RBF has a new home, and a new name!

Reality Based Fitness has moved over to Wordpress, and as another blog by the same name apparently already exists (who knew?),  has been renamed "Skeptifit". All previous posts have been taken across.

Be sure to head on over there, check out the new format, and subscribe via email update or RSS feed!

Say What? Why?

  If a fitness professional, medical professional, doctor, lecturer, your mother, friend, or brother make a claim, it needs to be supported by evidence. Of course there are different standards of evidence applied to different situations depending on how we gauge their importance, but when analysing medical science or health based claims (e.g. fitness industry related), then peer-reviewed, scientific research is the best available method for acquiring reality-based evidence. Abstracts are even freely available to the public over at Pubmed, and statistics can be accessed at ABS.

  Providing supporting research for a claim or opinion is one thing, but it should meet several criteria (Here I have listed only a few):

1. Peer reviewed: so that the research has been scrutinised by other qualified professionals in the field, and found to meet a high standard.
2. Actually support the claim: Why provide "supporting" evidence that doesn't support a claim? It either means that the conclusions of the research haven't been interpreted properly, or that the references were thrown in to lend an air of legitimacy to the claims in the hopes that nobody would check them.
3. Not be superceded by more recent research: studies conducted in 1930 just don't cut it if there's more modern research available which is both valid and reliable.
4. Be valid: does the design actually test the hypothesis and are the results applicable to the real world situation?
5. Be reliable: If others were to repeat the experiment, would it give the same or similar results?
6. Be balanced: It's easy to cherry-pick data - providing references to scientific research in a bias manner in order to support preconceived points of view. It's much harder, but more honest and rewarding, to review available research and adjust our opinions accordingly.

 
  Be sceptical, be a critical thinker. Demand evidence, and try to avoid believing things for emotional or intuitive reasons, or simply because the local newspaper reported it as such. When this process fails the result is something along the lines of Crossfit, detox diets, acacia berry madness, homeopathy, "organic" food, and acupuncture.



 Don't take my word for it, go out there and gather some evidence.

iPhone Apps for Fitness

   I was lucky enough to receive a hand-me-down iPhone 3g back in early December, and have been delving into the world of iPhone apps ever since. Below are my recommendations for some of the best health/fitness related apps that I have found on iTunes to date (if you have personal recommendations, suggest them in the comments! I’m always looking for highly recommended fitness apps).
   I have broken these down into targeted audience, along with main features, cost and drawbacks. Some of these apps, like Gym Buddy, have *tons* of features, so I have included only those which I found most useful and interesting. If you wish to read more just follow the link to the app description in iTunes.

These are all compatible with the 3g onwards.

Gym Buddy

Cost: $3
Audience: intermediate & advanced resistance training enthusiasts
Youtube Video

Features:

• Record reps, sets & exercises.
• Create custom workouts.
• Plan future workout days with inbuilt calendar, or review past workouts
• In depth summaries, statistics, on-the-go 1RM’s and more
• Timer for interval training and HIIT
• Body tracker with fully customisable entry options, for tracking weight, BMI, BF% and more
• Data management and email backup

Drawbacks:

• No automatic programming functions (all manual, create your own programs)
• No pictures of exercises or biomechanical guides/explanations

Review: 

I honestly cannot do this app enough justice in this short review. Although I listed two drawbacks, these are necessary compromises for the amount of freedom this app allows the user. It’s assumed that you will do your own exercise research (know the right technique etc), so this isn’t really for the beginner unless you use it in conjunction with another app (ie Fitness Buddy). Highly recommended and easily worth the cost.

MyNetDiary

Cost: Free ($5 for Pro version)
Audience: fat loss / muscle gain
Youtube Video

Features:

• Track meals, exercise performed (basic calorie tracking purpose), weight, charts & measurements, vitamins & medications (basic note function here)
• Customise your own ingredients and ‘recipes’ for easy tracking of frequently eaten meals
• Review macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein), micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, calcium, iron etc) eaten in the day, and whether they meet minimum daily requirements
• Set calorie goal for the day, easily review remaining calories and macronutrient breakdown
• Favourites category, easily identify your customised food entries
• Barcode scanner!
• Nutrition and consumption calorie reports

Drawbacks:

• Barcode scanner only in the paid version
• Barcodes are not always linked to products, and sometimes the barcode scanner does not scan properly (depending on lighting etc)
• For most products, the only nutritional information available is that which is printed on the package. This means that a lot of micronutrients and even in some cases caffeine, are not displayed

Review:

I’ve never been a big fan of tracking calories, in fact I’ve been very stubbornly opposed to the entire concept for a long time. What this app does is allow you to remove the focus from calorie counting (though the info is all still right there, if calorie counting is your thing), and places the focus on macro and micronutrient tracking. The amount of nutritional information this app allows you to review is fabulous – you want to track how much iron, calcium or vitamin C you’re consuming? Easy!

