Boost Health

Pictured left to right: Joel Lieginger and Paul Sandburg

This is another post where there was so much great content in the podcast it was difficult to capture in blog form.  I suggest listening to the show in your favourite podcast app below to get the full experience.  Below are notes of what we covered in part 1 of this 3 part series.

I have a special guest with me today, Mr. Joel Lieginger.  He is a very good friend of mine whom I met through the SIRs cycling club here in Hong Kong.I asked Joel to be on the show today because he has a lot of experience and perspective in a fitness discipline I have become obsessed with lately. I think adding in this discipline is a tremendous opportunity to improve my health and fitness.  Before we dig into what this new obsession of mine is, I want to tell you a little bit about Joel.Joel has lived in Hong Kong with his wife Emily and three kids Charlie, Eleanor, and Elizabeth, for the past 8 years. He works at a little company called AIA, that for those of you listening from other parts of the world, is the largest insurance company across Asia, and he has been with AIA, in numerous roles, for his full time in HK, and currently runs their third party distribution platform.As for a little more on Joel’s personal background before we get into the show, Joel’s athletic background covers team and individual sports, and both organized and outdoor activities.  He grew up as many of us did playing numerous sp...

If you haven’t listened to part 1 of the show yet I would recommend listening to it first as you get to meet Tanner, Dallas, and Mike and hear their initial thoughts on endurance training and racing. As was the case in Part 1, I highly recommend you listen to the show for Part 2 as there was too much good stuff to capture in blog form.  The links for the show on various platforms are below.

Finalizing the Reconciliation   The first question you get if you tell someone you dabble in triathlon is: “Have you done an Ironman?” Is this because we have to know how prestigious someone’s athletic status is, or is it just brilliant marketing by Ironman?  Ironman is to triathlon what Bandaid is to bandage. It seems like it is assumed that if you are participating in triathlon, but haven’t done the long distance races, then you haven’t quite fully reached your potential.  I think this is about as ridiculous as saying that Usain Bolt would be more impressive if he ran the mile versus the 100 meter race. The pure happiness, satisfaction, and pride that is on the faces of people that cross the finish line at an Ironman race is authentic and undeniable.  That is inspiring.  Maybe endurance is about overcoming something that is super challenging. Maybe the longer and more challenging the endurance event is, the more impressive it is.  Maybe we just need a different name for sprint endurance race.  Sprint endurance racing is an oxymoron anyway isn’t it?  What do you guys think?To an endurance athlete, me wanting to just do fast short races probably seems wimpy or half-hearted.  But if you bust your tail,

This another one that I really recommend listening to the podcast episode as there was too much great stuff to capture in blog form.  Click below to listen on your favorite podcast app.  Below is an outline of what we cover.

A Virtual Wellness CommunityI wrote the outline for this show on a plane flying from Hong Kong to Seattle. My family is traveling back to the US for summer holiday. Since we were returning back to Kansas to our family, friends, and old training buddies, I knew I wanted to do another show on wellness community. But I knew this would be different than the one I did with Bo and Sheel about the SIRs and Dragons fitness communities. If you haven’t listened to that show yet it is Episode 15 of the BOOST Health Podcast and I highly recommend it. It is really a good one thanks mostly to the brilliant thoughts of Bo and Sheel as we break down how properly organized fitness communities can add tremendous performance, mentorship, accountability, and elicit kindness in the purest form. This show on community is different because I am not able to train with my Kansas buddies anymore, save a few weeks in the summer, since we moved to Hong Kong. I have kept in contact with this group of guys, and I still draw a lot of energy from them. This energy is a bit intangible and that is one of the things I want to tackle today. As you all know, people you train with over a period of time start to become more like close friends, and even family in some cases. These guys are definitely family. We all lived within a few blocks of each other so we were neighbors. We helped each other with flooding basements, moving heavy stuff, offered advice, cheered each other on, etc. We basically had each other’s back. We would train together as best as we could if schedules allowed and it made sense with objectives. So what if you are part of a wellness community that isn’t so well organized? What if your community doesn’t have weekly rides, gym workouts,

