KONA Human Performance (KHP) is a comprehensive health and fitness coaching service. I specialize in sports performance, core and functional strength training, nutrition and weight-loss. As a client of KHP, you will receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based information, which will enable you to make sensible choices regarding your health and fitness.
"I have spent over 30 years in the medical field specializing in the areas of cardiology, cardiac rehabilitation, and open-heart surgery as an exercise physiologist and a certified clinical perfusionist. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to combine both my exercise science and medical and professions. This combination provides me with unique insights and abilities to assess clients and recommend quality preventative, performance and corrective information. These professional qualities will assist me to help you actualize your potential and make prudent decisions about your health, fitness and total well-being regardless of your current fitness level and/or previous athletic experience."
"Fitness is my passion. I am dedicated to helping others achieve a healthier and more balanced lifestyle. I want to create a legacy of health, fitness and well-being and help clients to accomplish meaningful, goal-oriented successes. If you are a beginner or an experience athlete, I can help you achieve a higher level of performance."
"I have had the pleasure to coach many individuals to better health and fitness through weight reduction, better nutrition and sound exercise principles and program design. Training with KHP is a journey starting with your present condition and leading you a new awareness of your health and a personal transformation."
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"I have invested countless hours creating a multidisciplined approach to training by treating the mind, body and spirit, a combination seldom seen in the industry. Through continuing education and professional certifications, I have followed my passion for coaching and personal training into such areas as biomechanical assessment, kinesiology, corrective exercises, and nutrition."
**Contact me at jjkona@yahoo.com for more information.
What is a Healthy Lifestyle?
by John Josephs, MS
The reason lifestyle is so important is because your choices often determine how healthy you are. You are defined by these lifestyle choices and responsible for the ultimate effect they have on your health. Some typical components of a healthy lifestyle include not smoking, eating healthy foods, regular exercise, keeping the body at a healthy weight and having an optimal percent body fat, limiting and handling stress, etc. Changing these habits will take time, will-power and determination, however, the rewards for making these changes are endless.
Read article click here
“Every athlete has their own measure of success. Another person’s win is a smile across their face while finishing nearly last in their age group but knowing for them that they absolutely nailed it. Success is totally personal.
”
T1 / T2
What is Fatigue Resistance?
Fatigue Resistance (FR) defines the strengths and weaknesses of a cyclist by analyzing the energy systems within the power zones L4-L7. Each zone looks at power output in three different time periods as opposed to just one time period used in establishing the Power Profile. By comparing these three efforts, one can determine in greater detail, the possible vulnerabilities in performance and/or mistakes in training emphasis. Opening up each zone to additional scrutiny creates a more meaningful personal Fatigue Profile.
Reference: Training and Racing With a Power Meter, H. Allen & A. Coggan, 2nd Edition, Velopress, Boulder, CO, 2010.
Mt. Haleakala, Maui, April 10-14, 2012
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Description by Climbbybike.com: Cyclists should be prepared for any type of weather enroute and as much as a 30 degree temperature change. The climb starts in the historic north shore town of Paia and winds its way upcountry through sugar cane and pineapple fields past the Paniolo town of Makawao and into the scenic pasture lands of Olinda. Ride along rolling fields and through Eucalyptus groves enroute to pine forests at the 6,500 tree line. Beyond the tree line is another 11 quad burning miles as the road traverses up the side of the dormant volcano Haleakala.
The Mt. Haleakala is situated in Hawaii . Starting from Paia Maui, the Mt. Haleakala ascent is 56.9 km long. Over this distance, you climb 2959 heightmeters. The average percentage is thus 5.3 % and the maximum is 12%.
**Rated 5th Most Difficult Climb, climbbybike.com
I wrote this story about our experience in Maui and a chance encounter with a couple from Homer, Alaska in an effort to find out their identity. I mailed this story to Homer newspapers, TV stations, and the City of Homer government website.
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Guardian Angels on the Mountain, Tuesday, April 10, 2012
My wife, Tara, and I are avid bicyclists. We recently returned from a trip to Maui to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and renew our wedding vows on April 12, 2012. While there, we agreed to climb Mt Haleakala, a 10,000 foot volcano and cycling destination of many eager cyclists looking for an adventure. We embraced this challenge as a celebration of our common interests and 10 years of being together. We are from Jacksonville, FL. We expected beaches, palm trees and warm weather. We did not expect the weather to be so extreme in Hawaii. However, in hindsight, having traveled and being an experienced adventure cyclist, as well as a cycling coach, I should have known better.
To read more, click here.