Sports Tracker

Cost: Free

Audience: cardiovascular crazed / joggers

Youtube Video


Features:

• Time and measure the distance, speed/pace of your jogs, hikes or walks
• Measure calories burnt 
• Inbuilt Google maps function, shows where you are, and where’s you’ve jogged
• Share your routes on Facebook with the click of a button
• Basic functionality so only a small learning curve

Drawbacks:

• No inbuilt heart rate monitor support
• No inbuilt interval timing functions

Review:

Although my favourite jogging app to date, it’s lacking in the two drawbacks mentioned above. Still a great app though and highly recommended, let’s just hope for a future update which includes the two functions above!

Fitness Buddy

Cost: Free

Audience: beginner resistance enthusiasts

Features: 

• Preprogrammed exercise routines
• Pictures and description of how to perform exercises

Drawbacks:

•  Unable to modify or enter your own exercises, so you’re constrained to those on offer
• Not a lot of features

Review:

A great program for beginners, provides some nice descriptions with accompanying pictures.

Fitocracy

Cost: Free
Audience: RPG’ers (role playing gamers) who are also fitness enthusiasts
Youtube Video

Features: 

• Reward system (think badges, or ‘achievements’) for accomplishing strength goals
• Reward system for accomplishing “quests”
• Leveling system to encourage frequent workouts
• Facebook/twitter style interface with tons of very active social groups to meet all tastes. The community is truly amazing, with heaps of support and social interaction

Drawbacks:

• Resistance training focus
• Information for past workouts can only be entered for 5 days prior to the current date
• As you level up, it becomes harder to level up – but that’s what RPG’ing is all about!! (incentive to train harder)

Review:

Although not technically a simple app for the iPhone and more of an interface app for the Fitocracy website (requires sign-in prior to use), I had to include it on my list. Fitocracy has helped motivate me in a way that nothing else has, and given me goals where before I really had none. If you’re an RPG’ing nerd, like me, and also into resistance training – Fitocracy is an absolute must.

Edit: Be sure to add me on Fitocracy!

Microwave Cooking and Nutrient Breakdown

The Microwave Controversy

We’re almost 3 weeks into the new year, and many have started with a list of new years resolutions, and perhaps even thrown a few of those resolutions out the window. For many these included eating healthier (particularly more vegetables & fruit) and an exercise program. They're all very formidable goals, made even more difficult when the aspiring healthy consumer is tasked with separating reality from nonsense in their pursuit of what works, what doesn’t, and what is rooted in solid reality-based principles.

I don’t want to carry on too long with this intro, so let’s skip right to the crux of the matter; Microwaving vegetables, should you do it? And does it denature the nutrients? There’s a popular belief which has been around for quite some time that microwaving vegetables (and meat, carbohydrates, or any other nutritional victim bound for the microwave) decreases the nutritional value of the food by altering the molecular structure of the macro or micronutrients.

Nonsense. In fact, the very opposite is the case for a number of important nutrients.

Dispelling nonsense makes Mr Broccoli very happy.

Of course microwaving your food affects the molecular structure, this is what we call “cooking”. There have been plenty of studies investigating the effects of microwaving vs stove cooking vegetables and other food, for example here, here¹, and here². These studies show that microwaving vegetables or other foods is superior when considering nutrient preservation (at least, for those nutrients being studied) when compared to traditional stove-top cooking.

There’s some history behind the ‘Microwave Militia’ as they have been dubbed by the more sceptical community, however I won’t expound upon them here. In addition, I recommend listening to (or reading the transcript) of Brian Dunning’s “Skeptoid” podcast episode which was entirely devoted to this issue, though his focuss isn’t specifically on nutrient preservation but rather unsupported claims of negative health effects when microwaving food and beverages.

Getting enough vegetables and good nutrition is hard enough without being fed misinformation from those who stubbornly oppose evidence based research, particularly those who ought to know better. So throw those veggies into your microwave and be happy in the knowledge that you’re not only saving time and effort, but also increasing your nutrient intake and increasing the likelihood of sticking to a healthier diet.

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References

      1.   Effect of microwave cooking or broiling on selected nutrient contents, fatty acid patterns and true retention values in separable lean from lamb rib-loins, with emphasis on conjugated linoleic acid

Abstract

Proximate composition and fatty acid profiles, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers included, were determined in separable lean of raw and cooked lamb rib-loins with their subcutaneous and intermuscular fat, prepared as roasts or steaks. Two combinations “cooking method × type of cut” were selected: one is a traditional method for this meat (broiling of steaks), while the other (microwaving followed by final grilling of roasts) is far less widely used. The two methods, similar as regards the short preparation time involved, were also evaluated for cooking yields and true nutrient retention values. The cooking yield in microwaving was markedly higher than in broiling. Significant differences between the two methods were also found in the true retention values of moisture, protein and several fatty acids, again to the advantage of microwaving. On the basis of the retention values obtained, with microwaving there was a minimum migration of lipids into the separable lean, consisting almost exclusively of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, while there were small losses of lipids in broiling, almost equally divided between saturated, monounsaturated and ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. On the whole, the response to cooking of the class of CLA isomers (including the nutritionally most important isomer cis-9,trans-11) was more similar to that of the monounsaturated than the polyunsaturated fatty acids.

