The Best Health and Fitness Articles of the Week #167 – DIY Sports Drinks Recipes, Grilled Smoked Tea Steaks, and Weight-Lifting Advice to Increase Strength and Power

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This week’s update includes:

  • 5 DIY Sports Drinks to Help Keep You Hydrated
  • Sergey Brin’s Search for a Parkinson’s Cure
  • The 10 Realities of Dating A Bodybuilder
  • Grilled Smoked Tea Rib-Eye Steaks
  • The Forgotten Piece of Weight-Lifting Advice That Will Make You Stronger
  • Joe Manganiello’s “Magic” Conditioning Routines
  • Current school start times damaging learning and health of students



5 DIY Sports Drinks to Help Keep You Hydrated

I hardly ever buy sports drinks like Gatorade, because I’d much rather drink something healthier, like water. I like the way Gatorade tastes though, so I’m very interested in trying to make my own sports drink. The author’s recipe is simple: 2 cups of water, 2 tbsp. raw honey, juice of 1/2 of a lemon, and a pinch of sea salt. Easy!

I actually made this recipe and it came out great. It’s like a much fresher and healthier version of Gatorade. I don’t have lemons, so I had to use a lime and I don’t have raw honey, so I had to use regular honey, but it still came out delicious. No blender either! I just stirred it up with a butter knife for a minute or so until the honey dissolved.

She lists five other sports drink recipes you might like too. I fully intend to make all of them.

  • All Natural Lemon-Lime
  • Chea Seed Drink
  • Organic Coconut Water
  • Green Tea & Pomegranate
  • Coconut and Lime


Sergey Brin’s Search for a Parkinson’s Cure

Sergey Brin, one of Google’s co-founders, carries a gene called LRRK2, which he discovered after genetic testing from 23andMe. LRRK2 is associated with the development of Parkinson’s disease. It can increase the chance of getting Parkinson’s by 30 to 75 percent. Brin is taking preventative steps now to reduce risks of getting Parkinsons, such as regular exercise and drinking caffeine. He has also donated a hefty $50 million to Parkinson’s research with hopes that it will help develop better treatments in the case he does get Parkinson’s later in life.

I think services like 23andMe are great for situations exactly like this. If we discover that we are susceptible to a disease because of our genes, we can self-educate ourselves on the disease, take precautionary measures to prevent it, and prepare for it if it ever comes.



The 10 Realities of Dating A Bodybuilder

This advice is targeted towards ladies, but it’s a fun read for everyone. I love that the article starts with food. She talks about how bodybuilders eat big meals every two hours, bring their own food to restaurants and BBQs, will rarely cheat on their diet no matter how much you want them to, and they will have the entire kitchen covered with freshly baked chicken breasts to prep their meals for the week. I’ve done exactly that for many years!

Some of the other things she mentions about bodybuilders are:

  • They spend a lot of time in gym
  • They look in mirrors frequently
  • Women will often stare at him (so try not to get jealous)
  • They will take handfuls of supplements every day
  • They will make you feel safe and secure
  • They may have mood swings during contest prep phrases
  • You never have to worry about where they are (they’re at the gym, eating, or sleeping)
  • They can be inspirational to your own fitness goals
  • They have a very active sex drive


Grilled Smoked Tea Rib-Eye Steaks

This recipe from Whole Foods sounds awesome! It requires using Lapsang souchong tea, a black tea that is smoke-dried over pinewood fire, which gives it a smoky taste. The flavors of Lapsang souchong tea are often described as dried longan, pine smoke, and whiskey and because the flavor is so strong, people either love it or hate it.

I’ve never tried Lapsang souchong tea, but I will because it sounds so unique and interesting. If I like the flavor, I’ll give this rib-eye recipe a try, minus the canola oil. I’m not going to ruin my steak with crappy oil!



The Forgotten Piece of Weight-Lifting Advice That Will Make You Stronger

The tip that Dan John provides here is to use a challenging weight and work your way up on that weight to doing more and more reps. He mentions that the problem most lifters have these days is that they only train for body mass and not strength and power.

This is one of the problems I’ve noticed when doing the Stronglifts 5×5 program. Doing 5×5 the way it’s prescribed has done great things for my strength, but I always hit a wall that I can’t get past. That is until I drop the weight just a tiny bit and continue on that weight and increase reps. After a few workouts, I’m usually able to get over that wall.

If you’re reaching failure on a heavy load and you just can’t get passed it, consider dropping the weight and doing more reps for a while. The next time you try to surpass that PR, you just might be surprised at how much easier it is.



Joe Manganiello’s “Magic” Conditioning Routines

Does it mean I’m out of touch if I don’t know who Joe Manganiello is? Probably. I’m definitely out of touch with pop culture since I don’t really watch TV. Even if I did watch TV, it’s highly unlikely I’d watch Magic Mike XXL.

Nonetheless, this guy is ripped! And if you do this workout, you just might get ripped too.

Let’s see:

Barbell Deadlift
– 6 sets
– 10,8,6,4,4,2 reps

Toes to Bar (each set following a set of deadlifts)
– 6 sets
– 8,8,8,8,8,8 reps

Sled Pull
– 40 yds

Plyometric Jump Squat (following immediately after sled pull)
5 reps

Burpee Box Jump Overs
– 5 sets in 10 minutes, 8 reps

Front Squat (this immediately follows each jump over set)
– 8 reps



Current school start times damaging learning and health of students

This study shows that age 10, students should start school at 8:30am or later, at age 16 they should start at 10am or later, and 11am or later at age 18. These are the recommended times to prevent chronic sleep deprivation, which can cause cognitive issues and other health problems. It makes sense.

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