You are going to see countless new year countdowns or prediction posts. This post is a take on what you are going to see, what I think, and my hopes for 2010.
Their prediction #1 – They still hate steady state cardio and think it is useless.
What I think? – I think all types of cardio work has its place for various settings and to say endurance work or any form of cardio is useless (or makes you fat) is a bad statement.
What I predict – People overall are still going to think cardio is going to eat their muscle and high intensity intervals is the only answer but I say 15-25 mins doesn’t make up for 10 hours of sitting. I also think going extreme, especially for people that are unconditioned, has brought on way more problems than many expected.
Bottom line – Use the right tools for you, not the hot tools of the moment.
Their prediction #2 – Organic food will save us all.
What I think? – As I stated in Body By Eats and in other posts organic food has not been shown to be healthier, safer, or a better environmental decision. Quality is important, “magical land” is not.
What I predict – It isn’t going anywhere and we are going to see more cherry picking of information. People need to learn to get the “better safe than sorry” notion out of there head. While I am always open for future developments the simple truth is organics haven’t delivered yet on anything except for a higher cost at the market.
Bottom line – Don’t buy into something just because it seems like a good idea; wait for it to actually be one.
Their prediction #3 – Bodyweight training is going to become big in 2010.
What I think – It always has been big, but now they aren’t going to knock it as much.
Bottom line – Bodyweight training has been happening for centuries and will continue to do so even when they hate it again.
Their prediction #4 – Men and women should still train the same way.
What I think – Unless the social structure of society changes drastically and men and women as a whole get a different idea of what they see as hot, I don’t see it.
Bottom line – It doesn’t matter what I think, one size fits all training isn’t the answer.
Their prediction #5 – Gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is all the rage.
What I think – Most of the time this is an excuse for why you aren’t losing any fat from all the “clean eating” you are doing.
Bottom line – If you can’t see any change, then there likely isn’t change. The best results come from focusing on one goal.
My hopes for 2010
- Less worry about trends and more focus on what works
- More focus on training for training sake
- People getting outside more to do their workouts
- Less cherry picking and more logical design
- Supporting others and taking accountability to new heights
- Getting fat loss done so you can have training for the rest of your life
No related posts.
Great post Leigh! Thanks for taking time over the holidays to reach out to all of us. Have a Happy New Year!!
Thanks. Happy New Year to You as well.
I believe everyone is going to be hung up on what they’ve always been hung up on. Dogma such as meal timing, frequency, protein digestion, kleen eating, no carbs at bed time, etc.
My resolution is to continue educating, going against the mainstream and hopefully save a few souls in the process.
Ah and that is our goal, to save what few souls we can while eating our carbs in the process.
Great list Leigh. I have already seen some of those very things discussed. Is it just me or are other fitness professionals putting out their list to set you up for a product sale? My prediction is more bullshit products in 2010 we don’t need.
Well nothing is never an accident with those in sales. All you can do is judge the product and ignore all the hype tailored to drag you in.
@Brian: you’re missing the point. In America, we all work jobs we hate to buy shit we don’t need.
You’re right, what was I thinking JC
This is brilliant as usual – your hopes are also mine!
Happy New Year/Decade!!
Happy New Year.
Being I burn roughly 1700 calories a day on most days steady state work is what got the fat off of me faster than .5 pounds a week. But what do I know, I am not the expert right
Great post.
Don’t you just love low daily caloric burn.
Leigh,
You should send number 2 in to the Environmental Working Group………………….just watch out for those angry messengers they send out to your house ready to attack you with their “dirty dozen” produce magnets or print-outs of their cosmetics database safety reviews!
All the best to you in 2010. I hope this year is your best one yet!!
I am being stalked right now by the organic food companies. They are holding my frozen fries and a blow up snoopy with a christmas tree hostage. Heartless bastards.
Loved the post Leigh. People always get caught up on doing what is popular instead of educating themselves on what actually works.
Makes for easier finger pointing
Great post Leigh! And a big thank you for freeing me from the dogmas of so many cookie cutter fat loss plans. It’s funny, but I’m starting to think of my fat loss journey as a pre or post Leigh Peele-styled way of interpreting the “facts”
I am looking into bottling me but I can’t find anything which will hold my bubble ass.
Great post.