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This is the follow-up news story from KTUU, Anchorage, Alaska
Profile in Moods States (POMS)
The Bottom Line in Training
One important thing to remember about training.....it must be progressive for you to continue to improve (volume, frequency, and intensity) and it must be periodized, i.e. two-three weeks hard, one week easy/ recover, etc. If you do the same workout schedule all the time, you #1, will plateau at some point and no longer improve and #2, if you don't allow yourself to periodically recover, you'll be chronically fatigued, feel like you have no power in your legs, suppress your immune system and eventually get sick, etc. you get the picture.
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ACROSS MY DESK: March, 2012
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise:
Effects of different interval-training programs on cycling time-trial performance
May 1999 - Volume 31 - Issue 5 - pp 736-741
Applied Sciences: Physical Fitness And Performance
STEPTO, NIGEL K.; HAWLEY, JOHN A.; DENNIS, STEVEN C.; HOPKINS, WILL G.
Abstract
Effects of different interval-training programs on cycling time-trial performance. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 31, No. 5, pp. 736-741, 1999.
Purpose: We have investigated the effect of varying the intensity of interval training on 40-km time-trial performance in 20 male endurance cyclists (peak oxygen uptake 4.8 ± 0.6 L·min-1, mean ± SD).
Methods: Cyclists performed a 25-kJ sprint test, an incremental test to determine peak aerobic power (PP) and a simulated 40-km time-trial on a Kingcycle ergometer. They were then randomly assigned to one of five types of interval-training session: 12 × 30 s at 175% PP, 12 × 60 s at 100% PP, 12 × 2 min at 90% PP, 8 × 4 min at 85% PP, or 4 × 8 min at 80% PP. Cyclists completed 6 sessions over 3 wk, in addition to their usual aerobic base training. All laboratory tests were then repeated.
Results: Performances in the time trial were highly reliable when controlled for training effects (coefficient of variation = 1.1%). The percent improvement in the time trial was modeled as a polynomial function of the rank order of the intensity of the training intervals, a procedure validated by simulation. The cubic trend was strong and statistically significant (overall correlation = 0.70, P = 0.005) and predicted greatest enhancement for the intervals performed at 85% PP (2.8%, 95%CI = 4.3-1.3%) and at 175% PP (2.4%, 95%CI = 4.0-0.7%). Intervals performed at 100% PP and 80% PP did not produce statistically significant enhancements of performance. Quadratic and linear trends were weak or insubstantial.
Conclusions: Interval training with work bouts close to race-pace enhance 1-h endurance performance; work bouts at much higher intensity also appear to improve performance, possibly by a different mechanism.
SWEAT SCIENCE
12 Weeks Training vs 12 Weeks Detraining: What Changes?
by Alex Hutchinson
This is from a new European Journal of Applied Physiology paper by researchers in Japan and at the University of Laval in Canada. They took six sedentary subjects and had them train an hour a day, five times a week at lactate threshold pace, for 12 weeks. Then they stopped training for 12 weeks. The researchers then analyzed the changes in gene expression in the subjects' muscles, first from 12 weeks of training, then from 12 weeks of detraining.
One thing that's obvious is that, after 12 weeks, most of the training adaptations have disappeared. External changes in traits like VO2max, body composition and muscle fiber type all returned to roughly their starting values. In the gene expression study, 77% of the transcripts that responded to training reverted to their pre-exercise values. This is not surprising: no one expected that you could take 12 weeks off and stay fit.
Still, it's kind of fun to look at the different factors that change. The clear bars show changes with training (upward bars show increased expression; downward bars show decreased expression). Black bars show the changes during detraining; striped bars show the net change after training and detraining. Sugar and lipid metabolism definitely change with training, but the change then disappears. On the other hand, you still have slightly better muscle contraction and protein synthesis expression even after 12 weeks. I don't have any grand conclusions here (other than "you should keep training"), but I thought it was interesting to see the training adaptations broken down into individual components like that.
NATIONAL POSTURE INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER
MARCH 2012
GRAVITY: YOUR BACKS BEST FRIEND by Jason Martuscello
An inevitable addiction has arisen that is plaguing the country and proposing deleterious health effects. Although this silent killer may appear a minor threat to the unbeknownst, research has painted a different, not so pretty, picture. This addiction has been associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, weight gain, colon cancer, endometrial cancer, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, metabolic risk, type 2 diabetes1 and numerous musculoskeletal disorders2. So what is this potential hazard? The answer is sitting.
