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Friday, December 24, 2010

Increased intestinal permeability may lead directly to increased hunger, and a higher bodyfat setpoint.

In yesterday's Part 3 in the Body Fat Setpoint series, Stephan lays out his theory about how leptin resistance occurs, and how that affect out body fat setpoint. It's a little bit dense, so I decided to summarize it to the best of my ability here, as well as incorporate some of my own thoughts:


  • Increased intestinal permeability allows inflammatory substances, such as LPS* (lipopolysaccharide), to cross the gut barrier into our body.
  • The inflammatory substances irritate many tissues, including the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is the main site of leptin's action. Leptin is a hormone which causes increases in energy expenditure and reduced appetite.
  • Irritation of the hypothalamus causes it to become leptin resistant, which means that the energy-increasing/appetite-suppressing effects of leptin are blocked. We get more tired and hungry.
  • There are many things that are known to increase gut permeability: gluten, lectins from grains, legumes, and nightshades(tomato/potato/eggplant), certain substances in dairy, alcohol, capsaicin(hot peppers), saponins, abnormal gut flora, omega 3:6 imbalance, and much more.
  • A paleo diet eliminates nearly all of these offending substances, which helps improve gut barrier integrity.



*Lipopolysaccharide is produced by gram-negative bacteria, and is one of the main component that the immune system uses to recognize these pathogens. LPS causes a strong activation of the immune system.

Body Fat Setpoint by Stephan Guyenet

Hey guys, I hope you're all having a great winter break! I just wanted to share with you a series of articles, written by a fellow husky! He is a graduate student who received his Ph.D in neurobiology from the UW in 2009.

His name is Stephan Guyenet, and he is the writer of Whole Health Source. His posts are some of the most thought-provoking and interesting that I have read, and he takes a very objective and scientific approach to health, all while keeping posts readable and interesting.

Below is a series in which Stephan discusses the concept of our body's set point, what might affect it, and how to change it. I hope you guys read and enjoy it.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Body Fat Setpoint
Body Fat Setpoint Part 2: Mechanisms of Fat Gain
Body Fat Setpoint Part 3: Dietary Causes of Obesity
Body Fat Setpoint Part 4: Changing the Setpoint

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Finals Week/Winter Break WODs

Hey guys, we won't be having training this week due to finals. Study hard, ace your finals, and have an amazing Winter Break! Enjoy the time off, but try to stay active, don't let all of your hard-earned progress go to waste just because you're not going to classes for two weeks.

To help you stay active over the break, here are some WODs that require no equipment, and can be done anywhere! There are also some more WODs at the end that require some basic equipment such as a pullup bar, dumbells, or jump rope. If you don't have a timer, don't worry about it, just do it as fast as you can! Do a workout every other day or so

100 Burpees for time.
                                                   


3 rds for time of:
50 Squats
400m Run
                                                  
For time:
100 Pushups
100 Situps
100 Squats
                                                  


AMRAP in 10 min of:
10 Broad Jumps
Run 100m
                                                  


3 rounds for time of:
25 Situps
25 Squats
25 Pushups
25 Lunges
                                                 

AMRAP in 10 min of:
5 Pullups
10 Pushups
15 Squats
                                                


With dumbells you think you could do about 30 cleans (ground to shoulder) straight with...

21-15-9 reps for time of:
DB Clean and Jerks (ground to overhead)
Burpees
                                               


100 Man-Makers* for time w/ light weight (10-20lb DBs)

*How to do a Man-Maker
                                               


"Annie"
50-40-30-20-10 reps of:
Double-Unders*
Situps

*(If you can't do double-unders, do 150-120-90-60-30 singles with a jump rope instead, leaving situps as is.)

Don't be afraid to modify these workouts, or make up your own! Just get to it!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Wednesday WOD

Strength WOD
Deadlift - Work up to a one rep max.

WOD
5 rounds for time of:
10 Burpees
10 Medicine Ball Cleans (20#)

MWOD
Thoracic Myofascial Release - 4 min
Hamstring Stretch - 2 min/side
Couch Stretch - 1 min/side

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Tuesday WOD

Strength WOD
Press - Work up to a one rep max.
Pullups - Max reps in a single set.

WOD
For time:
Run 1 mile.

MWOD
Calf Stretch - 2 min/side
Psoas MF Release - 1 min/side
Couch Stretch - 2 min/side

Monday WOD

Strength WOD
Back Squat - Work up to a one rep max.

WOD
21-15-9 for time of:
Burpees
KB Swings (55lb)

MWOD
Couch Stretch - 2 min/side
Hamstring Stretch - 1 min/side
Pigeon Pose - 2 min/side

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Thursday WOD

Skill Practice
Hang Power Cleans

WOD
AMRAP in 12 min of:
250m Row
20 DB Presses (35# DB's)

MWOD
Thoracic MF Release - 2 min/side
Psoas MF Release - 1 min/side
Pigeon Pose - 2 min/side