I am excited as I just had Dr. Chris Zaino join me on Episode 18 of The BOOST Health Podcast!  If you normally just read the blog, you will want to tune in for this episode for sure.  There was too much great content to capture in blog form. If you are using an Apple iPhone or iPad, then go here to listen to the BOOST Health podcast. If you are using another type of mobile device, then go to Google Play to listen to The BOOST Health podcast. Anyone using their computer can just go to iTunes or Apple Podcasts on their iPhone and search for “Boost Health.”  Below is are the notes of what we cover.  Please listen in..I promise you will be inspired!Dr. Zaino has an obsession for helping people realize what they are truly capable of which I think is absolutely fantastic!  He and I thought having a chat on this show would be great because at BOOST Health we are always searching for new wellness tactics and encouraging folks to be open minded and try new things.  In case you are not familiar with Dr. Zaino, I will get you up to speed.  He is a world-renowned speaker, author, entrepreneur, and HERO (we will get into what that means). After winning Mr. America in 1998, and being a leader in the fitness industry, he found himself defying a deadly disease in his late 20’s. Dr. Zaino leveraged his experience to establish one of the largest health and wellness clinics in the world, seeing thousands of patients per week (yes, per week). Teaching mindset and health principles has allowed thousands of people to finally receive results where other health and medical systems failed them in the past. Now an international speaker, author, and mindset expert, Dr. Chris has shared his message of wholeness in mind and body over 4430 times. Shifting Doctors and Clients alike to continue to make the impact on millions. The Core Premise of his work is that everybody is born with seeds of greatness and capable of heroic things if given the chance. That each person has the noble qualities inherent in them to drastically shift themselves and their work. Dr. Chris seeks to unlock this in each man, woman, and child he reaches. Rather than let people silently grieve their potential, he exists to wake up the hero that we know is hidden within each of us.Oh by the way he also won his age group at Mr. Universe in 2016 and is a pro body builder today.  Needless to say he is in incredible shape!  But what I like most about Dr. Zaino is that he has figured out how to keep fit while managing a very successful business and also being a great husband and father to his 2 boys.  He sounds pretty balanced to me!Dr. Zaino thank you very much for taking time to join us on the show!I have tons of questions I want to ask you so I will jump right in. I read that the terrible disease that you were able to rebound from was actually ulcerative colitis, which is tough stuff!  What tactics did you use heal/recover from this?Was your battle and victory over ulcerative colitis what inspired...

I am going to have some professional pictures taken for BOOST Health later this month. This may come as a surprise but I may not have my shirt on in some of them. Those of you who follow myboosthealth on Instagram and Facebook probably know that is a joke!The fact is that I take a lot of my workout pictures without a shirt because I want to show I have nothing to hide. I want to show that if you maintain a certain lifestyle, you can have a flat stomach and abdominal definition year round. With that said, I am not going to do anything special to get ready for this photo shoot. No crash dieting, crazy workouts, or water pills. I will just keep doing what I do every day. I was actually having coffee with my buddy Ric, after a bike ride recently, and he said he didn’t like how he heard a few people say that I am able to keep fit because I don’t have a “real job”. We laughed because we know it requires discipline and effort to have a good physique, and doesn’t necessarily have a direct correlation to whether or not I work a typical office job. In fact, I had the exact same body composition several years ago after I switched to a plant-based diet, and was still working in the corporate world. And nowadays I spend most of my time in front of a computer researching and writing for the blog and podcast. It isn’t as if I am exercising all day long. The truth is, you can have a strong and defined midsection, even if you have a busy career.When I say defined and flat stomach I am not saying I am super cut up or the most shredded guy in the world. There are plenty of people that have more abdominal definition than I do. Body builders and figure competitors get their body fat down into the low single digits and you can even see vascularity in their abs. While this is impressive, this isn’t something that anyone can, or should, maintain year round. To get to this state there is usually a bulking phase where lots of fat and muscle are added and then a massive cutting phase to get the body fat super low while maintaining as much muscle as possible. These big swings in body composition are not healthy. According to an article on mensjournal.com that discusses negative effects of extremely low body fat, registered dietician Georgie Fear noted that body builders often go below 5% body fat during competition but this is actually too low for a healthy cardiovascular, endocrine, reproductive, skeletal, and nervous system. You can see why they don’t stay in this low zone for very long.My point is, if you are not a competitive body builder or figure competitor, how about just having a flat tummy and nice abdominal definition year round? There is no need to go to extremes to get and maintain this. Wouldn’t it be nice when swimsuit season comes around and you don’t have to do anything different to be “ready”? It just requires a disciplined lifestyle. In an effort to prescribe this lifestyle to you I have identified below 13 Tactics for Year-Round Abs to Get and Maintain a Flat and Defined Stomach. One of my goals with BOOST Health is to share ideas to help people find their wellness balance. I know not every tip will work with every individual, but I am hopeful that some of these ideas will work in chorus with what you already know about your body and what wo...

I just got done putting some KT tape on my left knee.  It is pretty sore and I am not exactly certain what the culprit is. There is not a lot of research backing the use of these therapeutic tapes but there is some evidence of increased proprioception.  I feel a slight added stability when I where it on an injured area as well. There is a link to the kind I use below on Amazon if you are curious.

