The other day I was over to one of the coffee shops close to our gym. I'm late to the coffee party but I definitely enjoy an americano once or twice a week.  Anyways there were a couple of younger women in line in front of me. And their conversation went something like this: Woman 1: I think I'm going to do an apple cider vinegar cleanse before Christmas. I can do it for a week now before Christmas and lose up to 7 pounds.Woman 2: Yeah, I've heard of that one as well. Why would you do it before Christmas?1: I typically gain 5-7 pounds over the holidays so if I lose the weight before I can enjoy the holidays guilt-free and be at the same weight I am now.2: Cool. Let me know and I'll do it with you.1: Ok I'm going after work to (local health food store) to pick up the cleanse kit. Why don't you come as well?2: Sounds good. Let's do it.*** Of course I had to bite my tongue while in line. What I would have to like to have shared with these young women is that cleanses just don't work. I've written about cleanses and detoxes before. And a review of the literature (1) on detoxes and cleanses stated: ..no randomized controlled trials have been conducted to assess the effectiveness of commercial detox diets in humans.But unfortunately the blog of strength and conditioning coach is going to get less traction than the headlines of supermarket tabloids. Most people would say they use cleanse or detox to get rid of toxins or to lose weight. The young women in the coffee shop are a perfect example of this. The problem with this is the 'weight loss' attributed to cleansing is typically due to caloric restriction and...

Have you ever heard something in health or fitness that wondered if it were true?Maybe it's something that you've heard for long enough that it makes you wonder how something could survive that long if it weren't true? For example, I remember back when I was in university and people were talking about doing their cardio on a empty stomach. The premise was that if the body didn't have any nutrientsMaybe it's because enough people are repeating the same message that you begin to believe as well. At one time 99% of the world's population thought the earth was flat. But majority numbers don't change the truth.Nowadays, almost everyone acknowledges the world is not flat. Well, unless you're NBA star Kyrie Irving.[caption id="attachment_5541" align="aligncenter" width="273"] Science won't sway Kyrie. He knows the earth is flat. And maybe it's because health and fitness is not our area of expertise that we don't have enough to question what we are hearing. You'll recognize when someone brings up a topic but isn't overly familiar. Sometimes this is a newer concept and the individual goes along with the consensus as they don't have any experience or specific education to think otherwise.Bro-science can be another source for the prevalence of nutritional myths. If the individual passing on the (mis)information is big enough, ripped enough, lean enough, confident enough etc they can hold court around the bench press of the local gym while passing along their pearls of wisdom. This can be anything from the best way to get gainz, to their favourite supplement or what they do or don't do nutritionally.Whatever the reason there a lot of myths that continue to be spread.So with that in mind I wanted to cover 5 of the most common myths still getting passed aroun1 - Carbs Keep You FatIt's funny how things...

  I had another topic planned for today but someone asked if I would cover this one instead. Since more and more people have been asking me about cleanses lately I thought I might as well cover this topic now. But first I need to ask you a few questions. How you ever done a cleanse? What were your reasons for doing so?   Was it drop some weight quickly to get ready for a beach vacation?   To fit into an outfit?   To rid your body of toxins?     Because Oprah said so? (just kidding, I don't want to get sued by O)   You might laugh at the last one but it's unfortunate what our rationales are for doing a cleanse. And they are rarely due to the advice of a medical professional. Instead they seem to be based on the anecdotal evidence of friends and family. What do I mean by that?   Well the benefits of cleanses aren't front page news on the cover of JAMA or other medical journals. Instead it is usually a friend that has done this exact cleanse before, lost 7 lbs and feels great. And oh yeah, this friend is usually a distributor for a supplement you need to take during the cleanse.   (what a cynic I am, right?)   But seriously if weight loss is your goal, what would you expect to happen if you stopped eating food for a week or longer? Some cleanses last as long as 45 days.   And when you stop eating for this much time, what do you think happens to your metabolism? It comes to a screeching halt. And with a slower metabolism body fat will increase over time.   Doesn't seem worth it to me.   But what about the benefits of all the...