Starting Strength Coach Association Series: Exercise Science Presentation 2014, Part II

Dr Jonathon Sullivan - Exercise Science 2014. Each year the Science Committee sifts through the literature to identify publications for the SSCs to read and analyze as a part of their Maintenance of Certification requirement. They obtain this material from the peer-reviewed literature, as well as books, videos, and other fascinating sources of information pertinent to the trade. This is part two of four. Presented at the Starting Strength Coaches Conference, October 4, 2014, Wichita Falls, TX. Part I Discuss

On-the-Go Mason Jar Meals for Busy Athletes

Packing healthy meals can be a challenge, but I've found a compact, convenient, and affordable solution.

Once I realized the foods I ate mattered, I started looking at everything that entered my body. From cleaning products to plastic storage containers, my house does not even remotely resemble anything from three years ago.

MY STORY: How Paleo Living Helped Me Overcome Multiple Sclerosis

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The End of Tolerance

CrossFit questions the leadership of the fitness and exercise-science communities.

“Consume the maximal amount that can be tolerated.”

The line seems innocuous at first, just a recommendation in a 1996 position stand on hydration published by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). But if you read it a few times, the words don’t sit well. Their imprecision alone seems enough to disqualify them from a publication titled Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the ACSM’s “flagship monthly journal.”

Consider this farcical, tragic and extreme application of drinking to tolerance: On Jan. 12, 2007, a radio station in California asked listeners to consume the maximum amount of water they could tolerate without urinating as part of a contest. Later in the day, participant Jennifer Strange, 28, died of water intoxication, also known as hyponatremia.

Prior to the 1970s, hyponatremia was almost unheard of. And while not common today, it is not nearly as rare as it should be. It occurs when a person consumes so much fluid that the body’s sodium becomes diluted, causing swelling of the cells and intercranial pressure. It’s a painful condition that can result in everything from seizures to death.

You can perhaps blame Strange’s death on a foolish contest, but athletes have also died following questionable hydration guidelines. At least 12 people have died from exercise-associated hyponatremic encephalopathy between 1993 and 2008. Updated by the ACSM in 2007, the guidelines are still woefully inadequate. Misinformation and bad science persist, and people still suffer.

Last August, Zyrees Oliver, 17, died in Georgia after consuming 2 gallons of water and an equal amount of Gatorade after cramping up in football practice. Also in August 2014, football player Walker Wilbanks, 17, died of hyponatremia in Mississippi. And there are others.

So why do people drink too much? Stupid contests are one answer. But another answer is that authorities in the medicine and exercise-science communities have told people to drink “the maximal amount that can be tolerated” in the interests of safety and athletic performance. Athletes have also been told to drink before they’re thirsty, and to consume sports drinks to maintain sodium levels. Interestingly, the authorities producing these guidelines are sponsored by Gatorade and the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.

It doesn’t take a genius to see an obvious question: If “Waterlogged” author Dr. Tim Noakes says EAHE can be prevented “simply by always drinking to thirst,” shouldn’t we be concerned when athletes still follow other guidelines based on questionable science?

If the answer is yes, shouldn’t we be horrified when athletes die?

Fix Those Hips: Progressive Posture Alignment, Part 2

Focus on alignment issues involving the hips and negate pain in week two of this four part series.

Click Here If You Missed Week One

Welcome to week two of my four-week program for better posture and alignment. This week we are going to focus on hip alignment. But we are not focusing on the symptom or the site of the pain. Instead, we are focusing on the alignment issues that cause pain.

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The 25 Rules of Strength Training (Part 2)

Focus on movement, remember to schedule playtime, and don't be afraid to occasionally fail - these are some of the keys to strength gain success.

Since writing The Rules of Strength Training (Part 1): 25 Things I Have Learned, I’ve learned some more stuff.

Actually, I wanted to include many of these points in the first 25, but ran out of space. Others are lessons I’ve learned since. And a few are items I’ve changed my mind on.

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Coffee and Overtraining: Smart Strength With Charles Staley

Strength training veteran Charles Staley is here to answer our readers' questions about life and lifting.

Note: Charles is here on a weekly basis to help you cut through the B.S. and get to the bottom of the biggest questions in health and training. Post your questions via social media or in the comments section below to participate in next week's mailbag.

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Poking the Bear: Is CrossFit HQ the Ultimate Internet Troll?

CrossFit social media folks are not stupid. They are fully aware of the reaction their posts might elicit.

For as long as I can remember, CrossFit, Inc. has posted non-CrossFit related content on both their website and social media. Before there was such a thing as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, there was CrossFit.com. Rest days on the main site have always featured random, decidedly un-CrossFit links.

CrossFit.com - How It Used to Be

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