Perhaps you remember Master Cycling Instructor Jennifer Sage, whose high-powered instructional manual about spinning and indoor cycling, called “Keep It Real”, was reviewed on this very website, in the post “Why You’re Not Losing Any Weight in Your Indoor Cycling Class”.

Today Jennifer is back, and she’s on a mission to clean up spinning and indoor cycling around the world…

You see, there are many, many things that happen during indoor spinning classes that people simply should not be doing – spinning moves that can be very dangerous for knees and backs, indoor cycling styles that can be ineffective for weight loss and fitness, and a general lack of good knowledge among certified spinning or fitness instructors about how to actually teach the spinning or indoor cycling class.

Jennifer appears to be quite fed up about these problems, and so she starts her post today by featuring these two YouTube videos…which show some big mistakes made by indoor cycling instructors…

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This June 24, 2009 free audio episode includes an expert interview on low back pain and sacro-iliac joint issues, a bonus interview on  a breakthrough supplement for bone healing and stress fractures called “lactoferrin”, as well as listener Q&A’s on “Tapering for Triathlon” and “Crunchy Craving Snack Substitutes”.

This Week’s Featured Topic:

Dr. Brian Mather is a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician. He is the team chiropractor for the Spokane Chiefs Hockey Club and has over 10 years of clinical experience treating high-school, college and professional athletes. He served as chiropractor for the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and is now a contributing writer to Triathlete magazine and an emerging expert in low back pain, especially among the endurance athlete population. During our 15 minute interview, Dr. Mather and I discuss the latest findings on the #1 cause of low back pain among people who are physically active, and the exact steps that can be taken to eliminate the pain related to sacroiliac joint issues (SI joint syndrome). For more information on Dr. Mather, just visit Spokane Sports Chiropractic.

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There often comes a time when we find our refrigerator full of those leftover bags or boxes of lettuce, or, if you’re lucky, perhaps even your own personal garden that is overflowing with lettuce. This is often a case in the summer, with the advent of large amounts of produce, farmer’s markets, and an abundance of fresh vegetables.

The problem is that you’ve already had a lettuce salad earlier in the day. Perhaps you just don’t feel like another lettuce salad. Or perhaps you’re just tired of lettuce salads. Or it could be that you’re just curious about what you can do with leftover lettuce when you have too much.

You hate to waste food, and you don’t want your lettuce to go bad, turn that brown, nasty color and smell up your fridge, before you’re forced to throw it out…

Below, you will find five different recipes which I’ve harvested (no pun intended) from the internet, tweaked just a bit with nutritionist superpowers, and provided to you so that you finally have a  use for all that extra lettuce. In no particular order, here they are:

Lettuce Superfood Smoothie:

Ingredients:
1 Cup Strawberries
2 Bananas
1/2 bunch romaine
Water & ice to desired texture

Simply throw all ingredients into a blender, blend well and serve! Ratio is 60% ripe organic fruit, mixed with about 40% organic green vegetables.

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This June 18, 2009 free audio episode includes a special swim interview for you triathletes, as well as listener Q&A’s on “Chia Seeds” (are they actually superior to flax seed?), Peanut Butter (is it really as bad as some nutritionists say?), Insulin Spikes from post-workout nutrition, Fasting for Weight Loss, and one very interesting natural remedy to fix a knee injury…

This Week’s Featured Topic:

By now, you have probably realized that there is a pretty stark contrast between swimming 25 yards, pushing off a wall, and swimming back…and fighting your way through 1.5K or more in choppy lake water. This is especially true if you like to follow the big black or blue line on the bottom of the pool.

So who’s to blame? You? Or your pool-side coach/master’s swim instructor/triathlon mentor for not teaching you a stroke that actually works in the open water?

Maybe a little bit of both.

