Is Beet Juice Really a Performance-Enhancing “Drug”? Digging In…
This article provides a great explanation of how scientific studies are performed, how the statistics are reviewed and why small studies can be misleading. In this case the study was performed on too small of a group, which meant the researchers weren’t able to claim the benefits of beet root juice that they thought they would. But had they used a larger group, the “p-value” would have been below 0.05 (the cutoff point for most journals) and they would have been able to show that beet juice actually does have significant benefits, at least in generally athletic people.
So if you want to see some benefits of beet juice in your own performance:
- It’s best in events that last 5-30 minutes
- Take 500-600 mL of beet juice 2 to 2.5 hours before event
- You can take concentrated beet juice to prevent a full stomach
Most of us are familiar with the RICE method of recovery – rest, ice, compression, and elevation. You probably still want to use this method if you’re suffering from a serious injury or if you’re not in a rush to recover, but if you’re an athlete with sore muscles, RICE can actually delay healing by half a day. You don’t want to use anti-inflammatories either because they can delay healing and also cause additional damage. Instead you should speed up healing with more movement without pressure, or basically, get moving again. If you’re sore from running, go for a walk or a light bike ride.
This Harvard researcher wants you to know that your supplements can kill you
This is scary and a big reason of why I don’t trust supplements that contain more than 1-2 ingredients. Most of the supplements I take are basic, like creatine, fish oil, and protein. I’ve taken pre-workouts in the past, but I’ve never trusted them enough to use more than a few times. If it tastes like chemical soup, it probably is.
Rise and Shine: What kids all around the world eat for breakfast
A fun article, but there are also some great examples (especially the girl from Tokyo) of how we can teach our kids to like healthy foods by giving it to them early in life. Even if they hate it at first, they can grow to love it.
Bulletproof Coffee Warning: 3 Potentially Disastrous Problems
“Potentially” is the key word here. The first two issues brought up here are about using bulletproof coffee as a meal replacement. They’re valid concerns, but I wouldn’t guess likely in most people who are drinking it. The third issue is an interesting one though – we don’t much about consuming large amounts of saturated fat in this manner. It could be good or it could be bad.
The 20,000 Calorie Strongman Diet: FUEL – YouTube
Here’s a short 10 minute documentary of what America’s leading strongman, Robert Oberst, eats in a day. Check out his shopping cart! Wow!
10 Training Tips for the Ladies
Some excellent tips here for women looking to get more out of strength training, Mostly as it relates to proper form and physical anatomy
3 Complexes for Rapid Female Fat Loss
This article is focused on doing complexes, which are workouts that consist of a series of exercises all performed in a row (kinda like Crossfit WODs). The post is directed towards women, but complexes are great for men too. There are several examples of complexes here. I’m definitely going to try them after my broken foot heals.