Vinnie Tortorich

Fitness Confidential Podcast

Angriest Trainer 326: One-on-One Phil Maffetone

by Vinnie Tortorich

Our guest today is Phil Maffetone, originally from Brooklyn, and a track and field athlete in the 60’s. Vinnie and Anna discuss Phil’s book with him, “1:59“, and the concept of body efficiency.

Also, today, we’re going to Hollywood! The amazing Serena Scott Thomas is in Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie, “Inherent Vice” which opened last week. Vinnie discusses the movie and what it was like going to the premiere.  He also notices a strong resemble between actress Illeana Douglas who attended the premiere of “Inherent Vice” and actor/comedian Milton Berle…

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Ileana Douglas and Milton Berle

Milton Berele and Illeana Douglas
Milton Berele and Illeana Douglas

 

Illeana Douglas at the Inherent Vice premiere
Illeana Douglas at the Inherent Vice premiere

 

Phil’s Book

  • “1:59” refers to the ability of a human being breaking the 2 hour mark running a marathon
  • It is considered “undoable”
  • The book is for everyone…cyclists, swimmers, triathletes

Body Efficiency

  • Our brain tries to move in the most economical way
  • The more efficient our body moves…the faster we perform using less energy and with less injuries
  • Ryan Hall had high hopes…great runner but not consistent
  • Phil says that he has an irregular gate, which is not efficient and slows him down

Breaking Records

  • In 1954 Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile and many people broke it soon after
  • Bob Beaman jumped further than any human being in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics
  • To achieve this, these need to be near-perfect performances
  • Humans are always improving..mental and physical part of us always wants to do better

How Does This Relate to Zone 2

  • Aerobic system is the key foundation of endurance competition
  • Equally important is diet
  • Junk food impairs aerobic ability
  • Get away from sugar and grains

Inherent Vice

Inherent Vice

ANGRIEST TRAINER 324: GHEE, TRAINING AND LISTENER QUESTIONS

by Vinnie Tortorich

Vinnie and Annie chat about lots ‘o stuff in today’s podcast. “Is Ghee dairy free…and what is ghee? More great information about training…remember carbo-loading before a race…what were we thinking? Vinnie’s Newsletter and Listener Questions. Oh, and Anna ran 5 miles that morning!

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Ghee (Clarified Butter)

  • Ghee has dairy in it but it is one step beyond clarified butter
  • The fat found in dairy is in ghee
  • But unlike butter, you can leave it out on the counter
  • Can use for cooking and coffee

Fun Facts About Training

  • People say to Vinnie, “Just tell me what to do!”
  • Just get out and run…you don’t always need to know distance or use special gear.
  • Mary Lindahl, a Chi Running instructor in Colorado and one of the first women to run the Boston Marathon, came across the finish line 3 years ago in a tank top and worn-out running shoes
  • When you’ve had a lifetime of training and done it a lot, you get back to basics

How To Run On Hills

  • You need to practice on hills!
  • Eddy Merckx, one of the world’s greatest cyclist says “Some people buy upgrades, some people ride upgrades”
  • And to stay in Zone 2, sometimes you need to walk them
  • When Serena started, she noticed Shannon Griefer legendary runner in the endurance world…walked hills
  • Shannon is a real hero…she is still running against all odds…Vinnie did a podcast with her (Episode 315)
  • At race time, you can forget about Zone 2 and race away

Listener Questions

  • In Vinnie’s Newsletter, he talks about how much sugar we really need…which turns out to be 3/4 tsp for a healthy body..that you can get from healthy veggies and low-glycemic fruits
  • We used to carbo-load the day before a race…we know better now
  • If you are fat adapted, you can run thru the stored sugar and come to a hill and take in a “sugar trickle”
  • Don’t become carb-phobic. There is a difference between storing sugar and using sugar for instant energy
  • Listener Sarah who is new to the group asks if she should eat fat to offset the sugar craving
  • Use cream and berries, keep getting your body to fat adapt and after a while the cravings go away

Angriest Trainer 320: NSNG 101 Holiday Eating

by Vinnie Tortorich

Vinnie and Anna discuss how to survive holiday meals living the NSNG lifestyle. As Vinnie always tells us, “It’s not what you eat between Christmas and New Year’s, it’s what you eat between New Year’s and Christmas.  And then there’s gifts!  Vinnie and Serena LOVE their custom cutting board from Papesh Crafts.  We also learn about Vinnie’s version of  “Man on the Street” videos.  So let’s get to the meat of the matter…I mean turkey…

Vinnie’s Version:  Man on the Street Videos

  • Check it out on Youtube.com/user/angriesttrainer or Google “Vinnie Tortorich You Tube”
  • Vinnie interviews people as they exit Starbucks and Jamba Juice
  • He asks them if they are aware of what’s in their drink
  • Are they aware or how many calories or how much sugar

We Love Papesh Crafts

  • Amazing holiday gifts or for any day of the year!
  • Custom cutting boards, lazy Susan’s, custom wooden wall art,
  • They use zero wood chemicals. dyes, stains and/or non food safe wood glues
  • Their boards are only treated 100% natural mineral oil
  • Check them out on Facebook!