2. Sensory attributes and nutrient retentionin selected vegetables prepared by conventional and microwave methods 

Abstract

Sensory characteristics and retention of vitamin C, vitamin B₆, calcium, and magnesium were determined in vegetables cooked by conventional and microwave methods. Fresh broccoli, cauliflower, and potatoes and frozen corn and peas were cooked by boiling, steaming, microwave boiling and microwave steaming to equivalent tenderness as measured by a shear press. The sensory analysis of the vegetables cooked by the four methods indicated that some differences existed in color, flavor, texture, and moistness of the vegetables. No one method resulted in vegetables with optimum sensory characteristics. The nutrient retention was highest in foods cooked by microwave steaming, followed by microwave boiling, followed by steaming, and then by boiling. Generally vegetables cooked by microwave techniques retained higher percentages of the U. S. Recommended Daily Allowances for the nutrients than those cooked by conventional methods.

Who Needs a Personal Trainer?

”Who would pay somebody to torture them for an hour? I know how to jog and lift a weight, why would I pay somebody?!”

These are rhetorical questions I have heard people posit for years, both before I was a qualified personal trainer & fitness specialist (yes that latter is a qualification, not something I just made up) and after I had completed my Diploma. In order to answer these questions I’m going to take a half dozen steps backward…

Exercise. Everybody has goals and an ideal body type, even if they have no idea when or how to achieve it. On the one hand it seems intuitive: eat less, exercise more – do this for long enough, and with enough intensity, and you will achieve your goals. On the other hand there is chronic illness, acute exercise injuries, lack of motivation, lack of time, lack of skill and knowledge, lack of equipment access.

There is an over-abundance of information on the internet, but only a fraction of that information is reliable or what I like to call “reality based”. In other words, some people just like to make stuff up, to hell with all of that science stuff (after all, what does some middle aged, white-coated scientist know about what’s going on in the real world?).

I’m a science kinda guy, I think that the techniques and methodology which I use to train my clients should be solidly reality/science based, and I like to think that *most* of you out there are also reality (and science) based, whether you realise this or not. In short, we want what works, and what we know works. That is where science comes in. It gives us the most reliable, testable, repeatable, falsifiable, and best controlled technique for evaluating what works and what doesn’t. It’s by no means perfect, it by no means provides all of the answers (nor does it pretend to), it *is* however self-correcting, peer-reviewed, and more reliable than any other reality-testing methodology we know of.

The science: It's relevant!

All very well and good, but how does a *client* know that their PT is implementing training methodology that works or is evidence/reality/science based? How do we know the difference between a PT who even has a methodology vs one who is simply regurgitating the routines they learnt from a 4 week online course provided by a questionable means and questionable testing criteria? (and does that even matter if they are actually training clients and getting results?).

As a holiday project for my end of year break I decided to sign up with the local gym – (although it’s been contrary to my personal ethos for the past 7 years to step foot into a gym in the role of client/member). It’s obvious to me that a large majority of the clients at this gym who engage in resistance training, and I would wager at any gym, fall into three distinct categories:

   

• Having no real idea what they’re doing, but knowing that they don’t know (the majority of the weight machine users)

• Having no real idea what they’re doing, but thinking they do (the majority of the free weights users)

• Knowing what they’re doing, and doing it quietly and methodically (an extreme minority)

You might argue that another PT has a different opinion from me, that I think (and write) one thing, they think another. So who’s right?

It comes back to the science – who is more up to date with the latest research? And how relevant and applicable is that to the field of exercise? Is the PT even *aware* of the scientific research, or at least somehow tapping into the results that the latest scientific research is discovering, perhaps through reputable online journals or other official channels (ie Fitness Australia newsletter and updates).

Does your PT know what he's doing?

There are many biomechanical reasons why exercise technique exists, why the shoulders, knees and hips should not be placed in certain positions in high risk exercises which make them more vulnerable to injury. This is an important example where a PT is valuable, directing a client in the appropriate technique and execution of an exercise so as to avoid injury and gain maximum benefit from their exercise routine. Of course many other reasons exist, such as motivation, exercise programming, fitness testing and goal assessment.

Who needs a PT? Most people, if not for technique correction and injury prevention, then for motivational direction and goal achievement. A good PT will help you to discern truth from nonsense, after all – there’s a lot of information out there, and most of it’s worth the amount you’ve paid for it.