New Study with JNK re-enforces the need for individual client programming.

The latest and greatest news in fitness now is the uncharted applications of   c-Jun N- terminal kinase in the realm of endurance vs strength training.   JNK for short is the focus of a new field  study coming out of  Joslin Diabetes Center by Dr. Sarah Lessard and has produced at least some data that begins to explain why  individuals show a high response to an increase of cardiovascular exercise and why some apparently can be on the treadmill day and night with no real change.   

While this is not the first paper to link JNK activation to exercise  (Boluyt MO, et al. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, 2003 ) Activation of JNK in rat heart by exercise : Effect of training ) Or its inclusion in hypertrophy and muscle development  as suggested in Science and Development of Muscle Hypertrophy by Brad Schoenfeld  Human Kinetics 2016  It does begin to define the differing factors that trigger outcomes in individuals participating in exercise. 

Studies have shown the triggering of JNK at certain levels will have a minimizing affect on endurance and cardiovascular response to exercise even at long timeframes while encouraging the body to put on muscle mass. Where individuals who exercised below the trigger point developed more muscle endurance and a better cardiovascular state. 

" It's like a switch, if the switch is on you will have muscle growth. If it is off you will have endurance adaptation of the muscle"   Dr. Jessard stated.   

In a more in depth study with mice  It was shown that mice that were genetically modified to NOT produce JNK had a much higher aerobic exercise capacity , while "normal" mice doubled their muscle mass in affected muscle while those with the JNK inhibitors did not increase their mass nearly as much. 

This research begins to explain the need for individualized monitoring of health and wellness that often goes over looked. Numerous clients has searched for the reason why their hours of cardiovascular exercise has yielded minimal results in their endurance  while adding on layer after layer of the muscle in the lower body.  It also adds another layer  to explain on a chemical level why individuals who perhaps are unable to trigger the JNK response have a much harder time adding muscle no matter their lifting routine. 

While more study is needed this is an exciting component to begin integrating in to client programming as well as continuing to remind clients that their bodies and adaptations are unique. 

Individualization has always been at the heart of RE*FIT programming. We know that one goal does not fit all. When your ready to make a change, make a choice , and make difference RE*FIT will be there to help. 

Is the body a machine a ray of light or just a large space potato?

One of the weirdest things I have seen in throughout my career in the fitness industry is the group that always claim the body is a "machine". The ads scream at you in bright colors with hardbodies flexing at the beach claiming that the reason you are out of shape is that your not training like a machine. Train like an athlete they shout, train harder and faster, with the cutting edge science and pre and post workout regimes and diet plans. Cutting edge technology and you know a lot of science ( I use science loosely here.) should fuel your health and fitness.   

Well I have some news for you I am a moderate sized quasi cyclist and lifter with some weekend warrior tendencies and a hard curve on my dodgeball throw. I do not play for the NBA MLB NFL PGA or any other all capital letter anagrammed organization.  I mainly lift so when someone asks me to help move their couch I can hold up my end. My diet is moderate and I don't feel the need to copy Dwayne Johnsons diet plan.  

But on the flip side of that coin there are those who talk about the body being a ray of light in the cosmos and the way to better health is stretching and some movement. They talk in soft voices and low lighting telling you to breathe in the fire of the universe and that soon you will be the master contortionist able to fit into the smallest of airline seats while you sip hot water with lemon and become one with your colon. 

Well the joke is on them too because I know I don't stretch enough.  I drink too much coffee , pizza is delicious and the most contorted position I often find myself in is when I am laying on the couch during a NETFLICKS  suggested viewing binge and as for my colon well we may need to discuss the tacos I had for lunch  in a little bit. 

So I am not going to be a machine or a ray of light.  I am dubbing my body the great space potato. This potato carrying me through the universe and life  is fairly limber and pretty strong. It could be stronger, it could be softer and more limber. But as  space potato I can gather information and distribute it freely. I don't have to promote one or the other. I can utilize the knowledge that your potato could use a little muscle development in one area to ease pain while suggesting that holding emotional tension in your neck and shoulders should be addressed.  That is the beauty of the space potato the rhetoric free fitness program that can adapt to the body and goals that you have or desire. 

 So maybe your looking to lose a little weight/ run that obstacle course. Maybe picking up the kids is getting a little tougher, or the grandkids are getting a little harder to keep up with; what ever your situation RE*FIT will be here to help you. 

RE*FIT More fitness less rhetoric  

How do I find time for exercise?

A client comes to me and asks me "Christopher, how do I find time to include exercise in my life? I don't have enough hours in the day. "

"You shouldn't be doing anything else." is my reply. 

Exercise and your health should not be confined to the limitations of this hour or that hour. The limitations of this indicate that if you did exercise for this many minutes and then did nothing else the rest of your day you would continue to move forward and we know this is not so.  It should not be confined to the limits of this external space or that location or time.  Your development, health, and fitness is an always there experience.  If this is a continuous process then what ever activity you are doing does not truly matter. Everything can be included  into a program of movement and exercise.  This does not mean numerous hours at the gym or out on the trail, but the incorporation of growth into the daily life. When you go to the office and work why can you not take the stairs and work the proper knee alignment? When you go to the store why can you not take an aisle to align the spacing between your feet and legs?  What is the difference between laying on the couch and laying with the feet up the wall? The opportunities for your exercise are always present.  It is the insistence of grouping them all together into a lump that has us believe there is a conflict with everything else.