I have never met Jamie Hale. I will be doing so soon at the 2009 JP Fitness Summit. You are all going to that right ? Yesterday I sat next to a man and he struck up a conversation with me. He was smart, southern, and had a certain kind of mystery about him. He had an attitude that he knew a little secret and wasn’t telling. Something about the man reminded me of Jamie Hale, even though I have still yet to meet him.

Here are some of my favorite insights from Jamie:

From the article “Hot Body Diets”

In my opinion all quality diets share some characteristics.

The key factors in quality diets are:

• Calorie intake (matters whether you’re consciously
counting or not)
• Consumption of sufficient quantity of essential nutrients
• Consideration of individual likes and dislikes
• Consideration of metabolic abnormalities
• Occasional breaks from the diet
• Recognizing that you don’t have to stick to the program
100% of the time to see the benefits

From the book “The Carbohydrate Files”:

Carbohydrate as energy

Dietary carbohydrates have been given an energy value of 4 kcal/g (17 kJ/g). However, where carbohydrates are expressed as monosaccharides, the value of 3.75 kcal/g (15.7 kJ/ g) is used. It is now clear that a number of carbohydrates are only partly or not at all digested in the small intestine and are fermented in the large intestine to short chain fatty acids. These include non-digestible oligo-saccharides, resistant starches, and non-starch polysaccharides. Fermentation is metabolically less efficient than absorption in the small intestine, and these carbohydrates provide the body with less energy. In light of recent research, the energy value of all carbohydrates in the diet should be reevaluated.

From the book “MaxCondition”

Practical implications concerning range of motion:

•No movement is possible without a certain degree of flexibility.
•Excessive flexibility can result in a decrease of stabilization.
•Injuries that occur during stretching are usually a result of an inappropriate
choice of stretching methods.
•Full range of motion weight training is effective for increased range of
motion.
•Improper sequence of stretching methods can negatively affect performance.
•Excessive static stretching prior to dynamic athletic events decreases
performance.
•Excessive stretching of tendons can reduce their ability to store elastic
energy.
•Adequate range of motion is necessary for optimal force production.
•All stretches may be dangerous if performed improperly.
•As a muscle is stretched beyond its normal resting length its force of
contraction gradually drops, reaching zero at 175% of resting length.
•Extension of a tendon beyond 4% of its length causes irreversible
deformation.
•Immobilization of a joint capsule for a few weeks causes chemical
changes in the collagen fibers of the joint capsule that will restrict flexibility.
•Ligaments stretched more than 6% of their normal lengths result in
tears.
•In most sports, dynamic range of motion is more important than static
range of motion.
•Static flexibility may increase when the muscles are somewhat fatigued

From  “Interview with Will Nobel”

5) What did you discover/conclude from your research?

I concluded that effectiveness of training varies tremendously from individual to individual. There are numerous resources that provide good info, but there are far more that are insufficient. There is a huge difference in training and training for a purpose. No matter how physically gifted an athlete may be they will probably never reach elite status without mental toughness as well. Another interesting fact that I have known forever is great coaches and athletes are not the same in one. Quiet often athletes do as they are told and never ask any questions as to why they perform a particular movement. This results in an athlete that decides to train everyone just as he would himself, doesn’t work.

Do yourself a favor and head over to Jamie’s site and pick up a book, read n article, or just sign up for his newsletter. He recently did a great interview with Bodybuilding.com’s legend Emma-Leigh. It was awesome.

http://www.maxcondition.com