I went to a seminar at my YMCA tonight and took some notes. (I got there late though because I couldn’t get off of work, so I only caught the second half of it). This was also my first seminar by the way and I loved it.
The seminar was given by Jack Medina, M.A., a strength and conditioning coach whose resume includes working with many NFL and NBA teams, as well as coaching olympic medalists.
Half of the thing was seemingly a plug for “Juice Plus,” but he gave some good honest info too:
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A lot of scientific studies use 3rd party research.
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Computer randomization (or 3rd party randomization) is when a computer (or duh, a 3rd party) randomizes who gets the placebos and who gets the real deal pills.
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Some case studies will also use cross-overs. Cross-overs are when in the middle of the study, someone using a placebo gets the real deal and vice versa. These people are then monitored very closely.
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Bio-Availability is how well something is absorbed into the bloodstream. What it does when it gets into the bloodstream is a whole different story though.
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When something enters the bloodstream, does it do anything or do you just pass it through? What effects does it have on children, on the elderly, on athletes, on computer programmers, on the guy on the couch, etc.
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He says that for him to be totally convinced that a supplement works without actually having any real life experience with it (or with his athletes), he needs to see a real-world case study (preferably double-blind), a blood work study, and a DNA study. They also have to be published in a peer-reviewed journal; such as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
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We all have cancer cells in our bodies.
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We all have cancer fighting cells in our bodies.
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What happens when our cancer fighting cells become old, damaged, and weak? How can we keep them healthy?
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Muscle is 78% water
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You can fit a multitude of fruits and vegetables into small capsules because of dehydration. They take out all the water, sugar, and sodium and turn the F&V into dust.
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Our body will change what we crave in accordance to changes in our cellular structure and makeup. For example: if we eat fresh fruit and vegatables for a long period of time, our body will eventually start to crave them. I think we can all relate to this. (Side note - I remember actually getting high one night and getting the munchies for a bowl of steamed broccoli. No joke).
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JM (for all you T-Nation going abbreviation freaks out there) gave his grandson these Juice Plus gummi bears for a year. He said it was the only candy he would buy the kid. The grandson was 15, and had an extremely unhealthy diet, and he thought the gummis were just regular gummi bears. The next thanksgiving the kid ate 3 plates of broccoli, and said he didn’t know why but he was craving it. This goes back to the change in cellular structure: the gummis had several servings of fruits and veggies in them, and by eating them all the time his body started to crave real fruits and veggies. Wow.
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Cancer, Heart Disease, Arthritis, and many other common killers are almost always directly linked to poor nutritional habits and lack of fruits and veggies in the person’s diet.
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The average person needs 9 servings of F&V a day, while athletes need around 13.
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A muscle cell works 100% or not at all
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“The primary fuel for muscle cells is carbs. If someone tells you it’s protein, they have no idea what they’re talking about.”
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People that have more fresh F&V in their diet will almost always have more energy, better mood, healthier cells, and less DNA damage than those who don’t.
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People need to be more concerned with the “Why.” A trainer will tell you to do 3 sets of 10, but why?
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Success will often come from failure, and if you’re not careful failure will come from success.
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How does someone motivate someone else? How can a teacher motivate a student, a coach motivate an athlete, a parent motivate a child? He says it’s not easy.
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He closed with a story about a girl he knew named Shelly. She had polio so bad that she couldn’t move a muscle in her body. For rehab they eventually got her into a pool, and her life goal was to swim 30 feet. When she reached 30 she wanted 30 more, then 30 more and so on. She then went on to break several American swimming records, and eventually win a gold medal at the Olympics. “She had a medal around her neck that a few years back she couldn’t even hold in her hand.” He says this was pure strength of heart, and that he’s never met a man, woman, athlete, or anyone with as much heart as she had.
Although I only caught the second half, I thought it was pretty interesting. He was an excellent speaker, and a very good person as well. I hope they have another seminar soon, because that was cool.
-dizzle