So today’s podcast episode contains the answers to “17 Open-Water Swim Questions That You Should Probably Ask Your Swim Coach.”, and it features John Kenny, a triathlon coach from Pacific Elite Fitness. John was a 5-time US National champion in open water swim distances ranging from 10K up to 25K.  He was a 7-time National team member and has competed at a wide variety of races including Nationals, Olympic trials, Pan Ams, Pan Pacs, World Cups, and World Championships. He has been competing at local open water races since 1990, attended his first Open Water Nationals in 1997, and most recently represented the USA in the 25K at World Championships in 2008. From short races to marathons, flat lake swims to rough ocean or turbulent river swims, John Kenny is the most experienced open water swimmer in the United States, if not the world.  Other coaches in the triathlon realm claiming to be “open water experts” do not come close.

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In this June 11, 2009 free audio episode:

-The past several weeks, you’ve heard me talk quite a bit about the fact that minerals are needed for almost every bodily function (click here for a related interview on Transdermal Magnesium Therapy with Dr. Mark Sircus). Minerals are essential to enzymes, hormones, skeletal bones, teeth, fluids, proteins, DNA, and are critical for the utilization of vitamins. And they’re highly deficient in most Americans, because our soils are stripped of what they actually need. As a result, our food does not contain adequate minerals.

-What does this have to do with Ayurvedic Medicine? In this podcast, I interview Ayurvedic Medicinist “Ambaya” from AmbayaGold.com. During out talk, Ambaya explains:

-The core concepts behind Ayurvedic Medicine, including the identity of two crucial compounds “Fulvic Acid” and “Humic Acid” that can be harvested from rich soil deep within the earth, and utilized for mineral replacement…

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You may remember the highly popular and slightly controversial interview with a Palouse farmer a few months back, in which we revealed “Mystery Product X” to be Mediterranean Oil of Oregano. You can access that post by clicking here.

What lies below is a continuation of that discussion, from oregano oil expert and guest writer Alan Ramilia. He obviously has a bone to pick with the pharmaceutical industry (warning: don’t be offended), but he knows that I personally use and approve of oregano as a natural anti-septic and anti-fungal, and I found his information worth sharing.

“Uncovering The Secrets of Oregano.”

The oregano I am going to address in this article isn’t that tasty traditional spice found in spaghetti sauce and pizza.

One of the most potent and powerful of the essential oils, oregano oil has a long and ancient history of medicinal uses, yet unfortunately fell out of favor with us moderns as a consequence of the 20th century proliferation of pharmaceutical companies which were the brainchild of Rockefeller, an oil baron of the early 1900s.

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In this June 2, 2009 free audio episode:

-Large athletic events often do not consider sustainability or resource depletion when creating or producing the event. Cost is normally a primary objective, with convenience and ease of implementation a close second. In this interview with Portland Triathlon race director Jeff Henderson, you’ll be introduced to the concept of “Green” events, and how to actually have a triathlon, marathon or athletic event without destroying the planet. Click here to visit the Portland Triathlon website. Here are some snippets:

…In all cases local providers are given preference over regional or national sources. The necessary triathlon infrastructure (swim buoys, bike racks, etc) has been created from recycled or used materials whenever possible. Participants are asked to carpool, take public transportation, or ride their bikes to the race, with incentives provided for doing so…

…The Freshwater Trust Portland Triathlon was the first triathlon in the country to staff its medical tent with naturopathic doctors. The National College of Naturopathic Medicine provided care while highlighting this city’s unique educational institution…

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I’m currently working on a book that has morphed from a simple nutrition manual that I traditionally give gratis to all the athletes who I coach.

Originally a collection of nutrition tips and tricks, ideas on how to fuel the body with thousands of calories without destroying the delicate organs, and practical triathlon fueling tactics, the manual is now something very much like the lecture that I gave on Holistic Fueling For Endurance Athletes (if you missed that post, click here for the free video/audio/powerpoint).

The actual book won’t be released to the public until later this summer, but I thought I’d give you a taste of one chapter, entitled “18 Ways to Help Your Body Heal Faster”. This portion of the book is simply a comprehensive list of simple nutritional supplements that only cost about $4-5 a day, but can have you bouncing back from an injury faster than Wolverine from the X-Men.

In other words, if you find yourself injured or laid up with inflammation, follow this exact protocol for enhanced connective tissue healing, fast recovery from injury-produced inflammation, and a quick return to your training and competition after a strain, sprain or crash.

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