I injured my small toe on my left foot a few weeks ago so perhaps I have been compensating and changing the way I walk and stand to put less pressure on the toe. I also stand at my computer workstation quite a bit and this could be part of the problem too. Even though I have had ergonomic training and have been implementing good ergonomic strategies for myself for the last 12 years or so, I still catch myself slumping over or leaning to one side. I think it is just human nature. The body will get tired in a particular position and subconsciously make a change, even if it is to its own the detriment, ironically. An article on the nbcnews.com site mentions how desk workers will subconsciously adjust themselves fit to their workstation, such as leaning forward to see their screen, raising their chair too high, or reaching for their mouse.Ideally the worker’s station will be set up around them versus the other way around. This knee injury got me thinking that perhaps I am not as good as I should be with my setup, posture, and habits. In an effort to check myself before I wreck myself I dove into the latest ergonomic research and landed on 5 ways to maximize efforts in this area.1. Avoid Prolonged Periods of SittingWhen I first started standing at my work station I was so excited and proud of myself that I could stand the whole day. I would proudly tell my colleagues that I stand all day long and encourage them to try standing since all the evidence of sitting all day is not healthy was coming out. For example a 2012 study in Diabetologia found that sedentary behavior, such as sitting at a desk most of the day, significantly increases your risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and overall causes of mortality.The problem is that standing all day long is not good for you either.2. Avoid Prolonged Periods of StandingA 2018 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that prolonged standing at an office workstation can cause reduced reaction time, a poor mental state, and overall body discomfort. This was a 12-year study of more than 7,000 office workers. I think the key word here is prolonged.Also according to a 2015 article on cnn.com, Alan Hedge, professor of ergonomics at Cornell University,

(Left to Right) Bo Kratz, Paul Sandburg, Sheel Kohli

More info on SIRs     More info on Dragons

For those of you who just read the blog version of each episode…this is one where you really should listen to the podcast!  There was just too much good discussion to capture in blog form.  Click icon below to listen on your favorite podcast app.  A summary of the show is below.

I am super excited for the show today because I have two very special guests joining the program.  These two gents have been integral in shaping my personal beliefs on fitness communities and have also become dear friends of mine here in Hong Kong. I can say, without question, I would still be cycling in circles (Redhill) and doing the same boring running and swimming workouts all on my own, without the help of these guys and the fitness communities they are a part of.  With their help, I have learned that you can safely navigate the mean, dangerous, steep, and slippery streets of Hong Kong.  I have learned that having friends with you while training isn’t just about motivation but also about kindness, caring, and understanding. Today we will discuss fitness community and the profound positive effects it can have on individuals, and the group as a whole,

Since I started this plant-based adventure, I have had lots of requests to share my daily nutrition plan and recipes that I enjoy. Those of you who have been following along with the BOOST Health Blog and Podcast, are probably aware that I have been on a plant-based nutrition plan for the past 4+ years.  I have had amazing results including loss of 15 lbs., loss of 10% body fat, 5% increase in muscle, tremendous improvement in sport performance, and most importantly, I feel absolutely fantastic.  Before starting on plant-based nutrition I was having all kinds of stomach issues and wasn’t seeing the types of gains in the gym and in sport that I should have been.  You can check out the entire story here if interested.In this daily nutrition plan that I am about to share, I am going to include some extra detail on my overall schedule, supplements, and training to give you a better picture and understanding.  I also have created a new section on the website that will house all my favorite recipes and I will continue to add these.  I feel very strongly that a good, consistent, morning routine is key to success for overall wellness.  Richard Whately, a theological writer from England in the 1800’s once said “Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it”.  I did an entire episode and post on 10 tips for the best morning routine you can check out.  You may be wondering why I am going on a tangent about morning routines when I am supposed to be giving you my daily nutrition plan.  The reason is because the morning sets up the entire day because I do overnight/morning fasting, which is a type of intermittent fasting.  Because of this overnight/morning fasting, I think of my days as less segmented or defined than typical diets, but rather a fluid 24 hour period that starts over each morning.  For example typical diets call meals names like “breakfast”, “lunch”, “dinner”, and “snacks”. I just call my meals names like “meal”, “food”, or “training fuel”.  I eat when I am hungry (and not fasting).  It is the epitome of listening to your body and understanding your needs.  It does take practice of course.  Below is my daily nutrition plan and approximate timing in sync with my overall schedule. The meals always include vegetables, fruit, and healthy fat.  A lot of the meals also include beans, nuts, seeds, olives, and nut butter.  I always eat real food whenever possible but if I am traveling, out on a long bike ride, or out running errands I always bring bars in case I need fuel while on the go. Larabars and Zing bars are a couple of my favorites.

