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By Team ICG® Master Trainer Joan Kent
Lance Armstrong’s strength and conditioning coach, Peter Park, developed a series of core strengthening exercises that he calls Foundation. The focus is on the posterior chain of muscles, such as the glutes, hamstrings and lower back.
Peter Park describes this as “redefining the core” because the emphasis is shifted from the abs to the larger muscles in the back of the body. Because it was developed in this way — and with a world-class cyclist in mind — it’s no surprise that it gets indoor cycling students sitting better on their bikes. The improvement in my students has been remarkable. Their posture is completely different as they cycle.
I learned about this strengthening program from Jim Karanas, who had bought Peter Park’s book but hadn’t yet had time to go through it. I read the book and started doing the exercises. Some of the changes were noticeable right away.
The most fortunate part of this for me occurred in a somewhat unfortunate way. Only weeks after beginning this program, I crashed my bike and broke my pelvis in three places. My doctor told me not to do any type of “crunch” or abdominal exercise. Needless to say, I wasn’t looking forward to skipping my core training and watching my strength in that area deteriorate over the twelve weeks he said it would take to heal.
But I could do these Foundation exercises because they didn’t stress the abs. They kept my core strong throughout the healing — and possibly even shortened the healing time. I was OK in just over five weeks. I continue to do the exercises five to seven times a week and genuinely enjoy the first exercise, the Founder, in particular.
The book is called Foundation by Dr. Eric Goodman and Peter Park. The beginner’s routine consists of five exercises on pages 86 to 107. The entire sequence is short and can be run through two or three times in a row. The book also includes photos and descriptions of a moderate routine and an advanced one. The Founder exercise itself is short enough to fit at the beginning or the end of an indoor cycling class.
Here are the videos of the Founder sequence, taught by Eric Goodman.
I hope the Founder and the other exercises in the routines are helpful for you and your students. If you try them, please let us know how they worked for you.
Training and nutrition go hand in hand. The more we train, the more questions may arise about what to eat. The questions matter to indoor-cycling instructors because our students come to us for answers.
Food cravings are one of the more interesting things that may occur with increased training. A craving is an intense urge or desire to eat a specific type of food. A common craving is for sugary foods. Some students can indulge their sugar cravings without repercussions. For others, giving in to cravings repeatedly can undermine their training or even lead to health issues — weight gain, high cholesterol, mood swings, diabetes, and more.
Below are some causes of sugar cravings to help you answer questions from your students.
Low glucose. This is probably the one we hear most often. The theory is that sugar cravings are caused by low blood glucose, which might occur if someone hasn’t eaten in a long time, or has skipped breakfast to take an early class. Evidence supports this. In fact, sugar cravings occur in response to how fast glucose drops, rather than how low. This could also mean that the student is eating junky carbs, which trigger lots of insulin and are fast “glucose-droppers.”
Biological need. Some sources think cravings express a biological need and should be answered with a “dose” of the craved food. Salt cravings are usually the example and seem to corroborate this viewpoint. Many people crave salty foods after hard trainings, so I’m inclined to think that salt cravings could indicate a biological need.
Evidence doesn’t support this explanation with respect to sugar cravings, though. Sugar has been shown to be addictive. A drug addict will get cravings for that drug, but the cravings don’t indicate a basic biological need and might suggest withdrawal (see below).
Too little fat. Research documents a sugar/fat seesaw (as one decreases in the diet, the other increases). Sugar cravings can definitely result from a diet that’s too low in fats. A previous ICI/PRO post (Controlling the Sugar/Fat Seesaw) explained that specific hormones and brain chemicals are involved. Eating healthful fats is a helpful solution.
Withdrawal. Another factor is withdrawal if, say, a student has recently quit drinking alcohol. This involves the chemicals affected by the original substance. Alcohol stimulates three brain chemicals that are also stimulated by sugar. The similarity makes sugar a short-term substitute for alcohol when cravings occur and explains why people in recovery from alcohol (or drugs) crave sugar and may eat it frequently or in large quantities. That can backfire due to priming (see Triggers below).
Triggers. Triggers may be external (seeing or smelling an appealing food) or internal (eating a small amount of a trigger food). Internal triggering is known as “priming”, and a small amount makes us want more. It’s the result of a specific brain receptor for the chemical dopamine. Some people are more susceptible to priming than others.
Chronic stress. While short-term stress tends to decrease appetite, chronic stress can stimulate appetite, alter brain chemistry, and result in mood changes and a preference for sugar.
Dysphoria. Dysphoria refers to bad moods. Any bad mood can trigger a sugar craving. Sugar alters brain chemistry in a way that changes mood, at least temporarily. Unfortunately, it can make things worse in the long run.
Serotonin disturbances. Disturbances in the chemical serotonin may occur in depression, seasonal affective disorder, PMS, menopause, chronic alcohol use, or insulin resistance. Any of these may result in sugar cravings. Serotonin is made from tryptophan, an amino acid. Insulin resistance can reduce serotonin production by keeping tryptophan from getting to the brain. Insulin resistance in 
turn may be caused by lots of things: genetics, obesity, chronic stress, or a diet that’s too high in fats, junky carbs, or fructose, the sugar in fruit.
