John – Team Robertson

Exercise Programs

May 7, 2021

Some of you might have heard of the female athlete triad before. This condition is seen in all sports, but mainly seen in running and gymnastics. The triad combines these three issues- eating disorders, amenorrhoea, and osteoporosis. Typically if the athlete is suffering from one of these issues, then good chance they are suffering from the other two as well. Some of the symptoms of this triad are fatigue, hastened recovery from workouts, bone fractures, weight loss, anemia, bradycardia, as well as hypersensitivity to cold. Who is the most at risk? The highest incidence occurs in highschool and college age. Most of the time the triad occurs when athlete’s are trying to maintain a certain weight for competition or get there too quickly or maybe try and hold this “peak” weight for too long....

Nutrition

May 7, 2021

Nutrition

So much confusion out there as far as nutrition goes. What to eat? How many calories? Do I need vitamins? It can be a never ending saga for a lot of people. Todays topic is going to be about calorie counting. There are a lot of different approaches with this, but I am going to stick with calories per gram. Lets start with a short introduction on macronutrients. These are carbohydrates, protein and fats. Basically, macronutrients are the chemical components of nutrients we consume the most of. Not all macronutrients are created equal so lets take a closer look. Carbohydrates and protein have 4 calories per gram, while fat has 9 calories per gram. So it doesn’t take a whole lot of math to figure out...

Triathon

May 7, 2021

Triathon

I did my first triathlon back in 1998 and little did I know it would change my life in many different ways all for the better. I remember having a horrible swim, did the cycling portion on a mtn bike, and followed it up with a decent run and passed several people along the way. That last part about passing people on the run turned out to be how I would end up racing the next 10 years, even while having much improved swim and bike times along the way. This past weekend my hometown hosted Ironman Texas. Athletes were greeted with hot and humid conditions, as well as torrential rain the back half of the day. I had several athletes I coach that participated,...

Running

May 7, 2021

Running

This past Saturday, I accompanied my good friend David over the pass from Aspen, Colorado to the town of Leadville for the Leadville 100 trail running race. David did this race 2 years ago, and I was there that year to help crew for him between aid stations. This year my goal was to help pace him the last 24 miles to the finish. In 2013, he finished in 23 hours and he was hoping to beat his time this year. Unfortunately David hurt his knee early on and had to DNF, but this blog will focus on the race itself and how he trains for it. Anyone that runs trail races knows about the Leadville running race. I have participated in numerous endurance events...

Individual Rules

September 20, 2019

Education, Uncategorized

Many of us in todays fitness and nutrition community are bombarded with what works, what doesn't, how many, for how long, when to eat, what time, etc., etc. Not only is it exhausting to hear all the different rules that apply to us, but they can all be very misleading. For this blog, I have listed my own personal list of top 10 rules that I stick to for my own path to optimal wellness. Remember this journey is about YOUR body, not anyone else's so stick with that theme for your own rules to live by. How much exercise per week- This can vary for a lot of us, but my current rule allows myself 7 hours of exercise per week. For some this...

Commandments of Fitness

July 8, 2019

Education, Fitness, Nutrition

For most of us, exercise is an activity that can be used to increase ones fitness, shed some body fat, decrease stress, meet new people or maybe all of the above! Regardless, there are some basic fitness tips that apply to all but a select few and in this blog I discuss the most important ones. Less is more- basically this means just what is says that doing a shorter duration workout goes a lot further than spending a long time exercising. Unless you are training for a particular event that requires hours and hours of exercise, from a ROI standpoint you should be able to accomplish your goals in an exercise session that takes 45 minutes at the most. MOST people will start to...

Minimal Metrics

February 25, 2019

Education, Fitness, Uncategorized, Workouts

One aspect of our ever-changing technology are the metrics we use. Today there are countless gauges to use to determine if your current well-being is suffice. Some of the more popular are (am I missing any?) heart rate, heart rate variability, gps tracking for pace and distance, estimated heart rate zones, estimated vo2, apple watches that tell you when to breath, stand, and move, fitbits that tell you how much sleep you need and the quality of it, body fat scales, and body weight scales. This can be a LONG AND EXHAUSTING list, and in this article I talk about how helpful they (if at all they are helpful), and what you can gain from using them (or not.) Sometimes helpful- Heart rate monitors- Back...

Cooking Oils

October 20, 2018

Education, Nutrition

In todays world we are bombarded with literature on which cooking oils to use and which ones are healthy vs not healthy. Are saturated fats good for you? Is too much polyunsaturated fat bad for you? Is this oil safe in high heat? These are just a few of the many questions we as consumers ask ourselves. In this blog I decipher which oils are your best bet for optimal health. Lets start with the unhealthy oils first and what makes them a bad choice. Trans fat- I picked this as #1, not just due to the fact that in 2015 the FDA decided that in 2018 this controversial fat would be banned in the U.S food supply, but also due to it being by far...

Breaking Down Your Blood Test Results

October 10, 2018

Education

Recently I had a very unique blood sample taken that looked at my micronutrient profile, hormones, as well as a cardiometabolic profile. The testing was done by a company called SpectraCell and they detect intracellular deficiencies of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants by measuring lymphocyte growth. I typically get blood taken every few years and was due so I opted for this route considering I am at the age to get a baseline hormone profile test done. I attached my results below and was surprised at certain things I found. My cortisol levels were on the high range, but the last few months I have had numerous projects going on so my stress has been higher than normal (have to find ways to manage better!)...

Special Populations Food Guide

October 7, 2018

Education, Nutrition

In today's world we are constantly bombarded with what kind of diet to follow. Keto, Atkins, Vegan, The Zone, Weight Watchers and as I am typing this I am certain a new one is approaching us! As easy at it would be to pick a certain diet and follow it, the issue becomes what diet fits our unique needs, where we are in life, and physiology (along with palate!) In this blog I talk about how to choose the best nutrition plan based on which category fits your needs the best whether it is age, lifestyle, or disease prevention. You will notice many of the groups should consume similar foods and avoid others which isn't a coincidence is it? 1.Weight loss/Obesity - I put this category...

Author: John