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Dr. Phil Maffetone is back for an instant classic on how you can maximize your fitness gains and longterm health simultaneously:
MAF Method refresher:
- It’s not just about the 180 Formula when you pursue MAF, it’s a holistic method for overall improved health, wellness and fitness.
- There are 8 steps to mastering MAF, which we discuss in detail:
- Carb intolerance
- Inflammation
- Vitamin D
- Folate
- Build the Aerobic System
- Manage Stress
- Build a Better Brain
- Healthy Aging
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Study:Â Physically active white men at high risk for plaque buildup in arteries
- A recent study showed that white men who exercise are at a higher risk for plaque buildup in the arteries, and news has spread. View the article here. We get Phil’s take and what is missing:
- Calcification is clearly a dangerous sign, but a downstream problem. Two common causes are:
- Increased fat (especially pericardial)
- Low vitamin D
- Pericardial fat risks:
- When abdomen gets fat, the fat around heart also probably excessive – affects cardiac output, stroke volume and the athlete’s training and racing HR goes up, having a negative effect on performance and health.
- The importance of your waist-to-height ratio. Your waist should be no more than 1/2 your height.
- Study mention: American runners have never been slower
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Phil’s new study on the overfat population (click link for full text!), and what they found:
- An increase prevalence of exercise among adults (up to 52%)
- But also a paralleled increase of overfat people (91% of American adults, and 69% of kids in the US).
- WHY is there this trend (i.e. more exercise but getting fatter)?
- How was being “overfat” assessed?
- Conclusion: you can’t outrun a bad diet.
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What is a healthy body fat range to be in according to research and Phil?
- Normal ranges of body fat percentages–abnormally low, healthy, abnormally high:
- BF ranges
- Dangerously low
- <14% women (but even ~17% +/- could pose risks)
- <8% men
- Dangerously high
- Source: Lohman and Colleagues
- Phil says don’t exceed these following ranges; it’s where things start to go wrong:
- 29.8% for women
- 15.3% for men