Click on Link to read article: http://www.npionline.org/articles/2012March.html
DO I NEED A POWER METER?
by John Josephs, MS, CSCS
Is a power meter a necessary piece of cycling equipment? They’re very expensive and cycling is already expensive. Is it overkill? Do I really need information about power?
What do I do with the information once I get it? And why get a power meter since I already have a perfectly good heart rate monitor? It’s just one more gadget I have to deal with.
These are all very legitimate questions. So then, why should you purchase a power meter? Why not just get a pair of aerodynamic racing wheels.
5 Stages To Achieving Optimum Body Composition
by Rick Kattouf presented by TrainingPeaks.
http://www.trainingpeaks.com - Dr. Rick Kattouf shares how to achieve optimum body composition. The focus will be on understanding how the proper nutrition, weight training and heart rate training can bring about the body composition that you desire.
Click here to view presentation....
"Nutrition is easy, compliance is hard."
10 RULES TO LIVE BY
NEWTON'S LAWS OF MOTION
"A body in motion will stay in motion....."
Unforunately,
"A body at rest will stay at rest."
The Law of Inertia
Newton’s first law, the law of inertia, states that a body at rest will stay at rest and a body in motion will stay in motion unless acted on by an outside force. Law one also states that a body’s inertia is proportional to its mass (a heavier object is harder to get moving than a lighter object).
These scientific laws determine our physical efforts as well. They apply to exercise and demonstrates how movement is beneficial to increasing one's health.
Email to a Client
2012
Subject: Strength Training and Nutrition
As we move forward, I want you to get on the right path with incorporating strength training and nutrition into your training plan.
Strength training is highly recommended, especially as you get older and continue to be active. Functional, sport-specific strength training is in no way to be confused with body-building or lifting massive amounts of weight and spending hours in the gym. Today's current fitness model of strength training is an efficient and specific use of your time that will help you be stronger, avoid injury and delay performance fatigue.
Nutrition must be an essential component of your new training program. I want you to look at your current eating habits and, if necessary, change to a well-rounded, eating clean nutritional plan, not to be confused with a traditional "diet”. You're not going on a diet. You will be adopting a sound nutritional plan to eat healthy and to eat clean. This is not similar to a fad diet that you start and then stop sometime in the future. It is a lifestyle change to eating healthy and maintain for the rest of your life. In addition, it requires you to make good decisions about what you put into your body which will keep you healthy and feeling better, as well as, passing these good habits on to your family. It will require commitment and hard work in the beginning to break your old eating habits and establish new ones. Remember, it may take up to 90 days to reverse these habits but you will find that it works and you will enjoy the taste of the new, healthy foods introduced to you. I am not selling anything except the knowledge and support to help you help yourself.
I have enclosed some pictures of healthy and unhealthy foods. You decide which is which and how you want to feed yourself in the future.
Good luck. Let me know if you have any questions.
Remember...."baby steps to success."
John Josephs, MS, CSCS
KONA Human Performance
After Exercise - Does an Ice Water Bath Speed Recovery?
To read more, CLICK HERE
Source: About.com - Sports Medicine
Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research:
AGING AND FACTORS RELATED TO RUNNING ECONOMY
T.J.Quinn, M.J.Manley, J. Aziz, J.L. Padham, and A.M. MacKenzie
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship that age has on factors affecting running economy in competitive distance runners. Multiple regression analysis showed that strength and power were significantly related to running velocity. The results from the cross-sectional analysis suggest that age-related declines in running performance are associated with declines in maximal and submaximal cardiorespiratory variables and declines in strength and power, not because of declines in running economy.
Practical Applications: It appears that older competitive runners maintain their ability to run economically at submaximal velocities. Therefore in an effort to prevent decriments in performance, older runners and their coaches should focus some of their training regimen on factors that clearly decline with age. Maintaining muscular strength and endurance (especially upper body) through well-structured strength and plyometric programs would be advised. In addition, run training using lactate threshold runs, intervals, fartlek runs and hill training should be incorporated periodically and systematically. Finally, keeping muscles and muscle groups as flexible as possible through a regular stretching program may be warranted.
JSCR, Vol 25, No 11, 2011 pg 2971-2979
Relationship Between Cycling Mechanics and Core Stability
ABT, JOHN P.; SMOLIGA, JAMES M.; BRICK, MATTHEW J.; JOLLY, JOHN T.; LEPHART, SCOTT M.; FU, FREDDIE H.
