My Crossfit Level 1 Trainer Course & This Week’s 1-Page Health News…

I (Glenn) woke up early on Mother’s Day, emptied the dishwasher, woke the kids up to give Meredith her gift, and promptly abandoned them for Day 2 of the CrossFit Level 1 trainer’s certification course. I’m not going to lie, I felt bad about it. But in addition to that espresso machine, Meredith got herself a live-in CrossFit trainer to put her through the paces.

While I’m still fully interested in an participating in Xterra Triahtlons, there’s no denying that CrossFit is on to something: train all 10 aspects of fitness – strength, endurance, stamina, power, speed, flexibility, agility, balance, coordination, and accuracy. Using “Constantly Varied Functional Movements Done at High Intensity” is how CrossFit gets you there.

Anyway, I’m working out the details, but I’ll be doing some CrossFit classes in the near future. We’re in talks with Colorado Kettlebell Club to use their space, which is about 1 mile from our office. We’re looking at weeknights at 5 PM and 6 PM. So if you’re interested, keep an eye out for more info.

And here’s this week’s 1-Page Health News…

Mental Attitude: Dementia. The number of people globally with dementia is set to rise from its current 35.6 million, to 65 million by 2030 and 115 million by 2050. Currently, $604 billion are spent each year worldwide on treating and caring for individuals with dementia. This toll includes the provision of health and social care, as well as loss of income of the dementia patients and their caregivers, as many caregivers have to give up their jobs to look after a person with dementia. World Health Organization, April 2012

Health Alert: America’s Obesity Epidemic. The scope of the obesity epidemic in the US has been greatly underestimated. Researchers found that the Body Mass Index (BMI) substantially under-diagnoses obesity when compared to the Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scan, a direct simultaneous measure of body fat, muscle mass, and bone density. The study found 39% of Americans who are classified as overweight based on BMI are actually obese as measured by DXA. The BMI is an insensitive measure of obesity, prone to under-diagnosis, while direct fat measurements are superior because they show distribution of body fat. PLoS ONE, April 2012 Diet: How Should You Take It? For reversing damage and promoting repair to cartilage, the supplements Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine have been shown to be more effective if taken together, as the mixture of the two allows them to act synergistically. Osteoarthritis Cartilage, 2006

Exercise: Caffeine & Exercise? According to a 14-week study conducted on mice, caffeine and exercise may cut the risk of developing skin cancers caused by sun exposure. Researchers found 62% fewer non-melanoma skin tumors and the size of tumors reduced by 85% in the caffeine and exercise group when compared to the control group (no caffeine, no exercise). The results of the caffeine and exercise group also exceeded the other two groups in the study (caffeine, no exercise and exercise, no caffeine). American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, April 2012

Wellness/Prevention: Still Smoke? 7,000(!) chemicals and chemical compounds are present in tobacco and tobacco smoke, including 93 HPHCs (harmful and potentially harmful constituents). Food and Drug Administration, April 2012

Quote: “I look to the future because that’s where I’m spending the rest of my life.” ~ George Burns