Cool Whip or Whip in to Shape

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Below a post by Silver Sage sponsored ProjectHero Veteran and Athlete-Extraordinaire

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You’re sitting on the couch, polishing off the last of the pumpkin pie, when you realize you’re out of cool whip! You could lose an ear in some countries for running out of cool whip! Anyway, you drive to the store, on the way you pass a group of cyclists cruising along. You get to the store, take one look at the cool whip and decide you’re going to make a change! You head to a sports store, maybe because you think you can’t afford a bike from a bike shop. You find a pretty decent one on sale and begin your new journey!

After a few weeks of riding, the pain in your thighs, calves, butt, shoulders, arms, neck, are screaming at you to stop doing this! You don’t get it, riding a bicycle shouldn’t be so hard! It’s supposed to make you feel good, right? Here’s the answer, your size 12 feet are in a size 10 sandal with laces tied extremely tight!! You know when you go into a shoe store and the salesman or woman ask you to remove your shoe so they may measure your foot??? Well Sports Fans…it ain’t no different with a bike!

Enter Silver Sage Sports and Fitness Lab bike fitting with Julie Young. I brought in both of my bikes, one road, one time trial. Measure this…pedal, pedal, pedal! Tweak that…pedal, pedal, pedal! Raise this…pedal, pedal, pedal! Almost two hours later, I was sweaty, stiff, out of breath…and had two nearly brand new bikes that fit like gloves! Julie was amazing and this is why, because she cares, loves what she does, is very detail oriented, and knows exactly what she’s doing! Whether you purchase a $500 bike or a $5,000 one, it’s no different than buying a pair of $20 shoes or $200 shoes…they still need to fit right! Go see Julie and get on a bike that fits!!

Keep Spinning…

Dr. Andrew Pasternak Named “Medical Marvel”

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Reno, NV (December 4, 2014) – Dr. Andrew Pasternak, of Silver Sage Family Center and Silver Sage Sports Lab, was recently named to a list of 100 of Northern Nevada’s top doctors, as voted on by readers of Nevada Business Magazine.

According to Nevada Business Magazine, “This year’s Medical Marvels list took a look at Nevada’s doctors and asked Nevadans to vote for the best in the state, with doctors, in particular, asked to rank their own. If a doctor nominated another physician, that vote received three points. All other votes received one point. After the nomination period ended, all of the votes were verified and tallied.”

“This was a surprise and a huge honor, especially the recognition by my medical peers,” said Dr. Pasternak. “I think it reflects the expertise and attention our staff members pay to every patient.”

Silver Sage Center for Family Medicine provides high quality health care for the entire family, treating the entire spectrum of medical conditions ranging from simple ear and sinus infections to more complex problems like heart disease and cancer.

Silver Sage Sports & Fitness Lab provides integrated physiologic testing, biomechanical and coaching services to help athletes of all abilities and interests maximize their training time and achieve results. For more information, visit www.silversagecenter.com.

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The Straight Talk on Silver Sage Services

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Physiologic testing provides the tools to maximize your training time investment. Below starts a three part series including – Who Can Benefit, Tests Available and Tools to Take Away, and finally Why Test. Please give a holler if we can answer additional questions.

Part I – Who Can Benefit?

We at Silver Sage Sports and Fitness Lab realize the term sports performance center can be intimidating – our services primarily serve those busy individuals determined to optimize their limited workout time and achieve results.

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We offer a complete menu of physiological tests to support individuals pursuing a range of fitness goals, from weight loss and general fitness to master athletes and elite competitors looking to peak for their next event. Testing and the resulting training tools can be effectively applied to athletes of all abilities and interests, across a variety of disciplines. We work with a range of aerobic, endurance-inclined clients, including

  • Triathletes, road and Xterra
  • Runners, road and trail
  • Cyclists, road and mountain
  • Hikers
  • Snowshoers
  • Nordic skiers

Testing can also be helpful to those more anaerobically-inclined athletes such as track runners and Alpine skiers.

Andy Pasternak established and owns Silver Sage Center for Family Medicine, as well as Silver Sage Sports and Fitness Lab. Julie Young is the Director of Silver Sage Sports and Fitness Lab and owner/head coach-performance trainer at o2fitness Coaching and Training.

 

The test that changed the way I look at……. Well, everything  

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Daryl Hataway, Mayberry Athletic Club General Manager and Personal Trainer, provides the first post in a series sharing his experience taking Silver Sage’s metabolic efficiency test….

I recently had the opportunity to have some pretty cool testing done, a Metabolic Efficiency Test at Silver Sage Fitness and Sport Lab.  I have written a short, three part series on my experience, why I did it, and why every breathing human interested in bettering themselves as an athlete needs to take this test.  I hope you enjoy…

I have never really had the opportunity to have a lot of sport specific testing done, a few sub-max VO2 max tests here and there, but nothing at the elite level. I am talking tubes, breathing masks, electrodes on the chest, plugged nose kind of testing… the stuff used to really hit the nail on the head when it comes to fitness success.  Tests that truly give us the key to unlock our true potential for any of our fitness and sport specific goals.

