I was Shocked to See My Results!
Published: Tue, 06/05/12
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In this issue:
Regular Blood Testing... and why Those who read this blog regularly know I am trying a M50 Masters comeback for 2013. That includes training smarter, enough recovery, eating healthy and the odd supplement here and there. But it wasn’t until a recent blood test showed I was deficient in certain biomarkers that affected my performance and recovery! I know there’s a lot of anxiety with medical results and privacy, but I feel this is important to share. Why? Because people ask me for supplement advice all the time. They are willing to pop pills when a simple blood analysis can show a lot more than you think. I stopped taking Vitamin D supplements 3 years ago when I left (dark and cold) Canada. Here in Rome, it’s sunny over 250 days a year. However, I recently had my blood tested during my recent Florida trip with Labcorp, a well known trusted and testing agency in the USA. I was shocked to see my results, especially on how low my Vitamin D levels were. Dangerously low. And there is a direct correlation between testosterone and Vitamin D. You can take a look at some of my results here with InsideTracker. (I also show my zinc and magnesium levels.) There are several reasons why you should pay attention to key biomarkers. I mentioned Vitamin D and testosterone but Iron (endurance based athletes), Creatine Kinase (muscle overload) and C-Reactive Protein (inflammation) are others. There are 20 key biomarkers, 12 for overall health and 8 for peak performance. One of the main reasons why I like Insidetracker is they give me suggestions on how to change my diet with food alone or with the use of supplements. And by testing on a regular basis, you can see if your changes have resulted in progress! Professional and Elite athletes are already using it to their advantage. For a quick overview, here’s a video on YouTube. Whether you are 20 or 50 years old, the moral of the story is get your bloodwork tested on a regular basis, both for health reasons, as well as improving your performance. Then make the necessary changes and test again to measure progress.
The Friday Five interview series In case you missed it, here are the first 6 of interviews:
Best of May 2012 As always, here are the best articles for May 2012. Enjoy, Jimson Lee, SpeedEndurance.com REgel: the New Gel for Pain, Injury & Inflammation 2012-04-30 04:00:00-04 Last fall, I had the chance to try REgel, the magic recovery gel that we used at the Lake Tahoe Triple Marathon & Ultramarathon. Well, it’s finally available to the public on Amazon or directly from the website at http://re-gel.com/ Speedendurance.com readers can get $2.00 off by using the coupon code SPEEDEND and expires May [...] read more... Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) for Speed, Rugby 2012-05-07 04:00:00-04 This is Part 5 of the series on Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS). Part 1 was Electrical Muscle Stimulation Benefits with Derek Hansen writing Part 2 with a Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) Research Review. Part 3 is How to Use Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) with Training with uncut, unedited “reality TV” videos and Part 4 was [...] read more... Kellie Wells Training and Hurdle Touchdown Times [VIDEO] 2012-05-08 04:45:00-04 This is Part 5 of a multi-part series. Part 1 was with Dennis Mitchell and Part 2 was with Brooks Johnson. Part 3 was Hurdle Touchdown Times and Part 4 included Håkan Andersson. Kellie Wells is the current USA hurdles champion for both indoor 60mH (7.79) and outdoor 100mH (12.50). On this windy April day [...] read more... Ben Johnson’s 10 Day Taper Before a Major Competition 2012-05-09 05:45:46-04 When was the last time you crammed for an exam? Why didn’t you keep up all year long, studied a bit every day, so you would just have to review your notes as a refresher the night before? Would you run a marathon the night before a marathon? This sounds ludicrous, but I see a [...] read more... Iwan Thomas on the Pressure of the Olympic Trials 2012-05-13 04:00:00-04 This is a great five minute video that all athletes should watch before the Olympic Trials. Yes, the video talks specifically about the pressures of the UK 400 meter Olympic Trials, but the take home messages can be for any country, any event, or any sport. After 4 or 8 long years of training, and [...] read more... Heart Rate Variability (HRV) for Sprinters & Power Athletes 2012-05-15 04:00:00-04 Every week, ithlete will cover general questions on training and recovery, as well as specific best practices with Heart Rate Variability (HRV). If you have a general question or a specific question on how to use ithlete you can email [email protected]. Q1 – SpeedEndurance.com: A lot of coaches use the term “stimulate” or “deplete”, what [...] read more... Research Review: Testosterone, Growth Hormone, Nutrition and Training 2012-05-16 04:00:00-04 Here is a follow up on my case study on How to Track and Improve your Testosterone & Zinc levels Naturally with InsideTracker. Q – SpeedEndurance.com: After reading Dr. Stone’s interview, it seems that heavy training is important to help hormones for power and recovery. Any special considerations regarding nutrition and training that I should [...] read more... Kenta Bell's Ballistic Power for Better Athletic Performance 2012-05-17 04:15:00-04 This article was written by Kenta’ Bell, a two time Olympian (2004, 2008) in the Triple Jump and the 2001 Gold medalist at the World Student Games in Beijing, China. His PR is an impressive 17.63m and he is also the 2003 & 2010 USA National Champion. His website is www.thinkingfeet.com and you can reach him [...] read more... Heart Rate Variability (HRV), The Warm-up, Cryosaunas and Recovery 2012-05-22 10:50:00-04 Every week, ithlete will cover general questions on training and recovery, as well as specific best practices with Heart Rate Variability (HRV). If you have a general question or a specific question on how to use ithlete you can email [email protected]. Question 1: I seem to struggle in the trials and practice, even during taper [...] read more... Hemoglobin and Fatigue at Crunch Time with InsideTracker 2012-05-23 10:30:00-04 Question: I play soccer and notice that I am getting less separation in the end of games. Ever since I started eating better I have found that the improvements in body composition have not translated on the field. Last week I was found not to have mono but my hemoglobin was lower than the keeper [...] read more... Interview with Stephen Maguire, Coach of Jason Smyth 2012-05-24 04:00:00-04 This is Part 7 of a multi-part series from my recent trip to Orlando & Clermont, Florida. Part 1 was with Dennis Mitchell and Part 2 was with Brooks Johnson. Parts 3 & 5 was Hurdle Touchdown Times with Kellie Wells Training and Part 4 included Håkan Andersson. Part 5 was myself being interviewed by [...] read more... The 10 Percent Rule in Volume and Intensity 2012-05-29 09:47:12-04 Every week, ithlete will cover general questions on training and recovery, as well as specific best practices with Heart Rate Variability (HRV). If you have a general question or a specific question on how to use ithlete you can email [email protected]. Question 1- My training log shows that I am obeying the "10% rule” with [...] read more... |
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