Body Backed By Science

  Do you Suffer from Skin Tags and Darkening of the skin? This is a sign of Insulin Resistance!  Skin tags are thought to arise from high levels of insulin and associated growth factors causing proliferation of epidermal fibroblasts .  Skin tags   are small growths on the skin that hang from stalks. They are medically harmless, but they may be irritating. Because of this, some people choose to have them removed. Those with diabetes may develop skin tags, but these growths also related to a number of other conditions and lifestyle factors. So if you get skin tags, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have diabetes.  There is another solution!  The Feel Great System! Scientifically Based Products! Feel Great is an evidence-based system with two scientifically designed food-based products that work synergistically to control hunger, cravings, improve energy, mood, and support healthy blood sugar and insulin resistance. Of course, if you have weight to los...

Your  glutes  largest muscle group in your body, making them incredibly important for pretty much every physically demanding thing you do. While most trainers would point to the traditional squat for building muscles below the waist, it’s the hip thrust that activates your glutes and prevents some of the problems that arise from ignoring those “non-mirror” muscles. “Weak glutes are associated with tight hip flexors, sore knees, and can be associated with poor movement mechanics,” says  Dr. Austin Robinson , a strength coach with a Ph.D. in exercise science. “Targeting the glutes with hip thrusts should help these issues and improve other important lifts, such as squat and deadlift.” Don’t think I am saying stay away from squats because hip raises are it. Absolutely not, you need both moves.  According to a  2015 study  published in the  Journal of Applied Biomechanics  led by  “The Glute Guy” Bret Contreras , barbell hip thrusts activate...

When it comes to food I see to many people stressing over being perfect. Here’s what that stress can do: Perfectionism may be a strong suit or a stumbling block, depending on how it's channeled, as clinical psychologist Jeff Szymanski explains. Dr. Szymanski is an associate instructor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and executive director of the International OCD Foundation. "The core of all perfectionism is the intention to do something well," says Dr. Szymanski. "If you can keep your eye on intention and desired outcome, adjusting your strategy when needed, you're fine.... But when you can't tolerate making a mistake, when your strategy is to make no mistakes, that's when perfectionism starts veering off in the wrong direction." In its most severe form, perfectionism can leave you unable to complete any task for fear of making a mistake. This is why I tell my clients not to stress over food when life gets rough. Take a day (when I app...

I wanted to touch on the salt and sugar topics a bit. We have all heard how bad sugar is and had a battle of what sugars to actually use. We have all heard how bad salt is for your body. I am going to debunk a few of these rumors.  Lets touch on sugar first. Dr. William Coda Martin once said, “When is a food a food and when is it poison”? His medical definition of poison was, :Any substance applied to the body, ingested or developed within the body, which causes or may cause disease. Physically: Any substance which inhibits the activity of a catalyst (which is a minor substance, chemical or enzyme that activates a reaction).” The reason Dr. Martin has classified refined sugar as a poison is because it has been deleted of its life forces, vitamins and minerals. What is left is pure, refined carbohydrates. The body cannot effectively utilize this refined starch and carbohydrate unless the depleted proteins, vitamins and minerals are present. When we eat sugar in absence of nutri...

Why is Sleep important? When personal trainers meet with a new client and ask them about their current habits, one question most people don’t anticipate is, how much sleep are you getting? Sleep plays a vital role in weight loss, muscle gain and overall mental/physical ability. We all know to some extent, sleep is important. But when we get caught up in our busy daily lives, we don’t really realize what effects it could have. Sleep deficiencies is linked to obesity alon g with increased risk of kidney disease, diabetes, and increased risk of heart attack. When we are able to sleep well, our body releases hormones to help boost muscle mass and repair cells and tissues. Scientists do know that getting a good amount of sleep is necessary for the body to function properly. Let’s look at how sleep and exercise can help the body. Have you ever had a workout right before bed and tried to sleep? Typically tossing and turning is what happens when we complete a workout right before bed. Stu...

Why the Deadlift?  Today, back pain and limited hip mobility are more common than they have ever been. Often times, back pain can come from weak glutes and weak spinal erectors that cannot maintain the correct position. The deadlift seems to be a missing key component of many good strength-building programs that will help with these. During this compound exercise, there are several targeted muscle groups to include: the latissimus dorsi, trapezius, erector spinae, gluteals, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors. Some other secondary muscles that are used and play a vital role are your forearms for gripping and oblique’s for trunk stabilization.  There are many benefits to deadlifting. First of all, the movement spans over three joints with extension at the hip, knee and ankle joints. Second, when comparing isolation exercises versus compound movements, compound exercises involve larger muscle groups, which bring out hormonal training. This means those complex movements r...