Core stability has received considerable attention with regards to functional training in sports. Core stability provides the foundation from which power is generated in cycling. No research has described the relationship between core stability and cycling mechanics of the lower extremity. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between cycling mechanics and core stability. Hip, knee, and ankle joint kinematic and pedal force data were collected on 15 competitive cyclists while cycling untethered on a high-speed treadmill. The exhaustive cycling protocol consisted of cycling at 25.8 km[middle dot]h-1 while the grade was increased 1% every 3 minutes. A core fatigue workout was performed before the second treadmill test. Total frontal plane knee motion (test 1: 15.1 +/- 6.0[degrees]; test 2: 23.3 +/- 12.5[degrees]), sagittal plane knee motion (test 1: 69.9 +/- 4.9[degrees]; test 2: 79.3 +/- 10.1[degrees]), and sagittal plane ankle motion (test 1: 29.0 +/- 8.5[degrees]; test 2: 43.0 +/- 22.9[degrees]) increased after the core fatigue protocol. No significant differences were demonstrated for pedaling forces.
Core fatigue resulted in altered cycling mechanics that might increase the risk of injury because the knee joint is potentially exposed to greater stress. Improved core stability and endurance could promote greater alignment of the lower extremity when riding for extended durations as the core is more resistant to fatigue.
(C) 2007 National Strength and Conditioning Association
Muscles of the Core
When most people hear "core exercises" or " core strengthening:" the first thing that comes to mind is the 6-pack, also know as the transverve abdominus (TA). The TA may be one of the muscles which make up the core muscle group but it is considered to be one of the least important when it comes to function.
The following is a list of the "core muscle" group.
Rectus Abdominus
Erector Spinae
Multifidus
Transverse Abdominus
Internal Obliques
External Obliques
Muscles of the hip are considered core muscles as well because of their influence on the hip and lumbar spine. Core muscles are slow-twitch, postural muscles that work synergistically to asssit in stabilizing the lumbar spine. Training these muscles for endurance is probably more beneficial then training these muscles for strength. Therefore lower resistance and higher repetitions would be more applicable. Correct form is an important component in training the core for proper function.
CORE EXERCISES:
Plank Variation:
http://youtu.be/8yFtmkYcZEY
Maximal Strength Training Improves Cycling Economy in Competitive Cyclists
Sunde, Arnstein1; Støren, Øyvind1,2; Bjerkaas, Marius1; Larsen, Morten H1; Hoff, Jan2,3; Helgerud, Jan2,4
Sunde, A, Støren, Ø, Bjerkaas, M, Larsen, MH, Hoff, J, and Helgerud, J. Maximal strength training improves cycling economy in competitive cyclists. J Strength Cond Res 24(8): 2157-2165, 2010-The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of maximal strength training on cycling economy (CE) at 70% of maximal oxygen consumption (V̇o2max), work efficiency in cycling at 70% V̇o2max, and time to exhaustion at maximal aerobic power. Responses in 1 repetition maximum (1RM) and rate of force development (RFD) in half-squats, V̇o2max, CE, work efficiency, and time to exhaustion at maximal aerobic power were examined. Sixteen competitive road cyclists (12 men and 4 women) were randomly assigned into either an intervention or a control group. Thirteen (10 men and 3 women) cyclists completed the study. The intervention group (7 men and 1 woman) performed half-squats, 4 sets of 4 repetitions maximum, 3 times per week for 8 weeks, as a supplement to their normal endurance training. The control group continued their normal endurance training during the same period. The intervention manifested significant (p < 0.05) improvements in 1RM (14.2%), RFD (16.7%), CE (4.8%), work efficiency (4.7%), and time to exhaustion at pre-intervention maximal aerobic power (17.2%). No changes were found in V̇o2max or body weight. The control group exhibited an improvement in work efficiency (1.4%), but this improvement was significantly (p < 0.05) smaller than that in the intervention group. No changes from pre- to postvalues in any of the other parameters were apparent in the control group.
In conclusion, maximal strength training for 8 weeks improved CE and efficiency and increased time to exhaustion at maximal aerobic power among competitive road cyclists, without change in maximal oxygen uptake, cadence, or body weight. Based on the results from the present study, we advise cyclists to include maximal strength training in their training programs.
Functional Strength Training
Regardless if you are a cyclist, a runner, or a housewife, you should incorporate functional strength training into you daily routine. Training functionally will increase your strength (functional), decrease the premature onset of fatigue, and reduce the potential for injury. Training functionally is an investment in your health and well-being. Contact me at jjkona@yahoo.com for more information.
John
Functional Strength Training has become a popular buzzword in the fitness industry, but what exactly does it mean? Let's discuss this subject and uncover what the buzz is really all about.
