Here are some quick tips for any clients and teammates who plan on running Ragnar Adirondacks this weekend or similar 24 hour relay race.

1. Last long run.  Today is the last day that you should run anything resembling a long run.

2. Last training run. Tomorrow should actually be your LAST run.

3. Test your gear!  If you have a pair of running shoes that you haven't used in a while or a newish pair, take them out for a spin  tonight and/or tomorrow.  The same holds true for running apparel and gear.

4. Running in the fall can be cold and possibly wet so test run your waterproof jacket and tights. Gloves and a warm hat are a plus.

5. Tomorrow, you should cut down on carbs for two days.

6. Start picking your food to eat in between runs.  It should digest quickly. Go light on foods that are high in fiber.

7. Make sure you pack protein. Everybody brings carbs and forgets the protein. It's a must if you want a decent 3rd leg.

More tips tomorrow!!

In my last post, I covered the benefits of anti-oxidants and how they became known as the magical ingredients to eternal youth and the imperial guards against cancer.  As promised, today's post is a lesson on pro-oxidants, 'compounds or agents capable of generating toxic oxygen species' as defined by MediLexicon (what i called the alter-ego of anti-oxidants in my previous post).

So what influences the prevalence of pro-oxidants in your body? 

1. External factors such as excessive exposure to sunlight, pollution, stress are catalysts for ROS "reactive oxygen species". (Remember? Those free radicals that the anti-oxidants scavenge?)
2. How you fuel your body.  Alcohol, sugar, cronuts and junk food or highly processed food like Hot Pockets can increase the amount of oxidative stress to which your body is exposed.
3. Turncoat anti-oxidants that flip from anti to pro oxidants in  a second.

This is how it works. The electrons in your cells like to exist in pairs i.e. they don't like being alone or uncoupled.

Antioxidants, benevolent like Barney the dinosaur, share or give their electrons to neutralize ROS.

This is what happens when a substance functions as an anti-oxidant.  The role of an anti-oxidant is to donate an electron. This is important because an unpaired electron (free radical) can cause damage.
Free radicals are dangerous to have in your body precisely because they are missing an electron. They float around your body looking to steal an electron from something. If it steals it from a healthy cell, there is a chance that the cell will mutate (which can cause a number of bad things, including cancer). In its search for a mate it can also ding up healthy cells like an out of control Go Kart.

So the anti-oxidant comes in and saves the day!  End of story?  Nope!

Here's why.  When an anti-oxidant gives away an electron, another problem occurs. The anti-oxidant itself becomes a radical, because it now has a leftover electron. Take vitamin C for example. When vitamin C (ascorbic acid) acts as an anti-oxidant and gives away an electron, it becomes vitamin C radical (ascorbyl radical). It's no longer helpful to us as an anti-oxidant (or a vitamin) in this form. And now that it's a radical we definitely don't want it!  In order to neutralize the ascorbyl radical you need another type of anti-oxidant.
And when that substance goes radical and you need a lipid based anti-oxidant to calm the electrons that helped the vitamin C and then... Do you see a vicious cycle?  So what do you do?

First you should understand that anti-oxidants are good friend but they are not the panacea companies make them out to be. Supplementing to excess will not help you and antioxidants in excess may become a dangerous foe!

The key is to get your antioxidants through food because there is a better balance of antioxidants found in vegetables, fruit, grass fed meats and eggs. In food you get a whole team to help keep ROS in check.
And the flip side is true. You do not get the complete anti-oxidant team when you eat processed foods with artificial flavors and coloring. (See #2 above)

Soon, I hope, there will be a proven anti-oxidant that will stave off diseases, and possibly cancer. Or slow down the aging process as effectively as exercise. Until then eat healthy and smart!!

YES.  THERE REALLY IS NO CLASS ON SEPTEMBER 26, 27, AND 28TH.  BUT, NO, ROY HAS NOT GONE TURBO!  CLASS RESUMES AT THE USUAL TIME ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 @ 11:30AM

There are only ~5 weeks left before all Roy Alexander Fitness Livingsocial vouchers expire on October 22, 2013.  If you have not redeemed and have 10 sessions left, now is the time to start coming two or more times per week to realize substantial results.  Plan ahead and build in time to recover from FitCamp sessions or for days when life gets in the way of a good sweat. 

It seems like every product packaging label heralds its new found ability to deliver antioxidants.

Why? Ask anyone about antioxidants and they have a strong positive association. Now, you find it everywhere, from high-end cosmetics to a can of soda. Kudos to the health conscious people for effectively spreading the word.

Antioxidants have also been embraced by people with aspirations of looking younger, warding off cancer, and being healthier... which is admirable but over-reaching. For years now I have been saying that antioxidants have been over-hyped.

Do you have the full picture behind antioxidants?  Do you know how they work?
 Did you know that there are pro-oxidants- the alter egos of antioxidants? 

Here is a quick overview of how this works. (Antioxidants as a friend... like Chandler Bing or Ross Gellar)
The body responds to stress. One of the ways it deals with stress is by breaking down cells, which in turn, creates a by-product called "free radicals" (free radicals protest that the cells want less stress!). The antioxidants police the "Free Radical" protest to keep them in check. If the free radicals get unruly, they bounce around wildly looking to couple up with something more stable.  Antioxidants provide this stability. This keeps the free radicals from careening off of other cells and dinging them like an out of control go kart. This is important because the dings add up and can damage cells leading to (possibly) the terrible three:  Cancer, Disease and  Premature Aging.(CPAD).

In summary, the body wants antioxidants to scavenge free radicals or "reactive oxygen species" (ROS), which are dangerously unstable chemicals that damage our DNA and proteins. Which can lead to premature aging and may be responsible for cancer and certain diseases.

At this point in our story, antioxidants are everyone's little darlings (like Hannah Montana?).

Next post, we move on to the alter ego... Antioxidants as a foe (like the twerking adult Miley Cyrus.  Ew. Can you ever Untwerk once you've twerked?)