Fitness Is a Hedge Against Sickness

And the biochemical mechanism? Well, one key biochemical mechanism is that the fitter you are, the lower is your muscle insulin resistance. The lower is your muscle insulin resistance, the lower are your circulating insulin levels, so the liver sees less insulin, so fewer triglycerides are deposited there, so the liver becomes less insulin resistant and it releases fewer unhealthy lipoids into the bloodstream. Equally, fewer triglycerides are deposited around the islets of Langerhans, so insulin secretion is more functional. And the blood vessels see less insulin, so they become less insulin resistant, so their nitric oxide-dependent relaxation mechanisms are preserved.
The overlap with the dangerous quartet of Thursday is tight.     

I’ve always been an eternal optimist and can find a silver lining in just about any situation. During this pandemic I’ve witnessed a definite silver lining to all of this craziness. People are walking and running and biking everywhere. Not just the healthy usual suspects, but also the sedentary and even obese folks. I live in Bishop, CA which in in the Eastern Sierras and people can move above quite freely, social distancing of course. Unfortunately in the major cities the restrictions make it much harder to even go for a walk, but I really feel the General Population are taking a harder look at their bad choices and habits more right now than in decades. You are a guiding light in the rebirth of the sedentary,  HQ. Keep it up! 

I’ve been telling this to patients for 20 plus years. Very few listen. Fear motivated a few. The monster drug industry gives an easy way out illusion and people line up like lemmings. We have allowed the world to be shut down because 45% of the population has made a conscious choice to neglect their health. The medical profession cashes in on this by ignoring the solution and nurturing at all costs treating the symptoms. Even to the extent of passing laws that make obesity a handicap. Pretty smart way to make money 

Thanks for this video. I’m sharing this everywhere. 

One of the reasons we started CrossFit Cleveland, the first CF affiliate in northeast Ohio, 13 years ago was this man. Greg Glassman was profoundly aware, over 20 years ago, of the importance of functional fitness combined with proper nutrition. CrossFit’s style of Fitness was and always will be a hedge against sickness. 

Our prescription: 

Lift heavy things. Move your ass, often. Stop eating crap.  Eat real food.. Sleep 7-9 hours and repeat. 

👊

So thankful to have learned this message from Coach G and the CF community a long time ago. Our hedge is up! I'll echo Emily in that the simplicity is missed by many. Hopefully now some folks can see it more clearly. Thank you for the consistent information and education!

Yes! Yes! Yes! Capacity! Capacity! Capacity!

It is so simple and yet missed by so many. 

I am so so happy to see the archives coming to life. Keep these coming. This is the education everyone needs!!

This cool study, BK and I talk about a lot, illustrates the points made by Glassman in the video. It looks at elite athletes, fit people and those with metabolic syndrome and attempts to assess metabolic flexibility. San-Millán and Brooks looked at how much fat (FATox) and carbohydrate (CHOox) were burned and the concentration of blood lactate (La-) from lower to higher intensity exercise. These measurements, the investigators claim, provide an indirect method to assess metabolic flexibility, mitochondrial function, and oxidative capacity during exercise. The results were as you’d expect. 

Glassman’s point in this video is perfectly demonstrated in this study. When San-Millán and Brooks looked at the existing literature, they noticed that the blood lactate levels accumulated in the professional athletes when exercising at approximately 300 watts of output were close to the blood lactate levels observed at rest in people with type 2 diabetes!! AT REST!!! 

Talk about capacity as a safeguard!! Or how lacking that capacity puts you at greater risk! 

I bet many will enjoy reading it. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5cz1v976