My Day:04:30-05:00  (Fasting)Wake, take Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and do miscellaneous morning prep05:00-05:05 (Fasting)Take master pattern amino acids with glass of water and ¼ tsp

I love listening to music when I exercise if I am by myself.  I also really enjoy chatting with a buddy when riding a bike or going on a run.  I am not a fan, however, of exercising in silence.  I have mentioned previously that inside my brain is a scary, panicky, and anxiety-laden mess that requires various tricks of the mental health trade to keep it at bay.  I talked about 3 tactics to build mental strength in a previous episode of the BOOST Health Podcast and Blog.I have been using my new mental strength tactics with good success but I also continue listening to music while exercising as I feel it helps further assist in keeping my mind out of a negative place.  I also just really enjoy getting in a rhythm with music on a run or bike ride.  There is something very satisfying about finding a song that matches your running or cycling cadence.   I love hearing the bass and snare drums hitting just as my foot meets the ground or pushes a pedal. Running is especially important for me to have good music.  Maybe it is because it hurts a lot and I want to take my mind off the pain.  If I have a good song in my ear it can make a huge difference in how I feel and perform.  I was thinking about how important my music is for happiness and performance when my headphones lost their charge recently.  It was almost devastating!  Ok I admit, I was full on devastated.  I always listen to music when strength training and when running and cycling alone.  I keep it at low volume so it is not dangerous as I can easily hear cars or even people talking as I pass by them.  From a cycling perspective, some purists would say this goes against “the rules” including #61 by Velominati.  For years race directors, most likely from an insurance perspective, have been outlawing music and headphones.  In 2006 the USA Track and Field organization banned use of headphones in their sanctioned events.  This is just for running events!  In 2008 they amended the rule to only include “those competing in Championships for awards, medals, or prize money”.  Again this probably has more to do with insurance than actual safety risk.  Just a couple weeks ago a buddy of mine got disqualified from a duathlon (run, bike, run) race for wearing headphones.  He was kindly notified after he completed the race…ouch!  We could argue about whether or not it is a safety risk based on numerous variables.  Pushing safety concerns aside, what about claims that music can be a performance enhancer?  Can music actually help us perform better in sport and in life in general?  The answer is resoundingly yes!  I am about to share 7 Ways music enhances your performance and health.1. Music Increases Exercise PerformanceA 2012 study in the International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology by Karageorghis and Priest, included a major review and synthesis of music and effects on exercise.  They found that music can be used successfully before exercise as a motivational tool to get started.

It is difficult, but I have decided I don’t want to be so special. I want to be more generalized. I don’t want to be a triathlete, playground gymnast, cyclist, cross-fitter, obstacle course dude, yogi, or gym rat. I think I will just dabble a little in each. What do I mean?I mean I don’t want to just be able to run fast in a straight line, but instead be able cut at a hard angle, explosively jump over a fallen tree, or run barefoot in deep sand without batting an eye.I mean I don’t want to be too tired from training, but instead be a fun dad and chase after my kids on the playground, and run, jump, swing, and climb with them.I mean I don’t want to sacrifice endurance for strength, but instead be able to hold a good pace on a run or a bike climb but also be able to do 12-15 full range of motion pullups, explosive full body press ups, and back squat a lot of weight.I mean that I don’t want to be a sleep deprived, over trained, stress hormone maxed, chronic fatigued mess, but instead have high levels of testosterone, balanced training, enough sleep, and enough specific recovery to allow my body to absorb my training.I mean that I don’t want my back to hurt when standing or sitting at my desk, or waiting in line at the grocery store, but instead be able to have the awareness and core strength to brace myself properly with good posture.What I really mean is that I want to be on the best fitness program for overall health and performance. I want to be able to enjoy a big bike ride with my buddies and hang in there with them, but don’t need to cycle 7 times per week to be the best. I want to be able to squat heavy weight in the gym and be able to run track later that night without feeling destroyed. I want to go to the playground and do pullups on the monkey bars and also be able to swim a few laps without feeling spent. I want to have the strength to carry heavy grocery bags or fire wood effortlessly and have vice grip forearm strength. I want to wake up for an early workout but feel rested and have a good heart rate variability score. So what program would create this balanced specimen?   After must research, and many years personally experimenting in the field, I have identified what I think are the 5 most important elements  for the best overall fitness program.1. Full Body Strength TrainingThose who know me, are already aware that my first love of fitness is strength training. It all started when I was a kid experimenting with my dad’s old barbell weight set in the garage. It was fully realized later, before my freshman year of high school, in the summer strength training program for football. From then on, from high school, through university, and into current times, strength training has been a constant for me. I have been lucky to have good mentors, coaches, and the best professional training available, to learn proper techniques and pass them on to my students. I love the way it makes me feel strong, powerful, and muscular. Strength training is definitely part of me and I would even go as far as to say it defines me (pun intended). But maybe strength training is new for you, or you have tried it a few times but it hasn’t become ingrained into your routine.Below are some of the many benefits of strength training that I hope will sell you on adding it to your program:• Increases your metabolic rate/Burn calories more efficiently• Evidence of help in managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, back pain, arthritis, obesity, heart disease, and depression• Prevents osteoporosis• Reduces body fat• Increases strength• Prevents muscle loss (...