“Men and women should still train the same way.” – I really really wish I had never been taught how to do calf raises and attacked them so enthusiastically.
Make sure to add shrugs to that list
Is the new FLTS updates going to have more information on training for women?
There will be a female workout program but not like the Make my body hot series. We are looking into how this will be released right now but it is in the works (few years out).
Nice post Leigh.
The organic food industry is booming and probably will continue to do so for years. It really should not come as a surprise due to the general public’s lack of critical thinking, and a tendency of basing beliefs on the faith factor. Isn’t it common sense that more natural, less chemical additives, the way nature intended should be safer and more nutritious? NO, evidence does not indicate what organic food pimps imagine it does. Personal testimonials and Organic food industry sponsored research does not count. Furthermore, the common sense idea is a huge fallacy; common sense is often common nonsense. Maybe most OFAs are not even aware that food produced by conventional methods is just organic as the food produced by “so-called organic methods”, both being complex carbon based molecules. What about all-natural being better the artficial? Never mind that organic is not all-natural and additional chemicals are permitted in so-called organic methods. For the sake argument, let’s assume organic is all natural and lacks chemicals (which is fairy tale, everything is made of chemicals). Would you be surprised if I told you the world’s most dangerous toxins are all natural? They include ricin, abrin, botulinum, and strychnine—highly evolved chemical weapons used by organisms for self-defense and territorial expansion. Indeed, every plant and microbe carries a variety of mostly uncharacterized, more or less toxic attack chemicals, and artificial chemicals are no more likely to be toxic than natural ones. Other dangerous natural substances include arsenic, mercury, snake venom, and water hemlock. Schep and colleagues (April, 2009) described water hemlock as one of nautre’s most deadly poisons to humans.
What I would like to see happen in 2010
More research on behaviorial aspects of eating and exercise adherence
People basing beliefs on evidence (all beliefs not just beliefs about the fitness industry)
People learing to read scientific research If they are going to use it as a reference. The common suggestion that it’s true beacause research says is not good enough. What type of research? Who funded it? Has it been replicated? What is the external validity?
Face the facts everyone is not created equal
Drop the hero worship
Research on glycogen depletion in combat athletes (I am working on that)
More research on performance effects of rapid weight depletion
Less talk about overtraining and more talk about properly structured training regimens and restoration methods
What will probably happen in 2010
Supplemental BCAAS will remain a primary tool in the BBers arsenal
Popular fitness mags will discover more smoking hot bikini babes
MMA will continue to rise in popularity (even though peak levels are probably approaching)
New supplements will come and go
People will continue to give fitness advice based on popular fitness mags
Abundant pimping of the overtraining syndrome
And so on…
[quote]Popular fitness mags will discover more smoking hot bikini babes[/quote]
This is a good thing.
Well I can’t wait to see what you come up with Jamie. I especially am a fan of
“Less talk about overtraining and more talk about properly structured training regimens and restoration methods”
You make some good points here Jamie.
Regarding the whole chemical thing, as you note the whole world is made of chemicals (as a basic chemistry education teaches everyone).
However, the naturally occurring toxins you mention we try our best to avoid and as far as I know we don’t spray all over our food supply. However, things like pesticides (which I believe are not permitted by Oregon Tilth Certification…correct me if I am wrong) are sprayed all over our produce to avoid blemishes from insects and such.
Some people think it is OK to expose your self to pesticides on a regular basis, but when it really comes down to it you are eating bug killers…is our biology really designed for that?
I think a lot of defenders of pesticides (e.g. “it is so low that it doesn’t effect us”), have an out-of-sight-out-of-mind attitude. I think if you gave them an eye dropper full of low concentration pesticides and told them to add a few drops to everything they ate and drank all day every day they might get uncomfortable and give it some second thought…
Hi Leigh – Thanks for the info! I do love to do steady state (& some interval) on alternate days to my weight training. I’ve never understood why burning more calories would make me fat (unless it makes me eat more per the Time magazine article). I have been so confused on this subject bcs of all I have read about steady state being bad.
Sorry to be repetitive – but for clarification - do you feel steady state mixed with weight training is ok when trying to lose weight? Thanks so much – love your stuff!!!!
Leigh, this was an entertaining post. I can also appreciate Jamie’s POV. Nice to hear thoughts from more trainers.