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As I strolled into The Silver Sage Fitness and Sports Lab, already nervous as to what my immediate future held, I was greeted by a very sweet front desk girl, politely asking my name and reason for visit.  I was asked to fill out the standard, “If we hurt or kill you we aren’t responsible for it” paperwork and I sat down.   Clipboard in hand, I went to fill out the typical doctor’s office visit formalities, but as I peered around before the focus kicked in on the paperwork, I noticed something a little different about this doctor’s office.  Off to my left, a Trek Speed Concept 9 series Triathlon bike….an (ah hem), $11,000.00 bike…seated next to it, a gentlemen, preparing the same paperwork as I was, looking to figure out how to make the most out of that ridiculously beautiful bicycle and match it’s equally ridiculous efficiency, dressed in cycling shorts and a cycling jersey, clipless shoes already on his feet. A bike, let’s remember, even an expensive one, is only as efficient as its rider, and this rider wanted the same knowledge I was seeking:

  • How can I better train my body?
  • How can I choose the right amount of nutrition for that long run or ride?
  • And most importantly, what is my key fat burning heart rate zone?

I was soon taken to the standard doctor’s office room, weighed, measured, and told to remove my shirt for my ECG clearance.  This painless test is a standard for all athletes, essentially making sure the individual has a healthy enough heart for the upcoming test. This part was funny…. New girl + Hairy Italian Daryl = need for a razor and a quick shave so the electrodes will stick.  Unfortunately my first test was inconclusive, so our sweet new girl went for some assistance.  As she re-entered the room, seasoned veteran in tow, they tested again only to find out that my electrodes are placed incorrectly.  The two nurses played a cruel of game of “odds or evens” pulling off the sticky electrodes, jokingly guessing if they got an odd or even amount of my chest hair stuck to the tape, shaved two new places, and re-attached them, this time with a successful reading.  Six more pulls of Daryl’s chest hair and I was allowed to get dressed, await my results, and move on to the next stage, the fun part!!

I was escorted into a pretty normal room, normal for what I was testing for.  There is a treadmill, a rolling computer desk, a bike trainer and Julie Young. THE Julie Young, a U.S cycling pro with one heck of a cycling resume. She stands there, her gentle demeanor and graceful presence, a gleam in her eye, with the knowledge of years of training and competing.  This is not just our average Joe getting me ready for this Metabolic Efficiency test, this is a coach, a competitor and the sweetest cyclist I have ever met.

 

 

Measuring Progress: VO2Max Testing

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Far West Elite XC Ski Team member, Spencer Eusden shares his take-aways from Vo2 testing at Silver Sage Sports and Fitness Lab…A few weeks ago I went down to the Silver Sage for their VO2 Max testing. This test measures the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use per unit time relative to body weight

I was excited to try this test out again since the last time I had done it was my senior spring of high school (May of 2008).  In the 6.5 years since I last measured my VO2 Max, I’ve logged close to 4,000 hours of training. So I expected to see some level increase in the test score. That being said, after puberty your VO2 Max tends not change as much with training as it does during puberty. (I had mostly stopped growing when I took the test in May of 2008)

 

The Results:

Date VO2 Max mL/(kg*min)
May, 2008 62.0
November, 2014 67.5

 

Hard work pays off!!! In my case every 730 hours I trained I increased my VO2 Max by one point. In reality, high intensity intervals, which we do mostly in the fall to get ready for ski racing, have a much larger impact on an athlete’s VO2 Max than the sheer number of hours trained. My main training focus this fall was to do lots of quality interval workouts, in order to be ready to race fast once the season started. Historically, I have been slow to reach peak racing shape, not usually until February. These test results showed that I was well on my way to starting the season off well. This was confirmed this past weekend at the first races of the year in West Yellowstone, MT with my two fastest November races ever.

Beyond just testing my VO2 Max, the crew at Silver Sage used the data from my VO2 Max test to refine my training zones. With their feedback, I changed the ranges of  my heart rate zones, which I will hit in different types of intervals. The goal is that these adjustments will help me continue to increase my VO2 Max and race even faster this winter.

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CAPTION Spencer strapped in and ready to for the VO2 Max Test. The test measures the gas composition of exhaled air to calculate the amount of Oxygen used.

Far West Elite XC Ski Team reports in from West Yellowstone

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The Silver Sage sponsored Far West Elite XC Ski Team returns from a successful West Yellowstone training camp and first series of races. Team member Sabra Davison reports in…

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There was a collective excitement on the trails of West Yellowstone, as it was the first time so many of us have been on snow this winter.  For those that haven’t been to West Yellowstone, it has become a mecca for Nordic skiers to gather, connect, slide, and eat turkey for one week every year.  Each team groups among like-colored Lycra to do balance drills, no pole, and gliding exercises.  The elite team followed suit and joined the entire Far West junior division for a week on snow.  It was an incredible week!  We had great skiing, a mid-week snow storm, and two giant 22-pound turkeys.  We capped off the week with two races, a sprint skate race on Friday and a 10km skate race on Saturday.  Some of us were training through these races, while others went in with a little more rest.  So, the results were varied this weekend in one of the more competitive fields that we will see all year.

Anja and Spencer were our top finishers for the Elite Team.  Spencer finished 31st in the sprints, nearly missing qualifying for the heats by a fraction of a second.  He finished 32st in the distance race, making the weekend the best early season results he’s seen to date.  Anja finished in 27th and 33rd in the sprints and distance race respectively.  Patrick Johnson is in Canmore racing biathlon for the first time with polar temperatures and beautiful views.  Look for more updates as team heads to Bozeman for the next round of Super Tour races, while Anja is on her way to Europe.