Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Get Strong, and Laugh a Little – Installment 4
Written on April 22, 2011 at 6:57 am, by Eric Cressey
Here’s a little dose of randomness that will, I guarantee, brighten your day in some way – whether it’s by making you laugh or teaching you something.
1. First, I’ll be the proud baseball strength coach for a minute and say I’m pumped to announce that Cressey Performance athlete and Atlanta Braves prospect Cory Gearrin got the call-up to the big leagues yesterday. Cory is a great guy, hard worker, and couldn’t be more deserving. He’ll be joining the Braves for their series with the San Francisco Giants this weekend, so keep an eye out for his debut. For the record, he will NOT be rocking the mullet wig he donned for the Cressey Performance Elite Baseball Development video (9:22 mark) – although I do think that the world is ready for a reincarnation of Mitch Williams circa 1992:
2. My wife is out of town for the next few days, so I’m trying to be ultra-productive in her absence – so I’ll be directing you to some content from different people that I enjoyed reading this week. First, though, one thing I that I’d been meaning to do for quite some time but just got around to doing was updating my Resources Page. Whether you’re a general fitness enthusiast, fitness professional, or fitness business owner, I have reading/viewing recommendations for you that are specific to your needs. Check it out.
3. I just came across this study demonstrating a valuable role for physical activity in the management of ADHD. It’s not really surprising, but it’s the kind of thing to which we should draw attention now that many schools have canned physical education (PE) classes. It makes me wonder if the reduction in PE has a lot to do with the fact that ADHD is off the charts nowadays. We might be saving money on not paying PE teachers, but are we just diverting those funds to other areas to deal with kids with learning disabilities, ADHD, etc? Food for thought. I have a hunch that if parents and kids just exercised more and ate right, this wouldn’t be as much of a problem as it has become.
4. Here’s an interesting study on how body mass index (BMI) relates to injury patterns in high school athletes. I can understand that BMI is an easier way to stratify people into your groups (as compared to measuring body composition), but do we really want to tell people that “BMI-targeted preventive interventions should be developed to help decrease sports injury rates.” I mean, it might not scientific, but wouldn’t it be better to say that “We should build stronger, leaner athletes because they are less likely to get hurt.” I just don’t love the idea of giving body mass index any love whatsoever…but maybe it’s just me being sensitive because I’m technically “obese” by their calculations.
5. John Romaniello wrote a great three-part blog about Macronutrient Breakdowns in your nutrition program. And, as only John can, he made a seemingly dull subject seem wildly entertaining. Check them out: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
6. Here’s a good article from Mike Geary on why eggs yolks aren’t so bad. I like this because it’s the kind of writing you can just print out for or email to a friend who doesn’t believe you when you tell him/her that eggs are not only not dangerous, but actually quite healthy.
Okay, that’s all. Have a great weekend, everyone!
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I never bothered to calculate my BMI but about a month ago my wife got a Wii Fit and I was very irritated when it made my little character a fat guy because of my BMI.
I work as a reading specialist for fifth graders at an urban charter school in philly. My school has no recess for the kids in 5-8 grade, and gym only once a week. It breaks my heart man, you see these kids getting yelled at for outbursts of energy, when all they need is to go out an PLAY. Nice study on the ADHD… i’ll definitely be giving it to my old, tired, cranky, in-need-of-physical-activity pricipal.
April 22nd, 2011 at 7:02 am
BMI telling me I’m obese (215 @ 5’11”) made me laugh, as well.
The funnier part was that the “healthy range” for me was something like 135 to 175.
If I’m weighing 135, I better have just won $1 million on Survivor!
April 22nd, 2011 at 7:04 am
James – 5-9, 193 got me there, too! Maybe us fat kids should come up with a secret handshake?
April 22nd, 2011 at 7:29 am
Eric,
I wish I was “obese” like you.
April 22nd, 2011 at 7:54 am
Guys,
I’m 5-7, 205 lbs, 46″ chest and 33″ waist. By BMI I should die tomorrow!
April 22nd, 2011 at 8:59 am
I’m always in the fat-kid range on the BMI, even at 6-5, 215-ish. Say what?
April 22nd, 2011 at 10:28 am
Thank you – I’ll share that study about the effect of exercise on ADHD, with the special education dept. of the school system in which I work!
April 22nd, 2011 at 1:04 pm
I never bothered to calculate my BMI but about a month ago my wife got a Wii Fit and I was very irritated when it made my little character a fat guy because of my BMI.
April 23rd, 2011 at 7:36 am
yo eric,
I work as a reading specialist for fifth graders at an urban charter school in philly. My school has no recess for the kids in 5-8 grade, and gym only once a week. It breaks my heart man, you see these kids getting yelled at for outbursts of energy, when all they need is to go out an PLAY. Nice study on the ADHD… i’ll definitely be giving it to my old, tired, cranky, in-need-of-physical-activity pricipal.