Other craving triggers include a low-protein diet (this is a big one), or B-vitamin deficiencies, which tend to occur in clusters, rather than individually.
As I recommended in an interview with John several months ago, the fastest and most effective way to eliminate any craving is to take a teaspoon of TwinLab Super-B Complex. The B vitamins are co-factors (catalysts) in the formation of several key brain chemicals. When the chemicals are at optimal levels, cravings stop and don’t recur for up to 24 hours.
If your students are serious about eliminating cravings more permanently, you might suggest that they eat protein with virtually every meal or snack. Protein provides the amino acids for the brain chemicals that stop cravings.
My colleague Jim Karanas claims that people may lack awareness of cravings. He says we may disregard feelings about a food when our desire for it is unnaturally strong and justify eating it unconsciously.
Maybe that’s true. A final point, though, is that eating sugar can and will prime cravings, so the less sugar a student eats, the better. True, that’s easier said than done for some, but protein, healthful fats, and liquid B-complex can help.
From http://wilsonbrothers.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/seebikesaw/
By ICG® Master Trainer Joan Kent
Some of your students may be severely limiting the amount of fat they eat — both good and bad — to lose weight. That’s likely to increase their consumption of carbohydrates — both good and bad. Because “bad carbs” can bring on some negative health consequences, it might pay to look at this.
Articles in science journals reference the “sugar/fat seesaw”, although research hasn’t really published an explanation for it. As the name implies, the sugar/fat seesaw is an inverse relation in dietary sugars and fats. I’d like to suggest a possible explanation for the phenomenon, in the interest of better nutrition balance for students.
When fat first enters the intestine, a hormone called CCK (cholecystokinin) is released. CCK is the most powerful satiety hormone in the body. Satiety is the feeling that we’ve had enough food and don’t need to keep eating. Fats activate a substantial release of CCK. CCK also curbs the desire for carbs. So, if fat is reduced too much (low-fat this, nonfat that, and so on), the desire for carbs may escalate.
Second, both sugars and fats trigger the release of beta-endorphin. That’s the brain chemical associated with the Runner’s High. As everyone who enjoys indoor cycling knows, you don’t have to run to get that high. Any solid cycling workout will do the trick, and the more intense the class, the greater the beta-endorphin effect.
There’s some evidence that the brain gets acclimated to a given level of beta-endorphin and that reducing beta-endorphin levels can cause withdrawal. It follows that strict limiting of fats might increase the desire for sugars as a sort of “beta-endorphin compensation.”
The third point involves saturated fat. Sat fats generate an insulin release, just like carbs. Cutting fats severely could decrease saturated fat severely. From a health perspective, that’s OK, but it could raise the desire for carbs, especially the ones that cause high insulin release.
Basically, it’s linear: the more insulin we release, the more serotonin the brain makes. Serotonin is a brain chemical best known for its antidepressant effect, but it also has other functions. High levels of serotonin have been shown to reduce carb consumption. The very, very low-carb Atkins Diet makes use of this fact to keep people away from carbs. Much of the fat they push is saturated. Between the CCK and the insulin/serotonin, the desire for carbs drops.
So what does all of this have to do with the diets of indoor cycling students?
“Good” fats, typically unsaturated ones like omega-3s and omega-9s, have health benefits in the body. These include anti-inflammatory effects and reductions in heart disease, joint pain, diabetic complications, and lots more. We don’t want our students to eliminate those benefits along with the fats they cut.
When someone tries to lose weight on a very low-fat diet — and I do see clients who are still avoiding fats big-time — major changes happen. CCK, beta-endorphin, and serotonin go down. The desire for carbs goes up, and — as suggested above — the most appealing carbs are the ones that set off the highest insulin secretion. Unfortunately, those are usually “bad” carbs, such as sugar and white flour. High levels of insulin are directly linked to serious health conditions (more on this in a future post).
The best solution — along with regular workouts! — is a good balance that includes some healthful fat with each meal or snack. The fats might be avocado, olive oil, fish or fish oil, seeds, raw walnuts, almonds or other raw nuts. Adding a small amount of good fat to each meal or snack will increase CCK and beta-endorphin, making sugars and junky carbs less appealing.
Another plus is that a little more fat in a student’s diet can increase endurance. Studies on runners have shown this, but, once again, runners aren’t the only ones who benefit.
The word “technique” may inspire interest in some and yawns in others. Still, there’s much to be said for technique, since it’s the foundation for the athletic performance features we layer over it.
Technique involves primarily the improvement of the skills required for a task. In the broadest general (i.e., non-cycling-specific) terms, it entails eliminating unnecessary movement and muscle activity; making all movements in the correct directions; applying the necessary power, but no more than that; using muscles best suited to the activity; and using optimal speed if time isn't a factor.
However dry and artless the list may sound, the results of good technique, and the consequences of bad, extend to training and performance. The last thing I’m going to do is provide guidelines for cycling technique, since so many vastly superior riders have done that in so many venues. (You can check out the excellent videos on the ICG® web site or here on ICI/PRO.)
