Read through our most recent articles:
May eNews 2010
In this Issue
Strength -v- Endurance
Number Crunching Your PB's
Tips To Optimize Brain Power
Muscle Growth Nutrient Guidelines
STRENGTH v ENDURANCE
The Angry Coach provides some cold hard facts why in the main, traditional cardio / aerobic workouts are a complete waste of time and enrgy...
According to a recent study presented in IDEA magazine, the average female aerobics instructor has 18% bodyfat. This is higher than the average female competitive weightlifter (16%).
According to a recent study published in Muscular Development magazine, muscle necrosis (tissue death) and inflammation can be observed in the calves of marathon runners 7 days after a race.
According to Dr. Marc Breehl, a leading anesthesiologist specializing in cardiac surgery, the enlarged hearts of aerobic athletes are weaker, not stronger than those with anaerobic backgrounds.
Resistance training has numerous benefits to the heart and vascular system, including improved ejection fraction of the left ventricle ~ read stronger HEART ~ and improved elasticity of the arterial walls. This from Power: A Scientific Approach, by Dr Fred Hatfield.
Virtually everything we do in life is anaerobic. Aerobic activity is an artificial state which the human organism is not well adapted to. For the majority of individuals, loss of function associated with aging is due to lack of strength, not aerobic capacity.
Read what Kyle Newell, an EliteFTS author, Strength & Conditioning Specialist & Sports Nutritionist from New Jersey, USA, has to say on the subject. Click here
NUMBER CRUNCHING YOUR PB's
Ever wondered how your major lifts stack up, well click the following links courtesy of Exercise Prescription http://www.exrx.net/index.html
TIPS TO OPTIMIZE BRAIN POWER
Avoid eating big meals during the day. Big meals slow you down and make you feel exhausted or sluggish.
If you are hungry, eat small amounts of lean protein such as poached or boiled eggs, light cheese or yogurt. Proteins eaten alone (on an empty stomach) can pick up your neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and acetylcholine.
Unless you’re into looking like an NRL front-rower, minimize your eating during the day to mostly live raw fruits and veggies and their juices. This will help you detoxify and nourish your brain with essential nutrients and antioxidants to protect your brain from daily free radical assaults.
Eat fatty fish such as salmon and sardines. The fish oil contains essential fatty compounds Omega 3, DHA and EPA that play critical role in brain development as well as improving memory, learning ability and metal capacity.
Flaxseeds are another excellent source of Omega 3 essential fatty acid (EFA). Most people today lack Omega 3 in their diet. EFA deficiency or imbalance is believed to be the cause of some brain diseases and mental aging.
Take an EFA supplement to ensure essential fatty acid nourishment to your brain.
Avoid binge drinking. Excessive alcohol is toxic and is believed to destroy brain cells.
Minimize your sugar consumption. Stay away from sweet cereals, candy bars or soft drinks/cordials & yes…sports drinks! They cause blood sugar fluctuation, which leads to insulin insensitivity. Insulin insensitivity is believed to be the main cause of an inefficient supply of energy to the brain.
Supplement yourself with multivitamins and antioxidants to guarantee optimal brain function. Vitamins such as the B vitamin play a critical role as catalysts in the production of essential brain neurotransmitters and hormones. A deficiency of even one vitamin may impair brain function.
Take ginkgo biloba (standardize for 24% ginkgo flavon glycosides) to improve brain circulation and memory.
Panax ginseng during the day works as a tonic and is believed to help boost mental activity. Siberian ginseng should be taken at the end of the day. This particular ginseng is believed to have a calming effect on the brain.
Eat carbohydrates at night. Glucose will relax your mind before going to sleep. Carbs boost serotonin, a brain neurotransmitter protein that is responsible for the feeling of well being and calming down.
Eat Tryptophan-rich foods before bed time such as hot milk with honey or bananas. Tryptophan is a building block protein for serotonin and the melatonin hormone, which regulate a healthy sleeping cycle. Melatonin is believed to protect the brain from aging related diseases. It works as an antioxidant and anticancerous agent.
Make sure to supply your body with multi-minerals. Minerals such as calcium and magnesium play a vital roll in regulating optimum mental capacity, steady mood and protection from tension headaches. Minerals protect your brain from toxic metals such as lead or mercury.
Avoid rancid fats, hydrogenated fats and transfatty acids as found in margarine or hydrogenated oil additives in different food products. Bad fats impair optimum brain function and may cause brain damage.
Follow a progressive exercise routine. Exercise will help you with your blood circulation, stress, and overall mind and body performance.
Coffee can boost your dopamine. The ideal time to drink coffee is on an empty stomach with a little or no sugar. Drinking coffee in moderation helps boost brain function and elevates your mood.
Green tea is one of the best beverages to boost mental power and protect the brain from toxins and free radicals.
Chocolate, YES! Some researchers believe that cocoa (chocolate) has a potent antioxidant protective effect on your brain.
Eat blueberries, they have the highest antioxidant value, thus considered to be one of the best brain foods.
Don't worry, be happy! Avoid anger. See your glass as half-full.
Be romantic and share the love. Love in your heart makes your mind blossom.
Make sure you sleep enough. Your brain is rejuvenating during those sleeping hours.
MUSCLE GROWTH NUTRIENT GUIDELINES
The subject of muscle growth is intriguing and deserves a much more detailed analysis than a few bullet points. Nevertheless, in order to simplify things here’s some basic tips to help maximize muscle growth while burning fat:
DETOX! Ingesting live whole vegetables, fruits and their juices on a daily basis will help accelerate detoxification.
Take 2 to 3 weeks off from eating processed foods and eat whole foods instead.
Overtraining is NOT good for muscle growth. Take a break and see if that helps.
Stay away from low carb protein products that contain glycerin.
Minimize alcohol consumption.
Carbs are not the bad guy! Chronic carb restriction can slow your thyroid and impair growth.
Keep the good fats coming? EFA from flax and primrose oils and phospho-lipids are essential for cellular membranes and play a critical role in the regulation of hormonal and cellular functions.
Rotate among full days of undereating and full days of overeating. Undereating will potentiate the body to turn on the anabolic switch. Overeating will activate the final stimuli.
Protect muscle cells with antioxidants, most importantly glutathione and lipoic acid.
Assist immune function with multivitamin and mineral supplementation.
Avoid chronic sodium restriction. Sodium is necessary for growth.
These are a few basic tips that will hopefully help break muscle growth stagnation. Remember too, the above recommendations will naturally accelerate metabolic efficiency that will result in fat loss.
