Funky Fridays

I will dedicate (or try to) Fridays for Funkiness. By definition, funky holds a few meanings. Of course, funky could mean having an offending smell, like the feet of your old roommate, but it also means something that is unconventional and fresh. It also pertains to music that have a dance rhythm, and while funk music is something I do not listen to, I will post some of my favorite tunes. Note, I do not regularly listen to mainstream music, metal, rap, or country. Most of what I listen to is trance/progressive house, some rock, and symphonic metal. That does not mean I do not listen to the aforementioned genres, so if I come across some music I like, I will post them.

MUSIC

To kick this off, I will share one of my new favorite tunes. A shout out to my friend, Sapan, for sharing this on his Facebook and a bigger shout out to Andrew Rayel, who produced this banger.

FITNESS

You will read me speaking about simplifying your strength training programs. I am a firm believer in 3-4 strength training sessions with a couple of metabolic conditioning sessions sprinkled in here and there (in future posts, I will discuss what metabolic conditioning is). However, you should be careful not to ignore the recovery aspect of training. When do you grow and see results? During recovery and not during the actual training session. Therefore, carefully monitor your progress when undergoing an exercise regime that consists of both strength training and metabolic conditioning. With that out of the way, one of my favorite ways to get in some work during non-lifting days is through complexes. An intense and shocking complex is called the Bear. Put simply, it will make you a better person in every possible way. In the video, I only do 5 rounds with 125 pounds because my grip was shot. Right before this, I did 15 reps of thick bar clean and press with 102 pounds.

NUTRITION

I used to the traditional snacker, or grazer. Our government recommends that Americans eat 5-6 meals per day separated by about 2 hours each. For some reason, this has never really sat well with me. For one, I can't be bothered to eat 5-6 meals per day now and it's not because of a lack of trying. I just can't get it to fit my lifestyle anymore. So for the past 3 years, I have been a fan of extended fasting and feeding cycles, especially for health and fat-loss. There is a decent amount of support for fasting for health, and what many people fail to recognize is the importance of motility in the small intestine, or the rate at which food passes through the gut.

The migrating motor complex, abbreviated as MMC, is a medium amplitude motion in the gut that moves digested food along. Researchers call this a 'housekeeping wave', since it's kind of like sweeping a broom to remove debris. This usually happens 2-3 hours after a meal at 5-10 minute intervals and stops when food is entering the stomach. The problem is that the MMC also sweeps along bacteria,  preventing them from lodging in the small intestine and thus preventing small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), a common symptom for those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) (1).

It normally takes anywhere from 3-4 hours for food to pass through the small intestine, so when you eat 2 hours after your last meal, you are essentially stopping that process. What is interesting is that I have worked with people who used to do various weight-loss programs that advocate high-frequency feedings (6+) to control hunger, but experience constipation, bloating, and a general feeling of unhealthiness.

Now, there are times to have high-frequency meals. Firstly, if you are trying to gain size, you want to eat more often. Imagine requiring 4000-5000 calories to gain 2 pounds per week and eating that amount in 3-4 meals without blowing up like the Michelin Man. Ain't going to happen. Also, if you are competing at a high level, especially at endurance sports, you should eat more often. Most likely if you are competing in those types of things, health is not at the forefront of your concerns.

That's it for this Funky Friday. Questions? Comments? Drop a line.

References

1. Pimentel M, Soffer EE, Chow EJ, et al. Lower frequency of MMC is found in IBS subjects with abnormal lactulose breath test, suggesting bacterial overgrowth. Dig Dis Sci. 2002 Dec; 47(12):2639-43.