Changing a Flat Tire
One of the first things a cyclist needs to master is how to change a flat tire. Eventually you will get a flat and there will be no one to help you. Unfortantely, the more flats you change, the better you will become. It's frustrating in the beginning, but learn the basics and carry the right tools. YouTube is loaded with free videos to help you understand the process. Here is a good one from Gale Bernhardt.
Video....click here
1:30 into the video, she instructs you to check the inside of the tire with your fingers to find the debris that may have caused your puncture. Good advise because the last thing you want to do is puncture a new tube. Thats a $10.00 mistake if you use a CO2 cartridge.
A word of caution, when you slide your fingers on the inside of the tire, do so very slowly and be careful.
This is what happens if you go too fast. OUCH!!
An alternate method is to use a cotton ball instead of your fingers. See Robert Buck for cotton balls.
Snake-oils and health supplements
Source: Science of Sport (www.sportsscientists.com)
Here is the single best piece of data presentation that I have ever seen. It comes from the "Information is Beautiful" website, run by David McCandless. Check out this website. It is awesome.. Click on Visualization and then click on Play to interact with this visual. You can type in specific medical problems and view the corresponding supplemental information.
What you're looking at is an image depicting the level of evidence and popularity of a range of health supplements. The higher the balloon, the stronger the evidence for the supplement (but only for the conditions listed in or linked to the bubbles).
The larger the balloon, the more popular it has been, based on Google hits.
For more information, click here.......
Foam Rollers For Massaging Tight Muscles: My New Best Friend
Foam rollers offer many of the same benefits as a sports massage, without the big price tag. The foam roller not only stretches muscles and tendons but it also breaks down soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue. By using your own body weight and a cylindrical foam roller you can perform a self-massage or myofascial release, break up trigger points, and soothe tight fascia while increasing blood flow and circulation to the soft tissues.
SAFETY FIRST - ORDER TODAY!
Road ID is a small company of athletes on a mission. Their mission is to get runners, cyclists, triathletes and walkers to realize the importance of wearing ID and to make ID part of their gear. Every year, thousands of athletes, just like us, are rushed to hospitals as a result of an unforeseen accident while training. In the event of an accident, proper ID is our lifeline. Without it, emergency personnel CANNOT contact family members or administer proper and immediate medical care. To order your Road ID, just click on the icon below.
Watch this video, click here.
Altitude Training
Sports Psychology
Improving You Performance
by John Josephs, MS
Cycling and triathlons are not physical activities alone. The mental component plays a huge factor in training, racing and performance. Whether in short or long distance events, the way you mentally approach the task at hand will have a huge impact on your results. Sports psychology can make a big difference. The mind and the body act as an integrated system. You are what you think you are.
Effective sport psychology is an equation of a number of different related factors all of which need development and attention and to develop them fully you should refer to a more complete information source than is possible here.
Featured Article of the Month
Treating Cycling’s Grossest Medical Mishaps Source: Bicycling http://www.bicycling.com/node/588
Cycling’s Grossest Medical Mishaps Our beautiful sport can occasionally give rise to ugly sores, festering boils, and assorted creepy-crawlies. Here’s how to avoid a horror show. —Ron S. Doyle Corneal Abrasion Gravel (or was it a bug?) hurtled toward your face and snuck underneath your eyelid, scratching your cornea—the clear, protective covering on your eye. Get Rid of It: Listen to your mother: Don't rub your eye. If blinking doesn't work out the … read more »
Nutrition Tip of the Month
What Are Antioxidants Good For? By Shereen Jegtvig, About.com Guide
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} What are antioxidants good for? Should I get antioxidants from food or from supplements? Janelle - About.com User Answer: Antioxidants are substances that may protect cells in your body from free radical damage that can occur from exposure to certain chemicals, smoking, pollution, radiation, … read more »
Exercise of the Month
Glute Bridge
Glute Bridge Benefits: Training your glutes (butt muscles) with glute bridges will help take stress off your back and knees. How to do it: Lie face-up on the ground with your arms at your sides, knees bent, and heels on the floor. Raise your hips up off the floor by contracting your glutes until your knees, hips, and shoulders are in a straight line. Hold for two beats, lower back down, and repeat 8-10 times. … read more »
Random Article
The Next Level By Hunter Allen
What’s the next level? What does that mean and how do you get there? Everyone is always talking about the next level and that they are going to ‘the next level’. What exactly is the next level that they are referring to? Do you want to have more endurance? Do you want a higher FTP? Do you want more ‘matches’ in your matchbox? Or do you just want more of everything! Well, of course it’s … read more »