Great post – I hate all the hype email I get for the new year. But I never did believe men and women should train the same way and I am glad someone else says so.
I kind of like the precautionary principle, and I like organic food, though I sure as hell don’t pay Whole Food prices for it. BPA hasn’t been “proven” to be a bad thing, yet I bet you’re trying to avoid that.
Great post Leigh
The sooner people clean up their eating the better, whether organic or not! Ditch the food additives and colourings and eat more natural foods.
Take you own health into you hands, Dr’s and pharmaceutical companies do not have all the answers!
Eat well and exercise to boost you immune system, we live in a sanitised world where our immune systems don’t get used and when they fail on a new flu bug it is called a pandemic and everyone freaks out!
The real pandemics in North America is diabetes and obesity, but it seems that no one seems to care about that!
Keep up the good work in 2010
Hi Leigh,
As usual you always come up with the most unique of all 2010 prediction lists that I have ever seen. I love the fact that you don’t have a ‘herd’ mentality!
Also, that joke you made about bottling yourself…..etc. was hysterical. Still lol!!!! I think geniune [intelligent] humour is so rare today that most people miss it. You always crack me up. And you always have a different take on things [dance to a different drum] then other fitness experts.
As the old cliche goes: “Common sense is so rare it is often mistaken for genius.”
I wish all the best in 2010! And thanks for being there and enlightening us all with your emailsand blog throughout the year. It is much appreciated.
Travis, thanks for the comments, however I totally disagree.
from Organic Food: The Real Story (MaxCondition.com, 2009)
Most consumers assume organic foods are grown without chemical pesticides, however this is not true. Rotenone is a potent neurotoxin, used by organic farmers that has long been used to kill fish and has been linked to Parkinson’s Disease (7) . Betarbet et. al. found that chronic exposure to Rotenone could reproduce the anatomical, neurochemical, behavioral and neuropathological features of PD (8). Another pesticide used by Organic farmers Pyrethrin, sometimes used the day of harvesting, can result in breathing difficulties when inhaled (7, 9). Other pesticides used in organic farming include hypochlorite, sodium hypochlorite, copper sulfate, boric acid, lime sulfur, elemental sulfur, and oils (1). Organic foods have been shown to have fewer pesticide residues than conventional foods. But do the higher levels found in conventional foods have a negative impact on human health?
Organic fruits and vegetables can be expected to contain fewer agrochemical residues than conventionally grown alternatives, but the significance of this difference is questionable inasmuch as actual levels of contamination in both types of food are generally well below acceptable limits (10).
Pesticide residues, naturally occurring toxins, nitrates, and polyphenolic compounds exert their health risks or benefits on a dose-related basis, and data do not yet exist to ascertain whether the differences in the levels of such chemicals between organic foods and conventional foods are of biological significance (1).
Kajiya (2006) suggested a possible relationship between parasite infection and organic food. Hookworm in an 87-year old Japanese man who had a 30-year history of eating organic foods caused heart failure. In general, footwear and proper sanitation are important for control of hookworm because the parasite is usually transmitted through contact with contaminated soil. The highest rates of hookworm infection occur in the world’s coastal regions and are often associated with poverty stricken areas. The 87-year old Japanese man wore shoes outdoors and lived inland. In fact, he did not go outside often. The occurrence of hookworm infection in Japan is uncommon. Organic foods have become relatively popular in advanced countries with good hygiene, and increasing numbers of people buy foods grown without added pesticides. Kajiya suspected that the Japanese man became infected by eating organic food imported from endemic areas of hookworm infection (11).
The Institute of Food Technologists issued a Scientific Status Summary on the organic foods industry (2006). Below is some of the key points from the Summary:
Organic fruits and vegetables possess fewer pesticide residues and lower nitrate levels than do conventional fruits and vegetables. In some cases, organic foods may have higher levels of plant secondary metabolites; this may be beneficial with respect to suspected antioxidants such as polyphenolic compounds, but also may be of potential health concern when considering naturally occurring toxins. Some studies have suggested potential increased microbiological hazards from organic produce or animal products due to the prohibition of antimicrobial use, yet other studies have not reached the same conclusion (1).
