of glycogen.

Split ATP very quickly.

Fatigue easily.

Needed for sports like sprinting.

Individual muscles are a mixture of all three types of muscle fibers (type 1, type 2a and type 2b), but their proportions vary depending on the action of that muscle. If a weak contraction is needed only the type 1 motor units will be activated. These fibers are used mainly for endurance activities. If a stronger contraction is required the type 2a fibers will be activated or used to assist the type 1 fibers. Maximal contractions facilitate the use of type 2b fibers which are always activated last. These fibers are used during ballistic activities but tire easily.

So how does endurance and strength training protocols relate to all this. Well you will remember that I said that you can’t ask a muscle to react to two different types of training stimulus. Well actually you can – if you are careful. This is because typically a muscles is made up of all three types of muscles fibres. So if you concentrate your strength training at the type 2b fibres and keep your endurance training restricted to the type 1 fibres, then there will be no conflict within the muscle and you can maximise your results from both types of training.

The important thing to do is to not confuse things by utilising type 2a fibres. So intense aerobics are out and so are high rep weight training.

OK, so how does this fit in with my training. The answer is that these two types of training make up my base training phase. Allowing me to get stronger and at the same time develop a solid base of aerobic fitness ready for the more intense phase of training as I prepare for competition. Where from about 8 weeks out the bulk of the training for competition is interval high impact training, increasing VO2 Max and local muscular endurance.

Here’s January’s strength programme. Pretty much Eric Cressey’s 4 day programme with a some shoulder rehab stuff added in.

Monday

A) Leg press: 6 x 2 @ 60-70% of 1RM. 1min rest between sets

B1) 1-leg DB RDL: 3×10/side

B2) Alternating Low Incline DB Bench Press: 3×6/side

C1) Dumbbell row: 4×6

C2) Split-Stance Cable Lift: 3×8/side

Reverse peck fly (neutral grip): 3×12

L-Lateral raises: 3×12

Wednesday

A) Deadlift: 5×3 (Note: first thing in the morning)

B1) Bicep curls (EZ bar): 3×12

Scapular pushups: 3×12

Cuban press: 3×12

Cable side rotators: 3×12

B) Dumbbell Reverse Lunge: 3×8/side ((Note: after evening running)

C1) Pallof Press Isometric Hold: 3×3/side ((Note: 10s hold at lockout)

C2) Hamstring leg curl: 3×8 (Note: after evening running)

Thursday

A1) Dumbbell Bench Press: 5×3

A2) Neutral Grip Pull-up: 5×3

B1) 1-arm DB Push Press: 3×8/side

B2) Seated Cable Row — Neutral Grip: 3×8

C1) Plank 3 x 1 min

We all know that too much inactivity is bad for us, but according to a recent study by  The Journal of the American College of Cardiology it could be even worse than we thought.

There are an awful lot of people out there who spend all day at a desk job, and then all evening in front of some from of screen (be it TV or PC) and then try to counterbalance this with a couple of hours at the gym. Well according to this recent piece of research by The Journal of the American College of Cardiology it seems that it doesn’t work that way.

The study followed 4,512 middle-aged Scottish men for a little more than four years on average. It found that those who said they spent two or more leisure hours a day sitting in front of a screen were at double the risk of a heart attack or other cardiac event compared with those who watched less. Those who spent four or more hours of recreational time in front of a screen were 50 percent more likely to die of any cause. It didn’t matter whether the men were physically active for several hours a week — exercise didn’t mitigate the risk associated with the high amount of sedentary screen time.

Recreational screen time has an “independent, deleterious relationship” with cardiovascular events and death of all causes, the paper concluded, possibly because it induces metabolic changes.

Read the report here.

My sport (like all combat sports) requires a lot of stamina. With bout typically lasting 6 mins I need a both a highly developed aerobic and anaerobic pathway and localised muscular endurance. And with no weight categories I also need considerable strength in order to complete with opponents 15 stone plus.

Macro programme for the year looks like this.

Jan: Base cardio and strength

Feb: Base cardio and strength

March * April: 8 weeks out programme, focus on anaerobic conditioning and muscular speed and endurance.

Late April/Early May: Taper and comp

Late May: Break (light cardio & maintenance strength work)

June & July: 8 weeks out programme, focus on anaerobic conditioning and muscular speed and endurance.

Early August: Taper and comp