What I’d like to do is simply list some benefits of improving technique.
The main benefit of good technique is that it improves efficiency. Efficiency is the ratio of work output to expended energy. If output increases or expenditure decreases, efficiency has improved. Efficiency and technique are closely related because the principles of efficiency are similar to those of technique: muscle relaxation whenever possible; vigorous contraction only when necessary; use of largest muscles possible to avoid local fatigue; use of momentum unless it must be overcome by muscular effort; use of smooth, continuous motions and easy, natural rhythm versus sudden, sharp, linear motions or contraction of opposing muscles against each other.
Efficiency may hinge on factors other than technique, such as training. Efficiency may depend on the contractile properties of the muscle, with slow-twitch more efficient than fast-twitch. Training can increase strength and endurance significantly by increasing efficiency of muscle utilization. Big-gear training, as discussed by Jim Karanas in a recent audio profile and by Tom Scotto in a recent post, can improve efficiency in fast-twitch fibers.
Returning to technique, many activities have an optimal rate; rates above and below it expend greater energy. The mechanism behind this is stored muscle elasticity, which requires the shortest interval between muscle relaxation and contraction to prevent loss of kinetic energy as heat. Technique changes how much energy is lost as heat and how much is retained as mechanical energy for the next movement. Since practice reinforces good technique, it can improve cycling efficiency by reducing the energy required to perform the pedal stroke, reducing energy lost as body heat, and retaining more mechanical energy for the next pedal stroke.
Efficiency is also affected by consistent velocity. Unnecessary acceleration and deceleration, often due to poor technique, waste energy. Obviously, keeping a consistent cadence throughout a cycling class isn’t usually part of the workout plan; however, staying consistent during a particular song or segment — an important technical skill — may increase efficiency. Beatmatch, as detailed by Team ICG® in a recent post on music, is an excellent practice tool in developing technique for consistency and efficiency.
Anecdotally, we also find that doing something with correct technique feels good, probably because the body is being used per the two sets of principles described above.
Finally, correct technique makes the student look good. In my master’s thesis, I compared the principles of technique and efficiency to those of movement aesthetics. It turns out that what makes a movement correct and efficient is also what makes it beautiful.
So technique is a key factor in efficiency, which in turn influences energy. The less energy a student wastes cycling with bad technique, the more energy is left for the demanding sections of the class when it really counts. And the better the student will look and feel doing it. Who can argue with having a beginner complete the class, look and feel good while taking it, and come back for more?
So the holidays are behind us, and hopefully the overabundant goodies. Some of our students may be back on a familiar January weight-loss track. I thought I’d address the topic of alcohol because it’s often consumed throughout the year and can definitely interfere with weight loss. There are several sabotaging factors in alcohol consumption.
– High calorie density. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, while protein and carbs are 4 calories per gram. Only fats have greater density at 9 calories per gram.
– High insulin impact. Alcohol is a short-chain molecule that triggers high levels of insulin secretion. Insulin inhibits fat oxidation, lowering the 24-hour fat oxidation rate — an important factor in weight management — and promoting storage of dietary fat.
– Effect on appetite. Alcohol induces the release of beta-endorphin, which inhibits the satiety center of the brain. This may lead to a stronger and more frequent desire for food and a tendency to eat more at a given meal.
– Effect on food preferences. Alcohol’s beta-endorphin release may shift food preferences and cravings in the direction of sugars and fats. Eating more of those foods can lead to higher calorie intake, weight gain, even insulin resistance. Insulin resistance isn’t just the result of overweight, as is commonly believed; it can also be a cause.
– Effect on mood. Neurochemical alterations due to alcohol may result in such negative moods as depression or anxiety, as well as insomnia or disturbed sleep. These can cause a variety of issues that may affect weight:
a) Any negative mood may cause cravings, particularly for sugars or other refined carbs, and increase food consumption.
b) Serotonin is typically reduced with chronic alcohol use, and that can worsen mood and increase impulsivity. The combination may make it more likely that the student will get cravings and have difficulty resisting them.
c) Increased intake of sugars and refined carbs may lead to greater calorie intake and weight gain, further negative moods, or insomnia.
d) Alcohol disturbs sleep by interfering with the deep stages (theta- and delta-wave) that are most restorative.
e) Because of its high impact on insulin secretion, alcohol may trigger reactive hypoglycemia in susceptible individuals, which can disturb sleep by waking someone in the middle of the night and making it difficult to get back to sleep. Hypoglycemia may also result in undesirable moods, cravings and increased appetite.
f) Lack of sleep is known to raise ghrelin levels. Ghrelin has been shown to increase appetite and food intake while slowing metabolism.
g) Lack of sleep may make it difficult to train well or show up for early morning classes, and can lead to depression or other negative moods.
h) Negative moods may decrease motivation with respect to exercise altogether.
As you can tell, alcohol can get in the way of a student’s attempts to lose weight, and the sabotage goes far beyond the so-called “simple arithmetic” of calories in/calories out. What’s even worse is that, with the exception of calorie density, most of the factors above hold true for sugar, as well.
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