While many studies demonstrate these qualitative differences between organic and conventional foods, it is premature to conclude that either food system is superior to the other with respect to safety or nutritional composition (1).
This review illustrates that tradeoffs exist between organic and conventional food production. Organic fruits and vegetables rely upon far few pesticides than do conventional fruits and vegetables, which result in fewer pesticide residues, but may also stimulate the production of naturally occurring toxins if organic crops are subject to increased pest pressures from insects, weeds, or plant diseases. Because organic fruits and vegetables do not use pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, they have more biochemical energy to synthesize beneficial secondary plant metabolites such as polyphenolic antioxidants as well as naturally occurring toxins. In some cases, food animals produced organically have the potential to possess higher rates of bacterial contamination than those produced conventionally since organic production generally prohibits antibiotic use (1).
A review conducted in July 2009 (14) investigated differences in the nutrient contents between conventional and organic foods. Eleven crop nutrient categories were analyzed. The researchers identified 162 studies; 55 were of satisfactory quality. Only the satisfactory quality studies were analyzed. Conventionally produced crops had a significantly higher content of nitrogen, and organically produced crops had a significantly higher content of phosphorus and titratable acidity. There was no difference between the two for the remaining 8 of 11 crop nutrient categories analyzed. Analysis on livestock products indicated no difference in nutrient content between organically and conventionally produced livestock products. After reviewing studies of satisfactory quality the researchers concluded that there is no evidence of a difference in nutrient quality between organic and conventional foods.
“I think a lot of defenders of pesticides (e.g. “it is so low that it doesn’t effect us”), have an out-of-sight-out-of-mind attitude.” Are you aware of the procedures used to test the level of pesticides? Are you aware just how low these levels are? Do you believe in the adequacy of homeopathy?
“I think if you gave them an eye dropper full of low concentration pesticides and told them to add a few drops to everything they ate and drank all day every day they might get uncomfortable and give it some second thought… ”
This statement is irrelevant (Special Pleading fallacy), this is not the manner in which conventional food is prepared. What type of pesticides?
The burden of proof is upon the claimant- Organic Food Advocate- to provide evidence of the superiority of Organic food, let’s say pseudoOrganic since everything we eat is Organic. To date, the evidence has not been shown.
Please refer to the following for more info concerning Organic Food
Organic Food: The Real Story
http://maxcondition.com/page.php?148
Organic Really Safer? -bottom of homepage
http://maxcondition.com/news.php
Thanks for the article Jamie, I really appreciate you sharing it. I had a look at the full thing on your website and it is very informative…definitely well researched and you got some solid references there. (Not totally sure about the Japanese guy though…a sample size of one doesn’t sound statistically significant, but that of course wasn’t your study rather it was Kajiya’s.)
Regarding my out-of-sight-out-of-mind & eye dropper comments, I was just poking some fun…obviously it is not how food conventional food is prepared. All I was getting at it that it is one thing to know that the levels of pesticides are low enough that one feels they can safely ingest some piece of purchased fruit, but it might feel different for the person to see that same amount of pesticide sprinkled on right before they take a bite. But sure, from a scientific debate point of view, this isn’t relevant.
Thanks again for sharing, you obviously have a ton of experience (much more than I)…I have bookmarked your website to continue learning.
I’m so happy to have found out about you in 2009, Leigh, and I am excited for what 2010 will bring!!
Cheers to all.
Organic agriculture has a long way to go, but the farmers doing it treat the land better by far. I personally lived in an area of the country where all the lakes were filled with algae from high inputs of inorganic fertilizers (N and P) polluting the water. That is the top reason the Mississippi river is in such bad shape. Sure, dumping organic fertilizer on the ground will cause similar leaching, but the organic philosophy (that many real-life farmers abide by!) is to feed the crop by feeding the soil–instead of relying on high inputs, using innovative methods like cover cropping and various cultural techniques to grow food.
It is true that organic doesn’t mean healthy. Organic refers to production method, not quality of food produced, and industry continues to try and water down the guidelines (thus allowances of certain ridiculous compounds and not others). But it is disingenuous to state that organic means carbon-containing in this context. Words have multiple meanings, and organic agriculture has a meaning apart from chemistry. Organic does use less inputs, less energy, and creates less topsoil destruction (even with intensive tillage).