Bodycomp News & Views Issue#22 December 2011

In this issue:

  1. Push-up variations
  2. Vitamin D - just take it already!
Vitamin D

This is mostly me just sharing anecdotal information and ranting a bit. I have the opportunity to measure bone density on a wide variety of individuals - some are athletes, some are inactive, some are men and some are women.

Most of my athletic clients with good diet have excellent bone density, but I frequently scan otherwise healthy people with very low bone mass who don't take Vit D. Other than fleeting summer sunlight exposure and consuming dairy, we don't have any other way to obtain this important vitamin.

By taking 2000 IU daily, you can allow your body to form strong bones and encourage retention of this important mineral. Most of us consume more than enough calcium in our diet - it's the lack of Vitamin D that prevents us from retaining it over our lifetime, leading to increased fracture risk at a later age.

Because it is a fat soluable substance, it is possible to take too much and increase risk of kidney and gall stones, however, this seems to occur at intakes nearing 25,000 IU daily, so go ahead and pick up a container of Vit D in the 1000 IU per tablet variety and take two every morning with breakfast to give your bones the best opportunity to stay strong.

 

 

 

Push-up variations

The classic push-up is an excellent fundamental human movement. It begins with the toes touching the ground, the body facing the ground, with the arms in a straight line and the palms flat on the ground. The torso shouldn't peak upward at the bum or sag in the middle.

The push-up begins with a conrolled drop of the torso, allowing the elbows to bend with the arms staying snug against the sides of the body. Drop until the chest touches the ground and then push with both arms until the body is at the starting position.

This motion builds strength in the arms, shoulders and core. It scales well to higher workloads and requires no equipment. Because the arms can tire quickly when starting out, try doing sets of 5 throughout your day. As you become stronger, aim to increase your sets to 5 rounds of 20 continous push-ups.

Variations:

  • wide and narrow hand positions
  • deep push-up (using weights or books under the hands
  • decline push-ups
  • handstand push-ups