Gary Taubes Diet Delusion

Author Gary Taubes has risen to prominence in the low-carb diet debate following the publication of his 2002 New York Times Magazine piece, “What if It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?“.

The article questioned the efficacy and health benefits of low-fat diets, was seen as defending the Atkins diet against the medical establishment and became extremely controversial (Taubes himself has stated “Even though I knew the article would be the most controversial article the Times Magazine ran all year, [the reaction] still shocked me”). The Center for Science in the Public Interest published a rebuttal to the Times article in their November, 2002, newsletter. According to Taubes, “The CSPI is an advocacy group that has been pushing low-fat diets since the 1970s.”

In 2007, Taubes published his book Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease, (published as The Diet Delusion in the UK). This aims to examine how a hypothesis became dogma and claims to show how the scientific method was circumvented so a contestable hypothesis could remain unchallenged. The book uses data and studies compiled from dietary research from as early as the 1800s.

Gary Taubes has been mentioned in numerous CrossFit articles. The diets followed by many Crossfitters e.g. Zone Diet, Paleo Diet, etc are suppported by much of the information that Taubes reveals.
Taubes’ hypothesis is that the medical community and the federal government have relied upon misinterpreted scientific data on nutrition to build the prevailing paradigm about what constitutes healthful eating.

Taubes makes the case that — contrary to the conventional wisdom — it is refined carbohydrates that are responsible for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer and many other maladies of civilization.

Taubes includes information and studies which indicate that physical exercise increases appetite to a degree that makes it an inefficient tool in weight loss. He tracks the origins of commonly accepted dietary advice and aims to show that information that is filtered to the public often contradicts scientific evidence.

Although Taubes has no formal training in nutrition or medicine, his book was praised as “raising interesting and valuable points” by Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. Mehmet Oz who both appeared on the same program.

 

 
Diet Delusion is a fascintating book which should be read by anyone who cares about the type of food they put in their mouth.

Check out his lecture by Gary Taubes video below (approx 1hr 12 mins – but worth watching).

Why Gymnastics?

Gymnastics is a major part of Crossfit. However, many crossfitters & affiliates often don’t pay enough attention to this area of their fitness training.

In a recent Crossfit Journal Jeff Tucker has explained the importance of gymnastics in Crossfit. Click on the URL below:

http://journal.crossfit.com/2009/06/why-gymnastics.tpl

What is CrossFit?

CrossFit is a strength and conditioning fitness methodology. Its stated goal is to create “the quintessential athlete, equal parts gymnast, Olympic weightlifter and sprinter.” Crossfit is not sport-specific and promotes broad and general overall physical fitness. Its growing popularity has been fueled by an open source and virtual community Internet model.

CrossFit maintains that proficiency is required in each of 10 fitness domains: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination, and accuracy. CrossFit says it increases work capacity and speed in these domains by provoking neurologic and hormonal adaptations across all metabolic pathways. The program’s weightlifting component includes complex, compound movements with heavy loads. CrossFit also uses kettlebells, gymnastics rings, pull-up bars and many calisthenics exercises. CrossFit may call on athletes to run, row, climb ropes, jump up on boxes, flip giant tires, and carry odd objects. They can also bounce medicine balls against the floor or a target on a wall.

Workouts

CrossFit workouts typically call for athletes to work hard and fast, often with no rest. Many CrossFit gyms use scoring and ranking systems, transforming workouts into sport.

CrossFit adaptations include programs tailored for children, seniors, football players, military special forces candidates, triathletes and martial artists. Most CrossFit gyms also offer “Boot Camp” or “Elements of CrossFit” introductory classes for beginners.

History

Greg Glassman, a former gymnast[citation needed], created the CrossFit training methodology in the 1980s. The program gained the attention of various military and law enforcement agencies. In 1995, Glassman was hired to train the Santa Cruz, CA police department. The first CrossFit gym opened in Santa Cruz in 1995. The CrossFit website, launched in 2001, now includes an extensive video library of exercise demonstrations and a very active discussion forum. The number of CrossFit-affiliated gyms has grown from 18 in 2005 to 1,000 on March 2, 2009. According to Canada’s Business News Network, CrossFit is “one of the fastest growing fitness movements on the planet.”

CrossFit’s affiliate model rejects franchising and requires few start up expenditures. CrossFit headquarters certifies CrossFit trainers, approves applications for gyms to become affiliates and publishes “The CrossFit Journal”, but does not share in revenue from membership fees. Affiliate owners pay either $500, $1,000 or $2,000 annually for affiliation and are then free to develop their own programming, instructional methods and membership fee structure. CrossFit says this de-centralized model, somewhat similar to open source software projects, allows best practices to emerge from a diversity of approaches. Monthly membership fees generally range from $85 to $300, with $150 a fee often charged. Many affiliates feature small group classes that allow for individual coaching. Classes often include a warm up, a skill development segment, and a high-intensity timed workout that lasts 10 to 20 minutes.

Some Crossfit athletes perform the “Workout of the Day” posted at the CrossFit website and never visit a CrossFit gym. Others formulate their own workouts based on CrossFit’s principles.

In 2007, the United States Marine Corps began a shift in its physical training program. The emphasis is moving away from aerobic training and toward more combat-oriented “functional fitness training” by incorporating CrossFit principles. Many U.S. and Canadian police and fire departments, U.S. Army Special Forces and the Canadian Forces now base some of their physical training on CrossFit principles.

CrossFit is also being adopted by a growing number of high school physical education teachers and by teams at both the high school and college level.

If you are interested in starting CrossFit then click here find out how to begin.

Check out the video below featuring CrossFit founder Coach Greg Glassman, who explains Broad, General, Inclusive Fitness: