FEV1

What would you consider short to medium distances? 5KM?

I've been recommended to only do deadlifts once per week as part of my every other day routine. I haven't tried it any other way, but have read conflicting opinions on the Internet. What is the norm around here?

I'd also recommend considering the sport of joggling -- running while juggling. I used to absolutely hate running, but fell in love with joggling about five years ago. The arm and leg movements fit together surprisingly naturally, and the juggling prevents boredom from setting in. It helps to be a competent juggler first, but after a certain point, it's one's running abilities that determines joggling speed. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joggling

I learned to run with a forefoot strike back in the spring, and switched over to Vibram FiveFingers earlier this summer. One of the nice things about barefoot style running is that it naturally encourages a higher running cadence (i.e. foot turnover). I've found that this helped me improve upon my running times. Steve alluded to to it on the front page, but when you transition over to VFFs/minimal footwear/barefoot running, take it slowly! Your calf strength will limit you far more than your pre-existing cardiovascular fitness and running prowess!! Although I was able to run a half marathon in May, it has taken me almost three months to run 5 KM continuously in my VFFs.

The owner of my local gym set up a weight training routine that works most major muscle groups in my body a couple of months ago. I've been working at it pretty diligently, and have improved in terms of both strength and appearance. As long as I'm making progress, would there ever be a reason to change the routine aside from increasing weight? Are there any factors besides injury or desire to target a particular muscle group that would make a person consider adding or modifying exercises? Thanks

I can offer some insight into this topic. I've completed my Internal Medicine residency, and am currently in the midst of my Respirology fellowship. Please note that I can't give any personalized advice on this forum due to ethical reasons, but I want to share some general principles on asthma management. First, the nature of each individual's asthma severity is unique. Some people are able to minimize their symptoms by avoiding asthma triggers (e.g. cigarette smoke, strong perfumes), while others will require multiple medications to manage their condition. Various guidelines on asthma (e.g. the Canadian Thoracic Society's, Global Initiative for Asthma's) state that any limitations on function or activity suggest that one's asthma is not optimally managed. Beyond the avoidance of triggers, this may require the use of medications. I like to tell my asthmatic patients that if their condition is well managed, they should be essentially symptom free, and with the same quality of life as someone without asthma. This may require the use of pharmacological therapies. Of course, no medical treatment is without its side effects, but for most people, the benefits of the medications for asthma greatly outweigh their risks. If you're concerned about the possibility of asthma affecting your workouts, I'd recommend asking your doctor for more advice.

Have you ever tried brining meat to ensure moistness? In essence, this technique makes use of a salty solution to denature proteins and impart extra flavour to meat. It's a surprisingly easy method that can lead to great results. It led to the moistest and most delicious turkey I've ever eaten. This is a very informative websites on brining: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/brining.html My person chicken breast brine recipe (my barebones adapted take on Steven Raichlen's recipe): - Dissolve 1/4 cup coarse salt, 1/4 cup brown sugar in 1 cup of hot water. - Add 3 cups of cold water to this solution - Soak your chicken breasts in this solution for 1 hour -- Raichlen recommends two in his book N.B. In addition to the aforementioned salt and sugar, Raichlen's recipe also includes 20 whole black peppercorns, 1 thinly sliced chile pepper, and 2 bay leaves. I never add any more salt to my chicken after it has cooked, as the brining already makes the chicken flavourful enough. Unfortunately, the chemistry won't work with less salt, though I think a shorter brining time helps. This cooking technique obviously represents a sodium hit to one's diet, but I suspect that the amount of salt that actually ends up with the chicken may be comparable to that typically used for flavouring given that most of the salt just remains with the brine solution. I plan to experiment with decreasing the brown sugar. Even at its suggested amount, you can barely taste the sweetness. Reducing the sugar would make this technique healthier too. A couple of brining recipes from Paleo websites: - http://www.paleodigest.com/pd/?u=http://purelyprimal.com/2011/06/28/secrets-brining-meat/ - http://www.cavemanbistro.com/2011/03/18/the-brining-of-the-beef-a-paleo-experiment/

Are cardiovascular and strength training on the same day compatible for proper muscle strength/hypertrophy gain? I've heard at various times that one should avoid cardiovascular training around the time of weight lifting since it could lead to catabolism of muscle, but this doesn't make much sense to me. Especially since the actual muscle gain occurs during recovery day, as long as the diet is sufficient, couldn't cardio AND weight training happen on the same day without adverse effect? I could see why doing cardio prior to weights could lead to fatigue more easily (and less effective lifting), but is it OK to do cardio after weights?

I've been reading Nerd Fitness for a while, and really identify with the philosophy of the website. I joined the forum such that I can gain some extra motivation by being a part of a community. A bit of background about myself... I used to be terribly unathletic, and was one of the slowest runners in my phys-ed class during high school. About five years ago, I came across a blog on joggling (running while juggling -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joggling), which inspired me to give the sport a try. I was hooked! I started off by running shorter distances and participated in 5 KM races. I gradually built up my distances, and joggled my first half marathon this spring. In spite of my love for running, I've long suspected that my fitness would benefit from strength training. For the past month, I've been going to the gym at least twice a week for a workout. My current fitness goals include: - Commit to strength training at least twice a week as part of my lifestyle. - Do a single unassisted pull-up - Run in the Vibram FiveFingers I bought last month. I learned to forefoot run back in February, and I think it's paying off by making the current learning curve less steep. - Minimize grains in my diet.

Hello, After doing some research on the paleo diet, I decided to give it a trial run two weeks ago. I've found that transitioning my breakfast and lunch over is quite easy. Whereas I used to routinely eat a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, and another sandwich (often containing cold cuts) for lunch, I now eat eggs +- a salad for breakfast, and another salad with protein (usually chicken for lunch). I fill my hunger pangs in the day with nuts, vegetables, or canned sardines. In the evening, I've been quite happy cooking a main of beef or chicken with vegetables on the side. I've noticed that I've been eating more vegetables than ever, and have cut my fast food intake to essentially zero. I drink much less coffee now. During this trial, I've found that there are meals that are beyond my control -- e.g. at a friend's house, outings at restaurants where every entree comes with either rice or potatoes. This has happened at least a couple of times each week. Do you think that there is still a benefit to "trending" towards a paleo diet by minimizing grains, etc. whenever possible, or would the metabolic changes be lost without a consistent run of pure paleo eating? Would it be reasonable to plan for a paleo cheat day each week? Thanks!