Should You Start NSNG Before the Holidays

  • Go for it! Start today! But start slowly.
  • This is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle
  • Put life into living and enjoy the holidays

How to Navigate the Holiday Meals

  • Start by cutting down on sugar and carbs…take smaller portions
  • Go to GlutenFreeAnna.com and find recipes
  • If you are cooking, no bowl-licking…be aware of “mouth hunger” and real hunger
  • Keep something healthy around like a scoop of nut butter

Before the Thanksgiving Meal

  •  Stay away from wine and beer…you’re starting with sugar too early
  • If you have to pick before the meal, reach for nuts or cheese
  • Have a cup of coffee and some heavy cream
  • Make your own healthy soda with Soda Stream and add a lemon or lime

During the Meal

  • Don’t feel like you have to load up your plate
  • Be careful with stuffing and potatoes
  • Fill your plate with turkey and salad
  • Take a little bit of everything and just taste the stuff that is going to make you feel like crap

Angriest Trainer 316: Mark Sisson and Gut Health

by Vinnie Tortorich

Vinnie and Anna are huge fans of Mark Sisson…ultra-athlete, author of “The Primal Blueprint” and host of his newsletter, “Mark’s Daily Apple”. They discuss vegan and paleo diets, gut health, eliminating certain foods for overall health and being responsible for our own well-being. And apparently, Vinnie was upset with Mark’s staff and there had to be some damage control.  Do they kiss and make up? Let’s sit back, grab some tea and listen in…
Vinnie and Mark Make Up
  • Backstory: Vinnie went on Mark’s show to talk about his new vitamin “Pure Vitamin Club”
  • Mark wasn’t there to interview him, so another staff member interviewed Vinnie and didn’t let him talk about his vitamins.  Apparently, it is a policy on Mark’s show not to advertise other products similar to their own
  • So Vinnie wasn’t very happy and “discussed” the incident with Anna on the show
  • But Mark called and apologized, they made up, cleared the air and are moving on
Vegans and Paleo Diet
  • People are attached to their belief system whether it’s vegan or paleo
  • Vegans and vegetarians can do paleo diet
  • It has more to do with what you eliminate (ie: sugar, grains) than what your source of protein is
  • Eliminating sugars, grains and industrial seed oils is good for anyone’s health
Overall Health and Gut Health
  • The goal for gut health is a balance of good and bad bacteria
  • Everyone is different…for some people, some fiber may feed the good bacteria
  • Have to decide what you want to achieve…experiment with how foods affect you and keep a detailed record
  • There’s no quick fix..it’s a work in progress
Antibiotics and Health
  • They are overprescribed and destroy not only the bad bacteria but the good as well
  • Recovering from an illness has a lot to do with the strength of immune system
  • Ask your doctor if you have a bacterial infection.  Antibiotics will not cure a virus and may delay your recovery as the antibiotics destroy all your bacteria as well
  • While on antibiotics, take massive amounts of probiotics

Angriest Trainer 314: Billionaire Don Coddington

by Vinnie Tortorich

Another action-packed, fun-filled podcast with Vinnie and Anna.  Today’s special guest is billionaire Don Coddington.  They discuss NSNG lifestyle, Joan Lunden and her journey through breast cancer, the benefits of chronic cardio and listen in as Anna attempts one correctly executed girl push up…

Vinnie Doesn’t Get to Discuss his Pure Vitamin Club Supplements

  • Vinnie goes on Mark Sisson’s show.  He and Don both love Mark.
  • Vinnie was told it was fine to discuss his Pure Vitamin Club vitamins.
  • But Pure Vitamin Club was cut from the podcast…tune in to see what happened…

NSNG Lifestyle

  • When starting NSNG, it takes a few days to get off sugar…what can you do to make it easier?
  • Get all temptations out of the house…clean the cupboards
  • Keep good, healthy nut butter and nuts…they have carbs, but they won’t give you and insulin spike
  • Cheese also has carbs but again no insulin spike and has fat.  Add a pear or an apple

Joan Lunden

  • Diagnosed with Stage II Breast Cancer
  • 12 weeks of chemo and then another round of 12 weeks
  • Switched to a sugar-free/low calorie ketogenic diet – specifically eliminating wheat and dairy
  • Vinnie asked specifically about diet after he had Leukemia and was told emphatically to eliminate sugar

Chronic Cardio

  • Good at right intensity…Zone 2…which is 180 minus your age
  • Makes you feel good, sustainable and good for your heart
  • Dr. Doug McGuff talks about it in his book, “Body by Science”
  • Long, slow cardio work tends to make you leaner

BOOKS:

Angriest Trainer 287: 1-on-1 with Melissa Mose

by Vinnie Tortorich

Melissa Mose is a board certified therapist with over 20 years of experience. Melissa and Vinnie discuss children’s mental health, the challenges of raising children, what works and what does not. They also discuss the relationship between exercise, diet and mental health.

Here are some of the highlights…

Mental Health and Children

  • Balancing limits and being allowed to express feelings
  • Need to show up and do something even if they don’t feel like it
  • Rescuing children and the damage it does
  • Only praising children becomes meaningless
  • Parents job is to let them learn about frustration and delayed gratification

Sports Through A Mental Health Lens

  • Children aren’t taught to win anymore
  • Too much compassion can weaken their spirit
  • They need to fail to learn what they are good at
  • Feels crummy to sit on the bench but they need to learn they are not good at everything
  • Avoids real feelings

Exercise and Depression

  • Exercise is very effective in boosting mood and changing the brain
  • Howie Mandel says he works out for his body but he runs for his brain
  • Anything good for the heart is good for the brain
  • Brain can rebuild itself – neurogenesis

Food and Mental Health

  • Foods can help people with depression
  • Dopamine enhancing foods
  • Brain/Body connection
  • The effects of sugar on mood

Find out more about Melissa Mose